House on the hill

A house with a striking red door overlooks a field with sheep in one corner and a feeding trough in the foreground. This was shot near Bantry in West Cork a few months ago and I just love the vast rolling grassy slope of the ground.

Cork City Marathon is on Monday. It starts at 9am in Patrick’s Street. I’m going to try and get in there for that time. I’ll be up anyway since 6am so hopefully I’ll have some shots to share next week!

Aperture ƒ/7.1
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/125s

Rough Weather ahead at Allihies

Allihies in West Cork is a beautiful beach surrounded by beautiful scenery but on this day in February clouds hung over our heads, the sun broke through momentarily but the seas still lashed at the coast and I almost got drenched while shooting on the pier there.

Love this shot though, well worth braving the fierce cold wind!

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/80s

Walking to Mizen Head

The lighthouse at Mizen Head in West Cork is a fairly big tourist attraction in the area, and no wonder. From the visitor center you descend by a sloping path to a narrow bridge between two high cliffs with the sea lashing underneath. The lighthouse itself is nestled at the end of the headland, clinging to the rocks. The people who built it must have awfully brave souls.

This is part of the path and the lighthouse buildings are in the background. It’s well guarded by a bright red railing so there’s little risk of falling off a cliff unless you really have a death wish. Lovely area. Definitely going there again!

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/160s

How to short circuit

Ever since I posted Short Circuit I’ve been meaning to post a small tutorial on how I did it. There were so many comments from people clamouring to know the secret of how I made traces of light dance around the picture frame.

Actually, nobody asked. Will was kind enough to suggest another title but otherwise it went unremarked. *sob* I’m going to tell you anyway.

The image is a long exposure shot, of at least 1 second and preferably 4 or 5 seconds. I simply stood in front of a construction site at night, lifted the camera, hit the shutter and rotated the camera around in my hands. Needless to say, I did not have the strap around my neck or I would have done myself damage!
At first I tried Aperture Priority mode, setting the aperture really small (big numbers, around F/22), but then I decided to do the obvious, and used Shutter Priority and simply set the speed(time) I wanted. Below are a few shots from that night, including the scene as it was on the night and some experimental shots as I practiced. The technique is really easy, but can create some really interesting and eye catching photos.

Aperture ƒ/3.5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/10s

Crosshaven Boats

In mid February we went down to Crosshaven and I took Adam and Oscar for a walk down the road past the boat yards. It was way too cold and windy though so I didn’t go too far. On the way back I looked up and this just jumped out at me!

Love how this came out.

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/200s

The old boat at Mizen Head

Next time you’re out at Mizen Head you might notice this abandoned boat lying upside down by the visitor center. I almost missed it but I looked back to get a shot of the cliffs in the background. This makes a nice foreground I think.

Anyway, must have been an awful chore dragging that boat all the way up from the water. It was tiring enough pushing a buggy (and later carrying my bored baby) up from the bridge connecting the lighthouse to the mainland.

It’s a beautiful location. If you’re in West Cork be sure to visit!

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/200s

Volkswagen Beetle

A Volkswagen Beetle in Blarney reminds me that not everyone has bought a shiny new car. It even has the old style number plates. Does anyone know what year and county “WFI” relates to?

I love how this image is framed by the old fence. B&W works particularly well because of the timeless nature of the subject.

If you know Blarney, this was shot from the car park of Blarney Castle and I posted a shot of the other side of this building in my Emerald House B&B post a while back.

PS. New theme, what do you think?
PPS. David Lavery has posted the Photographer of the Year results on the Mallow Camera Club website. 1 point more and I would have drawn on 3rd place in the novice section.

Aperture ƒ/9
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 22mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/125s

Lifted to the Heavens

A piece of building equipment is raised high into the air by a construction crane. I presume it’s full of cement, but I know I wouldn’t want to be standing underneath, just in case.

Another shot of the construction cranes I posted yesterday. I love the contrast of the black sky and cranes and the white cloud.

Aperture ƒ/11
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/320s

Three in the sky

I guess the number of high rise cranes we’ll see over our urban environment will decrease as the building industry collapses. Meanwhile there are plenty around. Here’s three I shot in the middle of Cork City from Emmett Place. At night they’re lit up which is when I shot short circuit.

Mallow Camera Club had the Photographer of the Year competition last night. I came 4th in the novice section, missing out on 3rd place by 1 point. So close!

PS. The photomeet in Dublin last weekend went very well by all accounts. There was much twittering yesterday from all concerned. You can check out photos here: toejam pool, iced-coffee, Darren Greene, Gingerpixel, Caitriona, Alexia, McAWilliams, Will Knott, 73man and finally Courtney.

Aperture ƒ/11
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/320s

Short Circuit

Electricity everywhere and so evident at night in street lighting. I took this shot after meeting Mark for coffee 2 weeks ago. It’s this building site right in the middle of Cork City. More conventional shots will follow over the next few days.

Aperture ƒ/11
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 8s

Which way from Castletownbere?

There are so many places to visit in West Cork. Here’s a few of them. We didn’t visit Dursey Island but the beach at Allihies is lovely!

Aperture ƒ/10
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/250s

What happens after the oil runs out?

A car lies wrecked, burned out and upside down on the beach near the cemetery in Iniscarra where I shot a few “infra red” photos back in 2004. Is this what faces the world when the oil runs out? Abandoned cars and other vehicles left to rot and ruin scenic areas?

I drove past a week ago and it’s still there. Awful eyesore. Maybe I should ring the County Council?

Aperture ƒ/4.5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/50s