The odd one out

A charity collector stops to watch street entertainers on Patrick’s Street last October. The orange and red costume stands out just a little bit next to the dark clothing of those around him.

I almost jumped with glee when I saw this scene in front of me but the image itself paled when viewed later. The background buildings were too sharp so using layers and a layer mask I blurred the background and cropped the image a little.

Black and White Photography magazine has two articles on street photography this month.

  • “Pavement art” by Eileen Martin is a good overview of the genre with some great photos by members of street photography site, In Public.
  • Juan Buhler is interviewed by Mike Johnston and shows off some of the great photos from his photoblog, Water Molotov. I’ve been subscribed to his street photoblog feed for a few months now although he only publishes thumbnails via RSS unfortunately.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/640s

The witch and the balloons

A witch hands out balloons to young kids outside Brown Thomas on a late October Saturday.

Just out of frame of this shot is a woman who has asked for a balloon. The witch explains that the balloons are just for the kids.. I wonder why? More on this later.

Aperture ƒ/5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 48mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/250s

King of my world

A child is carried atop his parent’s shoulders on St. Patrick’s Street, Cork a few weeks ago.

I really like this shot, for what reason, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the brightness and flowery design of the clothing worn by parent and child compared to the passers by. I’m sure both parent and child are in a happy place wandering around town.

“Here’s Health” and a sign advertising the Mutton Lane Inn can be seen in the background.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/400s

Friends together

Friends talk and laugh on the street while busy shoppers pass on either side.

Pictured on St. Patrick Street, Cork last October in front of Penneys. I love my wide angle lens!

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/1000s

Stepping out of the crowd

A girl steps away from the maddening crowd on a busy street.

This was a bit of an experiment for me. I blurred the background by making a duplicate layer, blurring, adding a layer mask and then revealing the girl through the layer mask. It’s not perfect, and in fact, the closer I look the more imperfections I see. Unfortunately I never saved a .xcf file preserving the layers so this is the final product.

I like it. The blur successfully separates the girl from the backgrond and even the zone of sharpness takes in some of the ground around her which exaggerates the effect!

Taken on St. Patrick Street, Cork last October.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/800s

Last minute shopping

Today many major cities and towns around the world are going to be thronged with shoppers doing last minute shopping before Christmas Day. Traffic is going to crawl and frustrate and the crowds will be suffocating.

I’m glad I’m staying at home. We may head out to the Lough later for a walk. So stressful!

I like this: Europe – The Parisian Chapter

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/800s

The Girls of Cork City

Two girls standing at the edge of a crowd on Patrick’s Street, Cork.

A quick search for irish cork girls hoops earrings led me to the answers.com page on scanger. Judging by the definition of both male and female clothing, there are plenty of them about!

Stereotypical Appearance

* Very short haircuts (sometimes with a short fringe or quiff at the front) in males. The wearing of a high pony-tail in the girls (usually at the crown of the head), negatively referred to as the “knacker knot”, “scrunchie” or “Annie”. The wearing of ‘quiffs’ on women is also becoming quite popular.
* Peroxide blonde highlights, usually on the top of the head and quiff of males, and as streaks in females have been popular in the Summers of recent years but are losing out to shaved-in patterns among short haired males.
* The wearing of thin moustaches, (“knacker-taches”), such as that made famous by Irish Boxer Barry McGuigan.
* The wearing of branded baseball caps (such as the Burberry check pattern). The cap is often worn at a sharp 70-90 degree angle. The Nike brand has a high take-up rate traditonally among this market segment. In recent years Burberry has also emerged as a strong market player.
* Prominent jewellery: sovereign rings (on men); large earrings, especially hoop earrings, (on women); and thick chains (worn around the neck or wrist) is another characteristic of the scanger; another overt display of affluance, these are often hallmarked silver or gold, or at least gold in appearance—another similarity with the british chav.

Females can be identified by the so-called “Knacker Facelift”; a ponytail with hair pulled back so far that it stretches the facial skin, hiding the wrinkled skin developed from years of eating chips and smoking since childhood.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/800s

Girl and the bear

A young girl greets a bear on Patrick’s Street, Cork.

Shopping is in full swing but it’s the small things like the smile of a child that bring light to the world.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/250s

I look good!

A street performer from Cork Circus, a street theatre company, poses for a photo on Patrick’s Street, Cork.

That reminds me, I must email him the URL of this blog as he was interested in photos!

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/1000s

Shopping Expressions

Worried looks accompany the average male during the Christmas shopping season. While this was taken at the end of October I bet that young man is still walking around with the same harried look.

My quest for a graphics tablet is complete. The Wacom Graphire4 arrived yesterday from Pixmania. As I promised to myself, I haven’t opened it yet and won’t do so until Christmas Day, or after because the 25th is going to be so busy!

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/640s

The anxious look

A young woman looks around anxiously in the crowd filled St. Patrick’s Street before she crosses at the traffic lights.

I was standing on one of the new marble blocks shooting a scene across the road when I saw the gathering crowd below me at the traffic lights. I saw the glance and quick as a flash I got the shot. It was originally slightly blurry but a little bit of b/w conversion and a duplicate layer with a touch of blur set to screen mode created a nice effect.

  • I like this: Looking up.
  • David J. Nightingale of Chromasia fame announced that another baby is on the way for him and his wife. Congratulations on that, and on going into the photography full time!
  • I never knew there was so much trouble over Photo.net.
  • 10 Dollar camera?
  • Legoize any image. That’s definitely something I’ll try out! (via)

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 200mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/160s

Little Communion Girl

A girl dressed in a communion dress and veil walks with her mother through the crowds on St. Patrick’s Street Cork on Saturday. Dressed as she is, she looks almost lost but the crowd parted way for her and her parents.

I don’t know why she was dressed like that. First Communion ceremonies aren’t until next year. Is it a communion dress? Could she be a bridesmaid or flower girl at a wedding?

Two of my photos may be entered into the Irish Photographic Federation’s National Shield as part of the Mallow Camera Club entry. They need fairly large prints which is a bit of a problem but of they’re suitable I’ll link to them in a few days. The competition will be held in Portlaoise on the 12th of November so I’ll be eagerly waiting for the results! I’m not the only blogger entering. Jonathan Hill is entering too!

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/400s