The Galeón Andalucía in Cork

The Galeón Andalucía, a replica of a 16th-17th century Spanish galleon docked in Cork a few days ago for the European Maritime Days to Play, on yesterday and today.

I wandered down the quays where there were a number of other boats. A nice day out for school kids who got a few hours out of the classroom too!


Apertureƒ/2.2
CameraGalaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length2.2mm
ISO50
Shutter speed1/3800s

Trácht ar Mhalairt Slí

If the road works, why are there signs pointing out where diverted traffic goes?

Did you know that most street signs in Ireland are bilingual? As Gaeilge on top and English below.

Thanks Henry, for the company last night. A good spot to do long exposure photography.

Oh, here’s something interesting about this photo. It’s made of two images I had to merge together in Photoshop because my long exposure shot wasn’t long enough. Two 4 second shots of a slowly moving bus on a corner.

Set the layer type of the top layer to “screen” and the lights in the air come through.

The resulting tiff file was 318.7MB. That’s a monstrosity for a simple image so I converted it to DNG which resulted in a 233.3MB file, and then to lossy DNG. That squeezed it down to 7.5MB! Not bad for a 9417×6278 image.

I couldn’t see any difference in image quality. There were slight differences when I clicked the auto Transform button, but nothing major.

Original & Lossy


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length29mm
ISO50
Shutter speed6s

A Sunlit Stroll in Athens

It was a blisteringly hot day in Athens when we were walking around the ruins of the old city when I saw this woman in a bright yellow jumpsuit approach.

That yellow colour jumped out at me, but it was only later I noticed the man behind her carrying her bag. Is that a charging cable going from her phone to the bag? Nice to have someone else carry your bag on a hot day, with a battery for your phone too! 🙂


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length16mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/500s

A Visitor’s Perspective of the Hagia Sophia

Another tourist watches for a moment before taking her own photo with her phone, inside the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. Non Muslims are restricted in where they can go now because it was turned back into a mosque again in 2020.

This was on the morning after I spent the day in bed recovering from food poisoning, so I didn’t take a whole lot of photos and had to go back to bed afterwards as I was so tired from the walk. This page has a number of photos showing what it’s like. Definitely try to avoid the busy times. It’s thronged with visitors.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO10000
Shutter speed1/60s

Trump Tower Construction by the River

Chicago in 2005 was a city in flux, and nowhere was that more obvious than at the Trump Tower construction site, right on the banks of the Chicago River. I was walking at the edge of the site and took a bunch of photos, some of which I’ve posted over the years.

What you see in front of you appears to be the open area next to the “new” tower. Over to the left is the Wrigley Building and looking at Google Street View gives a good view of what it looks like now, from across the river.

I haven’t been back to Chicago in twenty years. I’d love to see it again.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraCanon EOS 20D
Focal length18mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/100s

Greeting Visitors in the Shadow of the Wrigley Building

I last visited Chicago in 2005, when I took this photo of the Wrigley Building, and this “We’re glad you’re here!” banner.

Did you know the clock faces of the Wrigley Building are each almost 6m in diameter? The two towers of the building were completed just over 100 years ago!


Apertureƒ/9
CameraCanon EOS 20D
Focal length53mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/160s

Underpass Artists

Two young men decorate the underpass on the Line in Blackrock this evening with spray paint. There are fabulous murals on both walls of the underpass!

Fun fact: spray paint, the tool of choice here, was invented in 1949 by Edward Seymour, on the suggestion of his wife, Bonnie.


Apertureƒ/1.7
CameraGalaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length6.3mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/60s

Standing for Palestine in Cork

A man carrying a Palestinian flag after the protest rally last weekend. I met him on Nano Nagle Bridge, and he said he comes in whenever he can, to join the weekly rally against the ongoing genocide in Gaza.


Apertureƒ/2.8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/3200s

The Duck Who Loved Cash

Twenty years ago today, I was walking up State Street in Chicago when I spotted a duck robbing an unsuspecting woman on the street. I was horrified and, of course, immediately took a photo of such a strange incident.

Turns out, it was some sort of advertising photoshoot for Western Union, but the original photo went viral, even appearing in newspapers.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraCanon EOS 20D
Focal length55mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/100s

Cork City Walks Past Fashion Giants

Advertising goes unnoticed as people hurry past on Opera Lane, Cork.

Did you know the rugby shirt, with its bold stripes, was first popularised in the 19th century?


Apertureƒ/2.8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO640
Shutter speed1/500s

A Quiet Walk on Cape Clear

Two people walking along the road by the south harbour on a pleasant, warm day in 2013. I haven’t been back there in a long time, but hopefully, I’ll make a return this summer.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraCanon EOS 6D
Focal length105mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/250s

Scottish Skyline: From Spires to Bridges

A beautiful sunset pictured from our apartment in Edinburgh a few weeks ago. The weather was glorious that week! It hardly rained at all!

Did you know that the Forth Bridge, visible just left of centre, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the world’s longest cantilever railway bridge when it opened in 1890? It’s still a marvel of Victorian engineering that stands proud on the Scottish skyline.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length172mm
ISO250
Shutter speed1/200s