Evening sky over Cork City

Darkness descends on the City of Cork and the lights of the Grand Parade spill from the windows. In the background is St. Finbarr’s Cathedral and the rest of the urban environment heading out west.

This image is quite similar to another Grand Parade shot from about a month ago. This one isn’t quite as wide, and was created from one RAW image, shot after the sun had gone down.

Like yesterday’s shot of the landmarks this was also taken at the top of the Grand Parade car park!

Cork Landmarks

In this one single image are pictured several landmark buildings in Cork City:

  • The bell tower of St. Anne’s Church, or Shandon Bells as it’s commonly known as.
  • The North Cathedral can be glimpsed in the background.
  • Part of SS Peter & Paul’s Church off Patrick Street in the foreground, and the distinctive red brick buildings on Paul Street that used to belong to that parish. (I think it was sold? I remember seeing a sign for a solicitor on one door!)
  • The large distinctive roof to the left of Shandon Bells is I believe the roof of the Firkin Crane Centre by the old Butter Market. Is it?

The day I shot this was gloomy and overcast. Thick black clouds covered the city but for a few minutes a small part was bathed in light from a sun peaking through a gap in the clouds.

This was shot from the roof of the car park on the Grand Parade.

Oh yes, I’m toying with the idea of watermarking my images. I hate seeing an image destroyed by a name written over the actual image. A false bottom border and my details there might be a good compromise. It’s simple to remove but it’s one more step for a thief to take. What do you think?

Gorbys Nightclub

This alley should be familiar to almost everyone in Cork. The entrance to Gorbys nightclub is halfway down there.

Many a Saturday night was spent queuing up to get in!

Aperture ƒ/3.5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/2s

Penneys from Drawbridge Street

Look carefully. The grey building in the background is Pennys on Patrick Street. This was taken on Drawbridge Street near Aroma. Once construction work commences in this view will be obscured forever.

This is the same site as yesterday’s shot of Dunnes Stores and the JCB, from a different angle.

Aperture ƒ/5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 48mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/320s

A JCB in Dunnes Stores

Dunnes Stores on Patrick Street, Cork is no more. This is the back of the front of that building which has featured a number of times on my blog.

The whole block is now gone!

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 88mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/500s

Irish Adult Store

There are I think 3 adult stores in Cork. Two are down by Parnell Place, or at least they were, and the other is pictured above!

One of the adult stores in Cork is down a small, narrow little road called Grafton Street. The alley is so small that it doesn’t even appear on Google Maps. It does show on Yahoo Maps but you’d be forgiven if you never noticed it before.

This was shot from the Grand Parade multi-storey car park which backs onto the road. I was really happy to get the flashing neon sign while it was illuminated!

The Sony repair centre is just across the alley from the store, the only reason I’ve ever gone down there, when I tried to get my Sony 717 repaired.

No, before you ask, I’ve never darkened the doorway of any of those shops!

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 20mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/15s

Patrick Street from Mothercare

Patrick Street, Cork as seen from the 1st floor of Mothercare..

Looking out the winder beats trying to navigate all the baby stuff in the shop!

Aperture ƒ/4.5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 11mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/200s

Debenhams’ confused identity

Debenhams bought Irish department store chain, "Roches Stores", back in 2006, and rebranded their Cork store on Patrick Street shortly afterwards.

Unfortunately nobody has yet replaced the big "Roches Stores" logo at the top of the building. It’s still there, more than a year later! 🙂

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/320s

Irish Post Office

The post box outside a post office in Fermoy, Co. Cork.

Aperture ƒ/9
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/160s

For sale at Sherry FitzGerald

These are the swanky new offices of estate agent Sherry FitzGerald in Cork. I find it intriguing that the owners decided to bring in other agents to sell the other floor space in the building.

There are signs for Savills/Hamilton Osborn King and Lisney on the top floor directly above the "Sherry FitzGerald" logo. I’d be really unhappy about that if I was them and had spent so much money on new offices. 🙂

Aperture ƒ/9
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 28mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/125s

Union Square from afar

Union Square in San Francisco as seen from my floor at the hotel we stayed in.

Aperture ƒ/11
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 20mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/125s

Housing market slow?

The Irish housing market is slowing down but sales are still being made.

A tiny house down the road from this one in Blarney sold a few weeks ago even though I’m sure you could hardly swing a cat in it …

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/15s