I was there too
Tourists on a ferry pass by the fog shrouded Golden Gate Bridge
in San Francisco Bay.
The day was beautiful out near Alcatraz but fog covered the upper reaches of the bridge and I thought would make a pleasing shot.
PS. I’m not finished with photos from 2006 by a long shot!
| Aperture | ƒ/13 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 200mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/800s |
A small girl walks mournfully into the shopping center on Paul Street clutching her “BT Kids” balloon, probably handed to her by this lady.
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 162mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
A charity collector stops to watch street entertainers on Patrick’s Street last October. The orange and red costume stands out just a little bit next to the dark clothing of those around him.
I almost jumped with glee when I saw this scene in front of me but the image itself paled when viewed later. The background buildings were too sharp so using layers and a layer mask I blurred the background and cropped the image a little.
Black and White Photography magazine has two articles on street photography this month.
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/640s |
Chris Garrett speculates that the Canon 6D will be announced in February. Time will tell, but what extra features will it have and will they be worth the premium a camera demands?
If I didn’t have a good collection of APS-C lenses already I might be tempted to go out and buy a Canon 5D, especially if it’s being discounted. Tempted if I had wads of cash falling out of my pockets that is and not budgeting for a new arrival in April! “But honey, I really want to take the best possible pictures of our baby!” Has that ever worked?
Whatever happens, I’m sure I’ll be lusting after a new camera before long.
Have you seen the price reductions on the Canon 5D lately? This is usually a good signal that a replacement is coming. All the hot news of late has been in the APS-C area, suspiciously quiet if you ask me. You could say that would mean a new flagship is required but if I was Canon I would announce a 1D beating 6D, then top it with a new top end pro unit. The other way round makes less sense to me.
The new Bibble Labs 4.9.5 is out with support for new cameras and six plugins! I purchased Bibble 4.9 a few months ago so i must download the upgrade shortly and give it a spin.
Among the free plugins included in this update are Andy, a Black & White Film Simulation tool that instantly creates stunning black and white conversions by simulating the look of many traditional film and paper combinations, Gina for Skin Tone Correction that can quickly and beautifully reveal more natural skin tones, and Roy for Color Adjustment to deepen the blue in skies or to make other color-based adjustments. Other plugins included can be be used for selective saturation enhancement, multi-zone exposure adjustment and novel image toning.
Traffic along the Mallow Road hurries past on a cold and foggy December night. This was taken from the bridge near Rathpeacon and Killeens.
The bridge itself as you can see from the map above is much wider than the one in this picture but I wasn’t going to stand in the middle of a dark road at risk of being knocked over for my art. At least not this time anyway!
Traffic from the right is coming from Cork, while traffic from the left is coming from the direction of Mallow or Blarney.
PS. Nominations for the Irish Blog Awards are now open. There are several categories and you can nominate your favourite Irish blog in whichever one fits. In Photos won Best Photoblog last year but this is the only time I’ll mention the awards here unlike last year when I did the dog on it a bit! (Not that I wouldn’t mind winning again of course!)
I like these: Snow Squalls! and Palm House – I wish more photoblog software understood trackbacks and pings. It’s hard to start a conversation with them.
A dog, a tree and a park bench in the Lee Fields, Cork.
I took Oscar, our shitzu, for a short walk at the Lee Fields a while back and made this image during what was a fairly uneventful walk. Neither of us was in the mood for a walk but we had time to kill.
| Aperture | ƒ/10 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
Studs on the ground lead down to the traffic lights on the South Mall, Cork.
In this long exposure shot a couple of cars passed by providing a nice light trail in the background. The twinkling of the street lighting is from the narrow aperture. Setting the aperture as small as possible is definitely the best thing you can do when making long exposure shots at night.
This was taken while out with Mallow Camera Club last December. More to come from that night too!
| Aperture | ƒ/16 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 10s |
A witch hands out balloons to young kids outside Brown Thomas on a late October Saturday.
Just out of frame of this shot is a woman who has asked for a balloon. The witch explains that the balloons are just for the kids.. I wonder why? More on this later.
| Aperture | ƒ/5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 48mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
Mark Hancock asks of his editor, “Do we run pretty pictures?” It’s not something your average photographer has to deal with but when you work for a newspaper as a photojournalist it is a consideration.
Where would I be if I couldn’t shoot pretty pictures? What would you do? Do you really hanker after that photography job now? Do you really want to give up that desk job and go shoot portraits and news items?
What is your raison d’etre for being a photographer? Mine is that it is a very enjoyable hobby. Why ruin it by pressure and deadlines?
A child is carried atop his parent’s shoulders on St. Patrick’s Street, Cork a few weeks ago.
I really like this shot, for what reason, I’m not sure. Maybe it’s the brightness and flowery design of the clothing worn by parent and child compared to the passers by. I’m sure both parent and child are in a happy place wandering around town.
“Here’s Health” and a sign advertising the Mutton Lane Inn can be seen in the background.
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/400s |
