The Stars and Stripes on Alcatraz The flag of the United States flies over Alcatraz Island on a windy August day. This was originally a portrait shot but I squared it off to emphasize the vertical and horizontal leading lines. The hydrant is much more prominent in the foreground too. The red rusty texture beloved…

Up up and away Yesterday the Elysian’s tower reached the 18th floor, 72m above sea level and one of the tallest buildings in the country. Apparently St Finbarre’s Cathedral is 75m to it’s central spire but there won’t be a 2400sq ft penthouse at the top of that! While we Irish congratulate ourselves on building…

Post no bills Post no bills on the wooden boards surrounding the building site on Cornmarket Street. The red brick wall is the front of the old Guy and Company building. It looks like the builders are going to incorporate that into their new building which is great – mixing old with new. See map…

Buildings in the sky I live in a city where the tallest building is one that will be 17 floors high so when I travel to far off lands it’s always great to see tall skyscrapers looming over the streets. This might bear a striking resemblance to a previous image but it is a different…

Bike Lane Riding a bike anywhere on today’s streets is almost a suicidal pursuit but bike lanes help. Here a bus drove past as I took this shot in an urban tunnel in downtown San Francisco.

Ready to go! You better be good at hill starts if you live in San Francisco! I presume it’s slightly easier with an automatic transmission rather than manual? Highly processed image via multiple tools in the GIMP until I came up with an effect I liked – multiple layers, b/w, gaussian blur, layer modes and…

Parking for the Guinness Look up for unusual perspectives on ordinary scenes. I was quite happy with this image of a lamppost in Parnell Place, Cork when I took it. The signs are clearly visible and the upside-down Guinness logo catches the eye! You have to wonder, what’s more important, Guinness or parking?

Alcatraz Flowers The entrance to Alcatraz Prison is up a series of steps near these flowers. I love how they catch the light while the background is in the shade of the prison. After yesterday’s flood of posts it’s nice to get back to the one-a-day habit although I wonder why Technorati hasn’t picked up…

Yellow Boxes Yellow boxes on the junction of Bridge Street and Patrick’s Bridge in Cork. It’s illegal to enter a yellow box if you can’t exit as has happened with a few cars here. This image was entered in the Patterns Around Us competition along with my Autumn Leaf but this was my favourite one…

An Autumn Leaf I love the colours of nature at this time of year. The browns and yellows of falling vegetation make for a soft rich carpet of leaves that is pleasing to the eye. Unless of course it’s your job to clean them up, or after it rains! This photo came third in the…

Looming over the building site A tall crane looms over the building site of The Elysian, a new high-rise building that will house offices, apartments, a shopping center and underground parking. The main tower of the new building will be 17 storeys high, taller than anything else in the city. Over a year ago I…