• 45 on the Golden Gate

    The posted speed limit for the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco is 45mph but good luck to anyone who managed to reach that speed! Traffic crawled the day we were there and I suspect that’s the norm.

    Shot from the car as we drove along. Thanks Andy for driving that day!

    Aperture ƒ/8
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 20mm
    ISO 100
    Shutter speed 1/500s
  • Watching the fish underwater in Lanzarote

    A young boy watches fish swim past on a boat off the coast of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands. The boat’s staff threw food overboard for the fish while the passengers went below decks to watch from the observation windows. As it was the start of the season in May, the boat was nowhere near full and everyone got a good look at the marine life swimming past.

    This is the first picture I’ve posted from our honeymoon in Lanzarote last year. I took so many photos it’s daunting to look through them and pick out the ones I want to publish.

    Aperture ƒ/2.8
    Camera DMC-FZ5
    Focal length 6mm
    ISO 80
    Shutter speed 1/50s
  • A motorbike’s shadow

    A motorbike sits half in shadow creating an almost monochrome image. It was parked on a hill in San Francisco last year.

    This is actually a moped, and I found much more on the subject on the Wikipedia page on Mopeds.

    Aperture ƒ/8
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 100
    Shutter speed 1/250s
  • Looking up at Union Square

    A festival or competition was being held on the beautiful August day we wandered through Union Square, San Francisco. It provided ample inspiration for photos although we didn’t linger long because we wanted to see more of the city.

    The statue pictured is in the center of the Square and, “commemorates Admiral Dewey’s Spanish-American War victory at Manila Bay.” Here’s more and more on Union Square and the history behind it.

    Department stores, Fifth Avenue and Tiffany & Co can be clearly seen in the background, it’s the center of the shopping world in San Francisco!

    Aperture ƒ/11
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/320s
  • San Francisco Tourists

    Tourists stopped on the sidewalk off Union Square in San Francisco last summer. Despite the city’s reputation for fog the day was sunny and clear.

    I had a great time doing some street photography of course!

    Aperture ƒ/10
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/200s
  • Tips for photographing your baby

    There’s only a few days left to go before the due date so this post by Michelle Jones is timely. She points at this 3 part series on baby photography by Amber Holritz. Here’s part 2 and part 3.

    An image of a child can and should serve the following purposes:
    1. Appropriate likeness of the child
    2. Artistic rendering
    3. Historical documentation for future generations

    An image of a child would ideally show:
    1. Emotional connection
    2. Scale
    3. Reality

    Great posts on the process of getting to know the family, the different shoots, and building a relationship for future business.

    Further reading:

    1. Photography Tips for Mom #2 – “The Sleep Newborn” describes photographing babies less than 10 days old. At that age they sleep a lot and Me Ra has some special shots. More in the tips for moms category.
    2. Photographing Babies by Digital Photography School is of course an excellent read.
    3. Finally, tips for submitting great photos to baby contents has a couple of good ideas for the competitive among you.
  • Blue skies contrail and clouds

    A wall of the Beamish and Crawford Brewery blocks the sun in this shot taken on South Main Street, Cork.

    Blue skies are great for sun worshippers but photographers don’t like them. It’s always better to have some cloud or interest in the sky. The fluffier and more solid the better, as long as some blue sky can be seen.

    Aperture ƒ/14
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/400s
  • Daisies in the ruins

    Boarded up windows, grey walls, overgrown vegetation. It can only be an Irish hospital right?

    This is the final picture in my Old Hospital series.

    Beautiful – Lough Gill, 2

    Aperture ƒ/7.1
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 18mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/125s
  • Letters only

    The post box at Garretstown, Co. Cork pictured last year but in pretty much the same condition yesterday when we drove past on the way home. I love the worn texture of the paint!

    I like this: Headphoneland

    Aperture ƒ/10
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/250s
  • Daisy drops of rain

    Rain drops show on the white petals of a daisy that struggles amid the ruins of an old hospital building.

    I wonder if that building is still there? I’ll have to go look someday.

    Aperture ƒ/6.3
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 200mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/125s
  • Doorway into the gloom

    Taken almost a year ago, this doorway leads into an old building on the grounds of a hospital in Cork. A cherry blossom can be seen blooming outside contrasting with the gloom and ruin of the interior.

    While on the hospital theme, I wrote up our experiences at the new Cork University Maternity Hospital yesterday. They have major problems there and most of them can be traced back to under staffing of the facility.

    This photo was made from two exposures. I didn’t use a tripod, instead placing the camera on a chair to avoid any shakes. I quickly bracketed a few shots and merged them together later in the GIMP.

    Aperture ƒ/3.5
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 18mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/30s
  • Father and son in the square

    A father and his offspring walk about after the parade on St. Patrick’s Day in Cork this year. Normally this is a busy junction but it was closed off for a few hours to make way for the festivities.

    Patrick’s Street can be seen in the background with the statue of Fr. Mathew rising into the air.

    Aperture ƒ/4
    Camera Canon EOS 20D
    Focal length 10mm
    ISO 200
    Shutter speed 1/500s