Each year the Lord Mayor of Cork is given a top of the range Ford car to drive. It’s always the first car registered in the new year, hence the XX-C-1 number plate.
Unfortunately for the Lord Mayor, they have to give it back when their annual term is over. Such a car is now in the possession of a taxi driver in Blarney so at least it’s still serving the public ..
| Aperture | ƒ/3.5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/13s |
The buildings of the Grand Parade in Cork face away from the setting sung on a cold February afternoon earlier this year. Cork bathes in the frosty sunlight.
This image was of course made of two images, one for the sky and one for the city. It was handheld and shot using the bracketing function (AEB) on the Canon 20D. The image isn’t perfect. My hand moved between frames but it’s only noticeable at the horizon if you look carefully.
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/800s |
A crow atop a STOP sign on The Grand Parade, Cork.
Shot using a fairly high ISO but bicubic resizing smudges the noise away!
| Aperture | ƒ/3.5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/2500s |
The Berwick Fountain was originally built in 1860 but was taken down and removed while construction went on in the Grand Parade, Cork. Here it is almost ready, although I’d swear they moved it a few feet ..
Cross over the Grand Parade for the last time passing the Berwick Fountain (1860), which marked the centre point of a bridge crossing what was then a city canal, now arched over and filled in to form the Grand Parade. The fountain is named after Walter Berwick, one time Chairman of the Quarter Sessions and was designed by Sir John Benson.
| Aperture | ƒ/7.1 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
Believe it or not this may have been a mooring post for boats in the 1700s. At the time the River Lee ran through the Grand Parade and boats were tied to this on the quayside. Now it’s a busy street.
It is reputed that this post was a cannon used in the Siege of Cork in 1690. Up until last year it sat on the corner of the pavement but as you can see here the new surface flattened everything out.
It’s been sitting there for as long as I remember, does anyone know anything more about it?
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
Colourful buildings on the Grand Parade look out onto the continuing construction on the street. Who knows when it’ll end?
| Aperture | ƒ/7.1 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
Santa came to Cork early this year, sort of. This metal work is from somewhere on the Grand Parade in Cork. It’s designed by the firm of Santa & Cole, obviously, and seems to be a perfect place for people to throw their litter unfortunately.
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/400s |
Will the construction work in Cork ever end? They just finished digging up the end of Washington Street and Grande Parade when they dig up that busy corner again.
Not quite as bad as the ESB or Bord Gais running a trench through brand new tarmac and leaving a broken road surface behind.
This shot is from the Grand Parade where brickwork is being laid into the ground around the original fountain that was recently restored there. Pics of that to follow!
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/80s |
Cork City Library on the Grand Parade used to have railings in front for locking up your bike. Those railings disappeared a few months ago but people still leave their bikes there.
The library itself will soon be the subject of a major facelift as a developer expands it into a new block of retail units and apartments as well as library.
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/80s |
Cork City as seen from the top of the carpark on the Grand Parade. The big ugly white building is the tax office on O’Sullivan’s Quay, the church is a disused one nearby. I’m not sure of the name off the top of my head, anyone?
Technique:
1. Use two layers, one over and the other underexposed and join at the horizon using a gradient layer mask. Erase and fill in where necessary using the mask.
2. Use an overlay layer to create the nice vignette effect at the top of the image.
The image needs to be slightly rotated I think, I spent so much time getting the horizon correct I didn’t notice how crooked things were!
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/3200s |
Pictured several months ago in February, pedestrians were blocked off from the construction work by high fences but not high enough to stop someone sticking a camera over the top.
This is one of the construction vehicles. Looks like a mix of a forklift and a crane doesn’t it?
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/160s |
Walking through a building site can be a hazardous task, especially when it’s one of the main streets of a city. Thankfully there are signs to lead the way through the maze of construction equipment, pot holes, broken paving and pipes. And then you get to the construction site.
Image made in February this year on the Grand Parade, Cork. Things have improved since.
| Aperture | ƒ/10 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
