Photos – Page 60 – In Photos dot Org

The Blue Lagoon in Iceland

In March 2012, I visited Iceland with my team from work and for our activity day we went to the Blue Lagoon for a swim. It was March and, as illustrated by the photos above, snow blanketed the ground, and it was freezing! The water was lovely and warm, and you’d be fine as long as you kept as much of your body in the water as possible!

I’m revisiting this trip today because of the concerning news from Iceland. There have been numerous earthquakes, and magma is building up, only 800m underground and very close to the Blue Lagoon and the Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant. The ground has risen by 8cm because the magma is pushing it up. The nearby town of Grindavik has been evacuated as a fissure runs through it. Earthquakes have already caused serious structural damage to buildings there.

Data shows the “magma tunnel is significant, and it is approaching the surface” according to this video. The tunnel is about 15km long. It seems likely there will be an eruption very soon.

Edit on December 19th: it finally erupted. You can see it on this live cam. This video shows the vantage point from a helicopter. The erupting fissure is 3.5km long!

Flames erupting from a volcanic eruption in Iceland.

An erupting volcanic fissure with lava spewing out of it.

Aperture	ƒ/9
Camera	Canon EOS 40D
Focal length	18mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/200s

The Gorilla in Valencia

A Western lowland gorilla from the Republic of the Congo sits on the ground outside a viewing area where humans gaze at him.

He lives in the Bioparc in Valencia, Spain, and I think his name is Mambie. He was born in 1991 and is a beautiful animal, but when we were there, he charged and rammed into the glass windows twice. The Wikipedia page for these gorillas describes that behaviour as stereotypic behaviour, or abnormal or compulsive behaviour. It’s easy to imagine that he’s not happy there, but he is hand reared, as he was born in a zoo. This life is all he knows. These animals are endangered, and there’s a population of 500 living in zoos worldwide.

I was sad to see him in captivity. Valencia Bioparc is small, compared to wildlife parks like Fota in Co Cork, but the larger animals had room to roam about. At least, as much room as a 10 hectare site will allow.

It is definitely worth going to visit if you’re in the city. Just don’t eat in the overpriced restaurant.

Aperture	ƒ/3.5
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	1000
Shutter speed	1/60s

A stag and his grass

A stag digging into grass to decorate his antlers

A stag with grass on his antlers, thought to make him more attractive to the female of the species.

A stag buries his head in grass, to decorate his antlers and make himself more attractive to female deer.

Killarney National Park, October 2023.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	514.7mm
ISO	1250
Shutter speed	1/500s

The Caminito del Rey Bridge

A bridge over the Caminito del Rey in Spain.

If you do the Caminito del Rey hike, you’ll come across this bridge at the end of your journey. The old bridge isn’t used any more as a modern suspension bridge has been built right next to it.

It’s still quite a sight as you walk over it and definitely not somewhere to go if you have a fear of heights.

Aperture	ƒ/7.1
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	23mm
ISO	125
Shutter speed	1/160s

it’s in here somewhere

A woman looks in her car while her two friends wait for her.

“Well, it is in here somewhere. I’ll find it eventually.”
“Oh sure, you forgot it, didn’t you?”
“Give her a chance. It probably fell between the seats.”

“OK, GOT IT!”

Aperture	ƒ/2.8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	160
Shutter speed	1/500s

Have a seat on the bridge

The Pont l'Assut de l'Or in Valencia, Spain seen from the viewpoint of a bench underneath. The Caixa Forum can be seen behind it.

In Valencia, Spain, they rerouted a river that ran through the city, making a very long park through the city. The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, the science museum, is behind me, nestled in the space the river once took, while in front is the Pont l’Assut de l’Or. It’s a beautiful bridge spanning the gap over the old river.

In the background is the Caixa Forum, and further on, out of view is the Museu Oceanogràfic, the fabulous aquarium in the city.

All along the old river run paths and play fields, grassy areas, trees, and benches for sitting on. It’s a wonderful place to visit if you’re in the city. Bikes can be hired too, but I found it stressful because there were so many people around. Getting the bus is easier.

