Photos – In Photos dot Org

December Light at Youghal

I love taking photos on the beach at Youghal, especially at sunset. This is from a few days ago when the sun was really low in the sky, and it was shining directly along the beach, rather than from behind the beach as it is during the summer!

Youghal (pronounced “Yawl”) has one of the longest sandy beaches in Ireland, stretching for about 5 kilometres along the east Cork coast. The town itself has a remarkable history. It was once one of the most important ports in Ireland and served as Sir Walter Raleigh’s home in the late 16th century. Legend has it that Raleigh planted the first potatoes in Ireland in his Youghal garden, though historians debate whether this is true. What’s certain is that the town’s beach has been a beloved destination for Cork families for generations, and those old wooden groynes dotting the strand are remnants of various attempts over the centuries to manage the ever-shifting sands.

Aperture	ƒ/36
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	83mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/2.5s

Spinning Light on Grand Parade

Long exposure photograph looking upward through bare winter tree branches at the Cork Christmas Ferris wheel at night in December 2017. The spinning wheel has created circular light trails in concentric rings of white, yellow, orange and red radiating from the bright centre. A leafless tree trunk rises through the centre of the frame, its delicate branches silhouetted against the glowing disc of light. The dark night sky forms the background above the tree canopy.

The Big Wheel or Ferris wheel, is back in the Grand Parade in Cork, but these photos are from December 2017! You’d hardly know, except for the posters on the buildings behind. This was before Ukraine was attacked by Russia and there is now a flag of Ukraine with the text, “We’re with you Ukraine” on one of the buildings to the left of this photo.

Aperture	ƒ/13
Camera	Canon EOS 6D
Focal length	24mm
ISO	50
Shutter speed	5s

Chasing Light Trails on South Mall

Long exposure night photograph showing a group of photographers with tripods spread along Grand Parade, Cork in December 2025. A bilingual "Ceantar Tosaíochta Coisithe / PEDESTRIAN PRIORITY ZONE" sign with bicycle and pedestrian symbol is visible on the left. Green and white light trails from a passing bus streak through the frame. The illuminated Cork Christmas ferris wheel and decorated Christmas trees are visible in the background near Bishop Lucey Park. One photographer stands alone on the left while a group of four cluster together on the right.

Long exposure night photograph featuring a large black bicycle-shaped bike rack sculpture in the foreground on Grand Parade, Cork in December 2025. Behind it, photographers with tripods are visible as slightly blurred figures, with a woman in a red puffer coat prominent among them. White bus light trails streak across the scene. The Cork Christmas ferris wheel is illuminated in the background, and Christmas tree lights are visible. The wet pavement reflects the city lights.

Long exposure night photograph of a black bicycle-shaped bike rack silhouetted against the lights of Grand Parade, Cork in December 2025. A Bus Éireann bus passes behind, creating horizontal red, cream and yellow light trails that reveal its livery through motion blur. The Cork Christmas ferris wheel is visible in the background. A blue pedestrian zone sign is partially visible on the left, and Christmas lights decorate buildings in the distance. Street lights create starburst effects in the dark sky.

You’re not waiting for a bus and suddenly four busses come along! We had fun with some long exposure photography on. Thursday night.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	4s

How are you?

I would like to say I knew the sign in the background said, “How are you?” but it’s more likely I did not. I’m glad it worked out, and it just proves that you have to be ready to take the photograph when you’re doing street photography or you’ll miss the moment.

In 2004, Ireland was in the midst of a mobile phone boom. The average Irish person was sending lots of text messages per month. The phones of the era were mostly Nokia models and early flip phones. The iPhone wouldn’t arrive for another three years. Making an actual voice call, as this woman is doing, was still the primary use of a mobile phone, rather than the app-launching, social-media-scrolling pocket computers we carry today.

Aperture	ƒ/2.4
Camera	CYBERSHOT
Focal length	28.5mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/1000s

A Life Well Lived

Portrait of a man outside a coffee shop on Daunt Square, Cork, in 2004.

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	CYBERSHOT
Focal length	48.5mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/250s

Racing Through the Dandelions

Horses charge past at the Dawstown Point-to-Point in 2018, County Cork.

Aperture	ƒ/5.6
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	154mm
ISO	1000
Shutter speed	1/2000s

The Crowd on Pana

A huge crowd gathered around a man on stilts holding 3 flaming torches on St. Patrick Street, Cork in 2006. See how homogeneous the crowd is? A similar photo today would show a much more diverse set of people in modern Ireland.

Aperture	ƒ/11
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/250s

Communion Day on Patrick Street

This was twenty years ago on St. Patrick Street, Cork. Not in December obviously, but in May when children all over the country were celebrating their first communion.

Aperture	ƒ/13
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	55mm
ISO	400
Shutter speed	1/320s

Marching for Housing

Protesting the housing crisis in Cork in 2019. We still have a housing crisis.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	35mm
ISO	1000
Shutter speed	1/500s

Surfing in Munich

Surfers on the Isar or Eisbach canal in Munich, Germany. It was bizarre seeing people surfing in the middle of a city but the river was perfect for it. Unfortunately, the wave seems to have disappeared recently and they don’t know why.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	25mm
ISO	12800
Shutter speed	1/250s

The Boat Cove Boys

In the middle of July when Ireland was moderately warm and the sea was, if not warm, ok to swim in for a few minutes at a time. A bunch of lads were jumping off the pier at Ardmore Boat Cove, but when we walked by, they were playing football and I think one team had scored a goal a moment before. 🙂

Aperture	ƒ/4.9
Camera	Galaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length	27.2mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/100s

The Swan Whisperer of Galway

If you’ve ever wandered down to the Claddagh in Galway, you’ll know the swans are less “graceful wild creatures” and more “assertive locals who know exactly when the bread’s coming out.”

That’s what happened on this day in 2005 when we visited and saw a young woman feeding those swans. Other birds wanted crumbs of bread too! Now we know that bread is not an ideal food for birds. Green vegetables are better for them.

Aperture	ƒ/3.5
Camera	CYBERSHOT
Focal length	17.2mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/125s