R&H Hall Mill on fire

R&H Hall Mills aftermath
City Fire Brigade Well Equipped

This morning, the disused R&H Hall mill on Kennedy Quay, Cork City was the scene of a major fire. Smoke was visible from all over the city, wind blew the smoke up towards Mayfield and traffic was very heavy all over, probably because drivers slowed down to watch the plume of smoke.
From several miles away in Sunday’s Well, I saw two jets of water pour into the top of the building, unfortunately I only had my wide angle lens so I didn’t get a shot of it. This photo was taken with my Canon 75-300 zoom from a residential park off Blarney Street half an hour later.

Seven units of Cork fire service have been fighting a blaze at the disused R & H Hall mill and grain store on Kennedy Quay – rte.ie

Des has a great photo taken from much closer showing the fire bursting from the side of the building. Pity I’m on the other side of the city!

In recent times, a long plume of thick black smoke trailed from a fire on the north side of the city, and of course, back in 2003 a huge blaze left the Sunbeam Factory in ruins.

This afternoon I spent a few minutes shooting the R&H Hall building from behind the Garda exclusion tape. Smoke was still visible coming from the white silos at the side of the building and just as I left a crane was going to lift members of the fire service up to examine the damage. I ran out of time and had to leave before that happened but things were definitely winding down thankfully.

I sent the top photo to the Cork Independent who have published it in this week’s edition on page 11. I haven’t seen it yet but hopefully I can get a copy later! Check out the photo I took of the article above! It’s the first time I’ve had a photo published by a newspaper and I’m very happy!

Aperture ƒ/11
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 300mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/1000s

The Brown Line to Kimball

Aboard one of the trains of the Chicago L, the elevated and underground train network in Chicago. I think this was taken near the south end of the Loop, possibly around the corner from the library.

The last time I was in Chicago I took the L for nostalgic reasons and because it’s not a half-bad way for a tourist to see the town. The stations of the Loop are all elevated above street level and some afford a good view down the main streets of downtown Chicago! Maps and schedules are posted in each station, on the trains and online too making it very easy to find your way around.

Here’s a tour of the Loop with pictures if you’d like to know more.

I like this: Real Esteli played its best match ever – couple of great football shots!

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/100s

Canon 400D details

Just saw on DSLR Blog that the Canon 400D has been announced. Good news for everyone thinking of buying a digital SLR for the first time but not an upgrade option if you have any of the XT/350/20D/30D cameras.

The extra 2 million pixels only adds a small border worth of pixels around images so you really aren’t missing anything unless you blow your photos up to poster size on a regular basis!

Oh, I hate product announcement blogs so don’t worry, this blog isn’t going down that road any time soon! Photography Blog, I Like Cameras and Digital Photography Blog have all succumbed to the temptation of posting press releases and camera reviews for the most part. Bah.

Welcome everyone searching for information about this new camera!

Wrigley Building Sky Bridge

This is the sky bridge between the two sections of the Wrigley Building in Chicago. We were walking through when I looked up and immediately noticed the leading lines of the buildings and the walkway.

Way back in 2003 I photographed the Wrigley Building a few times and I’m pretty sure it featured in the film Batman Begins too.

Wrigley.com has a page dedicated to the history of the building and it makes for interesting reading.

While searching ocaoimh.ie for those pictures, I came across this little nugget about Bill Gates from 2002. 🙂

Something else from the archives for you street shooters – A face in the crowd, tips from the Street Photography List on capturing the elusive face in the maddening crowd.

I like this: Cow & Gate, never mind the baby food.

Aperture ƒ/9
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/250s

Oscar in the grass

Oscar sitting patiently for us while we finished a bbq at my sister-in-law’s house!

This required quite a bit of work because I had to clone out his lead, 3 garden chairs and the side of the bbq. Is it obvious where?

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/60s

Oscar

In a few days time we’re adopting this little ball of fur and we’re going to name him Oscar!
There’s an adorable King Charles Spaniel asleep in the background, but as you can see, both are unconcerned that a crazy cousin with a camera is making this shot!

Aperture ƒ/3.5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/30s

Tom Murphy Men’s Wear

We returned my wedding suit yesterday to Tom Murphy Men’s Wear and Dress Hire Service.
Irish people love to complain about the shoddy service they receive when shopping but rarely do they shout about a great shopping experience when helpful and enthusiastic staff make the process so much easier.
Selecting the right wedding suit was probably the most important clothing choice I made in my life but Dermot, Tom and Owen were there to help.

If you need to hire wedding suits then do drop into Tom Murphy’s on St. Patrick Street Cork and tell them Donncha sent you!

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/100s

The Canon 30D is finally here

This is a bit of a let down to be honest. The new 30D looks nothing like the leaked photo I found a while back. There are a couple of new features, most notably the bigger LCD screen, spot metering and a much bigger buffer but I don’t see any point in upgrading from my 20D. I was looking forward to seeing the ADAMS MODE button but alas, it’s probably not going to see the light of day for some time yet.
The really good news is that it’s the same price as the 20D which should force the price of existing 20D bodies down. Look for discounts at your favourite online retailer. If you see it at a bargain price, buy it! (via and every other photography news site)

On a related note, I weighed my Canon 20D and Sigma 18-200 lens. It’s a monster 1.25kg (or almost 3lbs)! No wonder I hurt my back last year. Carrying that amount of weight around one’s neck is a sure fire way of getting to know your physiotherapist better!

Welcome members of Dropzone.com! I hope you’ll look around and enjoy the photos!

Sunlit Web

On a foggy morning a web will sparkle in the ambient light because of the moisture in the air.
I spent an inordinate amount of time crouched down shooting this dead bush!

Coats and Hat

It’s unusual to see a man wearing a hat like the one above these days. I made this photo on Patrick Street a few weeks ago and love the different textures and the faces!