The photo above was shot before sunrise, when the only people around were joggers and people working in the local area. Lovely and quiet!

Unfortunately, there’s a bin at the end of every bench. Not much I could do about it. I wanted to remove it in Photoshop, but I appear to have this bug where no tools work. Uninstalling and reinstalling did not help. 🙁

Aperture	ƒ/10
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	16mm
ISO	400
Shutter speed	2.5s

Palestinian Rallies in Valencia and Cork

We happened to come upon a rally in Valencia while we were there recently. A large crowd gathered in a circle around a speaker. I didn’t understand a word they said, but the anger was obvious.

I was in Cork on Saturday and heard a rally announced by a loudspeaker on a van driving down Patrick Street, so I went along to see it.

There was a huge crowd, again. I was near the front of the crowd and watched them display the photos of children killed. Horrendous. It’s barbaric what’s happening in Gaza. What happened on October 7th was terrible, but what’s going on in Gaza is so much worse.

Shadowy Groynes at Sunset

An ICM shot of the setting sun. The lens was swung horizontally meaning the sun left a trail on the horizon and the groynes in the sea are like transparent shadows

As the sun sets, one thing I like to do is intentionally moving the camera lens, so the resulting picture is more abstract, but still captures the colours and shadows of the sunset.

This is what I did in Youghal a few months ago with Blarney Photography Club. Standing in the water, I swung the lens horizontally. The sun had almost set, so it caused a streak at the horizon and the groynes in the water looked like shadowy transparent obstructions.

Aperture	ƒ/4.5
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	44mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	2s

Closed due to flooding

Fitzgerald’s Park in Cork was flooded on October 21st last. The playground was completely off limits as water rolled off from the surrounding landscape. The pond had burst its banks and flooded the surrounding path. Seagulls were the only ones enjoying the scene.

We’re going to see a lot more flooding around Cork in the future. Climate change is making the world warmer, seas rise. Winters in Ireland will get wetter, storms will have more energy.

Aperture	ƒ/1.7
Camera	Galaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length	6.3mm
ISO	20
Shutter speed	1/190s

The 2023 Dragon of Shandon Parade

I had the privilege of capturing this electrifying event for the first time ever, and let me tell you – it was an experience unlike any other!

Despite the chilly weather and occasional rain showers, the participants’ spirits were unwavering as they danced, sang, SCREAMED and shambled along as zombies. ?

As the procession made its way along Shandon Street, North Gate Bridge, North Main Street, Castle Street, and finally Cornmarket Street, a massive crowd gathered to watch and cheer on the fun! ? I chatted with some enthusiastic spectators who followed the zombies and monsters from Shandon Street to Cornmarket Street to make sure they didn’t miss anything.

At the very end, we were treated to dancing and singing by the groups in the parade, and it was wonderful. I’m sure it’ll be on next year. You should go see it if you’re in Cork!

Aperture	ƒ/2.8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	400
Shutter speed	1/15s

Fun at the Dragon of Shandon

A blurry shot of a woman on roller skates taking part in the parade. She's got wonderful makeup and dressed in dark clothes, while nearby another woman swings lights. Behind them are others in the parade.

Happy Halloween!! Last night was my first time photographing the Dragon of Shandon parade, and it was incredible! The weather was pretty bad, with intermittent rain showers, and it was a cold October evening. Brrr.

That didn’t dampen the spirits of all the participants, who danced and hollered and stumbled along like zombies or medieval executioners. Not to mention the fabulous floats!

More photos to come. I haven’t had time to look over them all yet. Check out the ones Fergal shared here on Facebook!

Remembering you, Robert, the first time I went to this, and you’re not there with your camera.

Aperture	ƒ/2.8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	800
Shutter speed	1/20s

Inside a spooky shop

A woman passes, looking in at the Bubble Tea shop I'm looking out of. Plastic bats are flying around, suspended on thing string, to celebrate Halloween.

Argh, the bats! The bats! Well, they’re very realistic, aren’t they? Spotted in a Bubble Tea shop in Dublin last year around this time of year.

Aperture	ƒ/3.2
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	1250
Shutter speed	1/500s