• Shih Tzu and the Ball

    Shih Tzu dogs love to play ball! We only found this out after a dog trainer came to the house and “ruffled his fur” a bit and in the process Oscar became a lot more relaxed.

    Now he adores playing ball and even one mention of, “where’s the ball?” and his tail wags and he looks up expectantly for the ball!

    This was a bit of an experiment. I’m not so sure how this will look on the web, but full screen the textures of the grass and his fur contrast nicely – rough, hard, and sharp versus soft and cloudy. Not your usual pet photo but why be boring and ordinary eh?

    Aperture ƒ/8
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 59mm
    ISO 100
    Shutter speed 1/160s
  • Mulley’s guest photobloggers

    Damien invited a number of Irish photobloggers to guest blog on mulley.net this week and their posts make for good reading. I’ve mentioned them all from time to time here so some may be familiar and all make for a good read.

    Wonderful photos, and great reading. Damien said he asked more than 5 photobloggers so I guess the series may go on until next week!

  • The groomed Shih Tzu

    Our pet Shih Tzu, Oscar, has been suffering under the unusual August weather. It’s actually quite warm, and his long coat is more useful for colder weather. So this morning we had him groomed and doesn’t he look cute?

    Aperture ƒ/7.1
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 200mm
    ISO 100
    Shutter speed 1/250s
  • Children on the merry-go-round

    Children smile and laugh as the fairground ride goes around and around! Linda and myself spent a good few minutes shooting this ride.

    I combined a long exposure and flash to capture the action and hoped to get a glimpse of a child’s smile. I think I was lucky to get this one!

    Aperture ƒ/7.1
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 100
    Shutter speed 1/25s
  • The importance of writing

    10) customers spend as much time reading the blurb that comes with the print as they do looking at the images – so make a point of supplying a ‘history’ with each image describing the circumstances and location, but don’t bother with technical details, that’s not what interests them – few care what lens you took it with or what f stop. They do care about how you found the image and where it was shot and any anecdotes you can tell about the circumstances really help.

    George Barr lists out some of the different types of customers an artist will come across and what they want. It’s a good list, and if you’re selling, you should read it.

    Anyway, I found myself nodding in agreement with the last point. Make sure you write something. Some people do like to interpret an image but more often than not they’ll want to know the backstory behind an image. I know I found myself looking for the small notes next to the exhibits in SF MOMA a few weeks ago, and hopefully visitors here will find the descriptions of my photos at least readable, and maybe interesting or enlightening!

  • Shadows on Powell St

    The shadow cast by a young man waiting to cross the street forms the main subject of this unusual image. Sort of messes with your head doesn’t it?

    Aperture ƒ/10
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 11mm
    ISO 100
    Shutter speed 1/160s
  • Expired Meter

    An expired meter I spotted while we waited for a table to become free in a restaurant in San Francisco a few blocks from Union Square.

    Photo has been "cross processed" using the Curves tool. I created an S curve on the red and green channels, and then applied a lomo plugin for good effect!

    Aperture ƒ/5.6
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 20mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/40s
  • BBQ at the Waterloo Inn

    Jimmy and Paul served the bbq to hungry parents, kids and everyone else at the charity bbq in the Waterloo Inn today. They spent over an hour dealing with flames and hot food at the end of a blisteringly hot day and really deserved the round of applause afterwards.
    Well done guys, and thanks to everyone who helped out! It was a great day!

  • Free postcard from QOOP

    QOOP are offering a free postcard “while stocks last” that can be sent anywhere in the world. It prints from your Flickr stream and it’s dead easy to do.

    What’s the catch? You need to sign up. For any company that’s well worth the minor cost of printing one postcard and mailing it. Still, free stuff is free stuff! (via)

  • Construction in the old warehouse

    This is the ground floor of the old warehouse on Father Mathew Quay in Cork. For years it lay rotting away, an eyesore just behind the South Mall, but it’s being developed now. I guess there are apartments going in there, but I recall seeing only tiny windows on the upper floors. Anyone know?

    Aperture ƒ/4
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 800
    Shutter speed 1/100s
  • Santa & Cole in Cork

    Santa came to Cork early this year, sort of. This metal work is from somewhere on the Grand Parade in Cork. It’s designed by the firm of Santa & Cole, obviously, and seems to be a perfect place for people to throw their litter unfortunately.

    Aperture ƒ/4
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/400s
  • Lysfoss heads into Cork

    A large cargo ship of the Lys Line company called "Lysfoss" makes it’s way into Cork while a small fishing boat is tied to the pier in Cobh.

    In the distance the harbour pilot can be seen heading for the small harbour in Cobh.

    It’s fascinating what comes up on Google:
    The Lysfoss went aground (pdf) in 2001. This page says a vessel of the same name was in dry dock and had repairs made on 2 separate occasions.
    The Lysfoss sailing schedule.

    Aperture ƒ/8
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/40s