Shadows of prison and freedom A crow flies off into the freedom of the air with a crumb of bread he found on the pavement. The railings of nearby houses are like those of a prison keeping humans in and trapped and closed off. Who is free?

Standing free Shot down in Garretstown Beach last year. Connectivity continues to be a problem so this will be short.

The red door at No. 48 No. 48 on Grand Parade Cork is an old disused building near the Goat Broke Loose. It’s also next door to the old location of Fianna Fail’s Cork office.

Innovative Streets It’s good to look down sometimes. I think this was used to hold a decorative safety pole but I don’t remember ever seeing it used. There are poles on the other side of this narrow street however. The street of course is Paul Street behind Waterstones. I was going to blog that yesterday…

The red and white man A street entertainer on stilts entertained the crowd at the Midleton Food and Drink Festival last September. I took photos of him in Cork too and I think he recognised me and my wife as he made a beeline for us and stopped to chat. This was shot from below…

Caution Children A sign at the entrance to my estate warns motorists to watch out for children playing on the street. Just to prove that you don’t need a big digital SLR to take interesting photos, this was taken with my Panasonic FZ5. I saw the great cloudscape in the sky and illuminated the sign…

SF Weekly San Francisco Weekly is only one of a number of free publications available in that city. Not sure what day it’s out though. Doh! My photos went down reasonably well at Photography Ireland yesterday. There’s a good street photography forum there. It’s worth a visit if you’re looking for inspiration or critiques or…

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…

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…

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…

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?

Temporary Dwelling Prohibited A Cork County Council warning sign looms overhead at Garretstown Beach, Co. Cork. Luckily I had left the caravan at home and the rubbish was in the bin! This photo shows one of the disadvantages of shooting in Jpeg – it can’t cope with the subtle shades of blue in the sky,…