In Photos dot Org

Around this way, not that way

Drivers can be so confused by road signs. Drive this way, drive that way. Those roundy signs with the big numbers surrounded by a red border must be the worst offenders, I mean, hardly anyone obeys them. What were they thinking when they put them up can anyone tell me?

Head on over to shitedrivers.com if you want to rant. You’ll be very welcome there!

Oh, this was taken in Wilton, Cork. Anyone from the city will recognise this I’m sure!

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

Sometimes I just miss talking to you

Sometimes I just miss talking to you

A sticker on the back of a STOP sign reads, “Sometimes I just miss talking to you” and is signed “The 508”. A message of love for someone missing, or mindless graffiti? What makes the image for me is the couple walking by at the bottom of the frame. The sticker could be a speech bubble above their heads.

Shot on Oliver Plunkett Street a few month’s back while walking around Cork City.

PS. Welcome all from Creative Ireland!

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/60s

The Yellow Rose

The Yellow Rose

A yellow rose in Fitzgerald’s Park in Cork. I made this photo a few weeks back and it had just rained, leaving nice little droplets of water on the delicate petals of the flower.

Aperture	ƒ/9
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	179mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/400s

The Canon 40D won’t tempt me

So, it appears that the Canon 40D is on it’s way with an expected release date in early September if the rumours are to be believed. This post about the 40D sent me to gizmodo who quote the non-Canon site, canon-eos-40d.com, when they list the rumoured specs of the Canon 40D. They haven’t changed much since the last time I blogged about these rumours.

There’s nothing there that would tempt me to upgrade. When buying a new camera, I’ll either “downgrade” to a Canon 400D, or consider a new Canon 5D. I’d choose the 400D because all my lenses will work fine with it, and it’s really not that much different in capabilities to my 20D. If I went down the route of using the Canon 5D, I’d have to replace several lenses. Only my Canon 50mm f/1.8 and Canon 75-300mm will work properly with the new full size sensor.

All of that presumes I have the spare cash to replace an almost perfectly working 20D and that I can justify the upgrade. I don’t, and I can’t. Oh well.

Even Amazon have leaked details of the Canon 40D according to DPS! Those specs look more and more likely as time goes by. Could Canon be leaking this stuff?

Engarde! Construction continues in Cork

Engarde! Construction continues in Cork

Will the construction work in Cork ever end? They just finished digging up the end of Washington Street and Grande Parade when they dig up that busy corner again.

Not quite as bad as the ESB or Bord Gais running a trench through brand new tarmac and leaving a broken road surface behind.

This shot is from the Grand Parade where brickwork is being laid into the ground around the original fountain that was recently restored there. Pics of that to follow!

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/80s

Cork University Maternity Hospital opened March 31st

Cork University Maternity Hospital opened March 31st

This was taken a few days after Adam was born and while an election campaign was in full swing. Outside Cork University Hospital a proud poster announced that Cork University Maternity Hospital opened on March 31st. I can’t remember if it did, or was it a week later, but some smart arse added “Despite the best efforts of the HSE” above the main message. An obvious reference to the bullying tactics employed to get midwifes to work in the new an under-staffed hospital.

Aperture	ƒ/7.1
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/100s

Shih Tzu playing ball on the beach

Shih Tzu playing ball on the beach

Our pet Shih Tzu, Oscar with a tennis ball in his mouth on Garrettstown Beach a few weeks before Adam was born last April.
He loves running after the ball, but the poor little doggy is a bit lame right now. We took him to the vet who couldn’t find anything wrong. This has happened before and he recovered so fingers crossed he gets better this time too.
The strange thing is, it only affects him when he’s walking on pavements or roads. On grass he’s almost fine, and at home you wouldn’t know it from his running around! Dog psychology?

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	225mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/1250s

YIELD! Right of way

YIELD! Right of way

A slightly damaged sign that should read, "Yield Right of Way" in Wilton in front of the CUMH.

Looks like someone took a bite out of it. Are there large animals in Wilton?

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	13mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/100s

Sunlight in the city

Sunlight in the city

The sun hides behind the buildings and street furniture of Patrick’s Street in Cork.

Aperture	ƒ/18
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/640s

Thomas in his buggy

Thomas in his buggy

Thomas, a young boy in his buggy on Patrick’s Day this year. He’s well wrapped up against the cold.

I have no idea who he is, so hopefully his name is Thomas, and that’s not some famous brand I’m not aware of.

Aperture	ƒ/5
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/50s

Beware the giant duck!

Beware the giant duck!

If you come down to Blarney today you should watch out for the giant ducks, and if you sit on a bench look behind you, there’s a good chance a tree is reading over your shoulder.

Don’t get me started on the dastardly Parking signs!

Yes, walking around Blarney can be quite dangerous especially if you meet some of the little people. The leprechauns are out and about these days. If you go to kiss the Blarney Stone, you’re almost guaranteed to see them in the grounds of the castle. Unfortunately due to the high cost of living and the price of property, their crock of gold has been sadly depleted to the extent that they are forced to entertain tourists. ’tis a sad day!

Just remember, always look out for the giant ducks!

PS. on a more serious note, the August issue of Digital Journalist is out now!

PPS. Alex Shiels, who I work with at Automattic, has a photoblog called Flight Path hosted on WordPress.com. He’s done a nice job of making a photoblog theme out of the Sandbox css theme! He’s already posting photos from San Francisco. His latest shot, street level 2 is a dark foreboding image taken over there. I’ll have to start working on some of mine, but the last few days have been hectic. I don’t know how Alex managed it!

Aperture	ƒ/9
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/160s

The Elysian will be so wonderful

The Elysian will be so wonderful

If you’ve driven around Cork over the past year you can’t fail to miss the huge 17 storey tower going up in the south of the City. It’s called the Elysian and when it’s finished it will I think be the tallest building in the Republic of Ireland.

Now, compare that with the 60 storey skyscraper being built in San Francisco just a few blocks from Matt’s apartment. The top of it seems to be perpetually in fog.

Anyway, the Irish developers of the Elysian have all this positive advertising with people looking to heaven and wondrous slogans to get the positive vibe going about this massive building, when in fact it’s only a middling little building when compared with what the rest of the world has done.

Way back in 2005 this is what the building site looked like, and a year later, check out the huge crane.

I guess I’m glad that we don’t have the population density that makes huge buildings necessary, not yet anyway.

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/160s