Urban – Page 135 – In Photos dot Org

Paparazzi wait for Flatley at hospital

Film crews and photographers wait outside Cork University Maternity Hospital yesterday for a shot of Michael Flatley. His wife Niamh gave birth to a bouncing baby boy that morning in the hospital. Apparently Flatley gave a 5 figure donation to the hospital. Nurses I spoke to wondered where it went..

OK, maybe the people pictured are TV3, RTE news and a couple of photographers for the local paper but it’s not often one sees them about and in one place. I was busy helping Jacinta and Adam into the car and we weren’t about to stop and hang about. I told the reporters I had no comments to make except that Adam was in great form and that he and his mom were coming home.

I saw Michael Flatley on TV later and he was beaming! 🙂

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	DMC-FZ5
Focal length	16.5mm
ISO	80
Shutter speed	1/200s

San Francisco Tram

San Francisco Tram

A tram waits for tourists a few blocks from Union Square in San Francisco. It’s a popular attraction. There was a long line of people waiting to board just behind me!

Technique – I used a blurred layer with a layer mask and circular gradients to create the blurred background. Black and white conversion with colour mixer.

Aperture	ƒ/5.6
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/60s

Stop for four

Stop for four

The light says stop so we stop. A junction in downtown San Francisco as we walked about town. I just realised the vehicle in the picture is parked awfully close to the corner. There isn’t any driver staring madly at the camera. Hope he didn’t get a ticket. That’s Banana Republic across the street and what looks like Rinelli?

Off to the hospital again in a short while. Unlike the beautiful blue sky in this photo it’s overcast outside, but I’ll be in a hospital room for most of the day so it doesn’t matter..

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/640s

No Entry to Tuckey Street

No Entry to Tucky Street

Tuckey Street is a one way street that joins The Grand Parade with South Main Street in Cork. In typical Irish fashion, the one-way has been reversed over the last few years and anyway, the road works on The Grand Parade make getting onto the street a bit more difficult at the moment.

Nothing left to say, I’m off to the hospital again shortly. Hopefully Jacinta and Adam will be left out tomorrow. I’ve already registered Adam‘s domain name for the next couple of years!

Does anyone know how to get namecheap’s DNS to not redirect to the www hostname? I prefer nowww urls but it doesn’t seem possible. On the “@” line, entering the IP address of the server as an ANAME record simply causes a URL redirect to the IP. At least I have two servers now so maybe it’s about time I host my own DNS.

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/3200s

The Color Kids

The Color Kids

Two kids running along Cornmarket Street last August had a great time. I don’t think they were being chased by anyone so it was pure innocent fun!

Heading into the hospital again shortly. In between taking care of Adam with Jacinta I watched Kill Bill 2 on the Macbook which has become a glorified DVD player. I’m tempted to copy over some of my WP projects so my brain doesn’t turn to mush. I have three ideas for different plugins I’m trying to find time to code.

Aperture	ƒ/7.1
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/200s

Scared Child

Scared Child

A girl looked up at me from her buggy as I took her photo with the wide angle lens of my camera. This was taken just after the St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year and the place was black with people, especially outside the The Larry Tompkins pub so no wonder she was a little upset. Mum can be seen in the background, looks like they’re going home.

Today is the calm before the storm. I woke up to quiet. Oscar is with my family, Jacinta and Adam are still in the hospital. Tomorrow, everyone comes home probably, although Jacinta could do with an extra day.

Thank you to everyone who commented yesterday (and here too!) I’m bringing my laptop into the CUMH this afternoon to share with Jacinta all the good will and wishes left by you and everyone else!

PS. Good luck to Donal and Celine who are off to Lesotho today for 10 days. They have a long jounrey ahead of them but I know they’re going to do some great work out there, the money they’ve raised will be well spent and I’m looking forward to the photos!

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/320s

Mother and baby on the street

Mother and baby on the street

A mother and her baby stroll along St. Patrick’s Street Cork. This was taken last September in beautiful Autumn weather.

This morning started with a bang when Jacinta woke me at 5am because an ear infection was bothering her so much. We went to South Doc who were absolutely useless and sent us to the Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) where we spent over two hours waiting to be seen by a doctor – the doctor who showed up explained that it was the worst time of the day to show up as they’re doing their morning rounds. We finally got a prescription from him. More fun at the CUMH!

This evening we’ll go to the maternity hospital again where Jacinta will begin the induction process. We’re both hoping it won’t be long and drawn out but it’s very likely that we’ll be parents at some stage tomorrow.

Thanks to all who have been in touch, I’m going to be busy texting after the birth!

Aperture	ƒ/4.5
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/1250s

Expectation

Expectation

Car drivers rev their engines in anticipation of the lights changing at a busy junction.

This is the junction of Bridge Street, Patrick’s Quay, and Patrick’s Bridge in Cork. This photo was taken from the far left of Yellow Boxes. Patrick’s Hill is visible in background as you follow the road up the incline.

Bloody dangerous junction too. Very busy one.

No sign of baby yet, I guess it’ll be tomorrow. Stand by your Twitter for updates!

Aperture	ƒ/13
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/320s

A motorbike’s shadow

A motorbike’s shadow

A motorbike sits half in shadow creating an almost monochrome image. It was parked on a hill in San Francisco last year.

This is actually a moped, and I found much more on the subject on the Wikipedia page on Mopeds.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/250s

Looking up at Union Square

Looking up at Union Square

A festival or competition was being held on the beautiful August day we wandered through Union Square, San Francisco. It provided ample inspiration for photos although we didn’t linger long because we wanted to see more of the city.

The statue pictured is in the center of the Square and, “commemorates Admiral Dewey’s Spanish-American War victory at Manila Bay.” Here’s more and more on Union Square and the history behind it.

Department stores, Fifth Avenue and Tiffany & Co can be clearly seen in the background, it’s the center of the shopping world in San Francisco!

Aperture	ƒ/11
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/320s

San Francisco Tourists

San Francisco Tourists

Tourists stopped on the sidewalk off Union Square in San Francisco last summer. Despite the city’s reputation for fog the day was sunny and clear.

I had a great time doing some street photography of course!

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

Blue skies contrail and clouds

Blue skies contrail and clouds

A wall of the Beamish and Crawford Brewery blocks the sun in this shot taken on South Main Street, Cork.

Blue skies are great for sun worshippers but photographers don’t like them. It’s always better to have some cloud or interest in the sky. The fluffier and more solid the better, as long as some blue sky can be seen.

Aperture	ƒ/14
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/400s