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A Local Character in a Cretan Village

Many years ago, in 2002, I visited Crete for a sun holiday. It was the first sun holiday I’d ever been on, so quite a shock for this young man from Cork.

The photo above was taken in a small village above the resort we stayed in. The tour operator had shared ominous warnings that we weren’t insured if we went on tours with anyone else, but one of our party spotted this in a local shop, and it was booked.

I don’t remember much from the night, but there are photos, and I remember everyone got a shot of Raki after we disembarked from the bus. Bottles of the stuff were on sale too. They obviously used the good drink for the taster, because the bottle I bought tasted like it would strip paint when I got home.

I had my trusty FinePix 1300 digital camera. It was my first digital camera, and it was a great camera for the time. Here’s someone else who loved it. Lightroom tells me I took 628 photos with it. It shot 1MP images. The original photo above is 640×480. That’s all. It’s been in my TODO collection for literally decades, until modern resizing came along. I tried Topaz Photo AI, and that did a pretty good job, but then the latest beta of Photoshop has improved the “make everything gigantic” functionality, and this is what you see before you now. It’s far from perfect, but here’s the original, in all its 640×480 glory.

Middle-aged man with distinctive moustache and headband holding a small glass of red drink at an outdoor evening party in a Cretan village, with white buildings and flowering trees in the background.

Don’t pixel peep at the photo on top and it looks pretty good. IMO, anyway.

I took 4459 photos with my next camera, the FinePix 2800 Zoom. I haven’t stopped since!

Aperture	ƒ/4.5
Camera	FinePix1300
Focal length	5.8mm
ISO	125
Shutter speed	1/60s

Ballycotton’s Spectacular Sky

The golden hour at sunset is spectacular but I love the amazing colours you might be lucky to see after the sun has set. Such happened on Thursday night in Ballycotton. This is a panoramic photo of several photos stitched together to make one larger one. The dark, dramatic cloud was too wide for my lens, but even though it was dark, handheld panoramas are possible these days if you’re careful.

The phenomenon captured in this photograph occurs when the sun has set below the observer’s horizon but continues to illuminate high-altitude clouds from below, creating dramatic lighting effects known as “alpenglow” or “afterglow.” This effect is particularly pronounced in coastal areas like Ballycotton, where the unobstructed western horizon allows for clear sunset views, while high clouds moving in from the Atlantic provide the perfect canvas for these spectacular post-sunset displays. The pink and purple colours result from the way the atmosphere scatters different wavelengths of light, with longer wavelengths (reds and pinks) penetrating further through the atmosphere to reach the high clouds even after the sun has disappeared from view.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/13s

Ballycotton’s Famous Beacon at Dusk

Ballycotton Lighthouse as pictured from the end of the pier at the village of the same name last Thursday night. It was a lovely evening. Warm and with just enough clouds to make for a spectacular sunset.

The Moon was due to rise almost behind the island here, but a huge cloud bank covered the horizon, spoiling our chances of capturing that moment.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	160
Shutter speed	1/60s

Growing Up by the Sea in Cork

Black and white silhouette of teenagers standing on a fishing pier with seagulls perched on equipment and masts against a bright sky in Ballycotton, County Cork.

It was a lovely evening in Ballycotton last Thursday, and a group of teenagers were making the most of it, jumping off the pier into the water and enjoying life.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	240mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/800s

Purple Skies Over Ballycotton

I was in Ballycotton last night on an outing with Blarney Photography Club. Our summer outings are a highlight of the year and always a nice social event for all involved.

When we got there, it was a nice evening, and I hoped there would be a nice sunset, and there was, but after the sun set, the sky lit up in a spectacular way. Fishermen were nearby, providing a nice silhouette for my photo.

We had hoped to photograph the Moon as it rose beyond the lighthouse there, but a thick band of cloud prevented us from seeing it until it was far off to the side. Maybe another day.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	27mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/10s

A boat disturbs the water

As you may have seen over the last few days I was taking photos of the boats moored in Kinsale Harbour. Until another boat came along and sped past, disturbing the scene and rocking everything about. Still a lovely evening there, and it was about time to move on anyway. 🙂

Aperture	ƒ/18
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	50
Shutter speed	1/8s

Petal Power in Kinsale

A flower growing out of the crack between two blocks on the quayside in Kinsale, Co Cork.

There it was, growing in the unlikeliest of places, just doing its thing right in the middle of all the grey.

Aperture	ƒ/3.5
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/320s

Sailing Through Time

Someone walking past a sail in Kinsale made for a nice slow-motion intentional camera movement photo.

Aperture	ƒ/5.6
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	49mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1.3s

Masts and Mirrors

I visited Kinsale recently with Blarney Photography Club. Many photos were taken all around the town, but I went down the quay to start with the boats mooored nearby.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	46mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	2s

Holding Hands

Two hands intertwined, fingers gently clasped together as a couple watches the festivities unfold around them. The simple act of holding hands in public, something many take for granted, becomes a quiet celebration of love and belonging at Cork Pride.

While this year’s event was smaller than last year’s celebration (perhaps due to the absence of Eurovision star Bambie Thug, or simply the rising costs of travel), the energy remained undimmed. The parade began on Grand Parade before winding its way down St. Patrick Street, with dozens of people proudly carrying a massive pride flag that rippled in the hot, humid afternoon air.

After the parade, the community gathered at Kennedy Quay for the traditional after-party, where the real magic happened. Gay men danced together in the summer heat, some bare-chested, others waving colorful fans as they laughed and moved to the music. Same-sex couples like the one in this photograph stood hand in hand, watching the celebration with quiet contentment, expressing their love openly in a space where they felt safe to do so. These moments, the dancing, the hand-holding, the unguarded laughter, show exactly why Pride events are needed now more than ever.

The laughter, the energy, and the community were all so beautifully, defiantly joyful.

More photos from Cork Pride coming tomorrow.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	500
Shutter speed	1/500s

Istanbul Conversations

Two friends chatting on a street in Istanbul.

Aperture	ƒ/2.8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	320
Shutter speed	1/500s

Stop and Look Up

If you look up, you might see something towering overhead. Gleaming glass towers stretching up until they seem to pierce the clouds themselves.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/5000s