At Blackpool shopping center there was a charity event for the Belarussian Orphanage Project. A band played inside and just inside the main doors they were selling Christmas cards and small gifts. Not sure if I should have left this as a colour image but I think as a character study of the boy and woman it works much better in black and
white.
Category Archives: Black and White
A rose by any other colour
One of the Blarney Castle roses.
The original was very saturated and detail was lost in the bright red of the petals. Making a monochrome image made the detail stand out and drops became visible again.
A little dodge and burn to finish.
Wet Day Shopping
Couple walking along Patricks Street Cork on Saturday.
Castle in Monochrome
Blarney Castle, taken moments before clouds completely covered the sky.
The Claw
A tree in Blarney Castle Gardens
Blarney Castle Stairway
Climbing to the top of Blarney Castle requires a climb up steep stairs that get narrower and smaller as you reach the top. It’s not for the faint hearted or claustrophobic!
Walking Patrick’s Bridge
Pictured walking along Patrick’s Bridge, Cork on Saturday evening. What really attracts me to this image, despite it’s obvious flaws, is the figure in the dead-centre. There’s light all around yet here’s a walking shadow.
Blarney Castle Gate Pillar
The current Blarney Castle was rebuilt after a major fire in 1446 and afterwards had an entrance gate different to that which is presently visible.
I was out for a walk a few days ago taking photos when I met two men in high-visibility jackets. They saw me with the camera and one of them stopped me and asked me if I knew about the nearby historical pillar.
In the 1600’s the river flowed in a different course past Blarney Castle. If it still flowed that way, it would go right under the Blarney Woollen Mills factory. He showed me a slight hump in the road which is all that remains of a bridge over that river!
This pillar which is hidden behind a stone wall was originally part of a gateway to Blarney Castle in the 1600s. I’m not certain if it was a river or a land entrance but it’s a shame that it’s now lying unused in a field.
Running around Eighteen Turns
We went down to Fota House a few weeks ago to see Eighteen Turns created by Daniel Libeskind. We weren’t as lucky as Ryan as there were parents with kids running and screaming around the piece all afternoon.
What better way to remember the day than the photo above eh?
Boole woz ‘ere
George Boole, the inventor of boolean algebra lived in the last house on the right of this photo from 1849 to 1855.
I’m certain that most Cork people pass this house daily and haven’t a clue as to it’s previous occupant’s contribution to the world we live in today.
Capitol Cinema, gone
The Capitol Cinema in Cork closed it’s door to audiences yesterday. Ryan has photos from last night too.
According to what he read in the Examiner, the building will now be used for apartments and retail purposes. I can’t complain, this particular cinema has been in a bad state of repair for a long time although it had ye olde style theatres. I remember seeing Gattaca in screen 3 several years ago and it was in a tiny room with vertical patterned wallpaper.
The main theatre was much larger but other cinemas around Cork attracted the audiences.
Working
When you travel to Cork by train you’ll pass underneath the north side of the city through a railway tunnel. We had to switch trains on the way back from Dublin the other day and finished our journey in one of Iarnrod Eireann’s old stock. They didn’t even turn the lights on as we went through the tunnel but that gave me the opportunity to snap this gentleman working.
HOWTO: Photo was a 20 second exposure and his face was completely blown out but by decreasing the contrast I brought out his reflection in the window. B/W conversion was done using the channel mixer with RGB settings of 29.6/161.7/-200 to give a psuedo infra-red effect.