Climbing to the top of Blarney Castle requires a climb up steep stairs that get narrower and smaller as you reach the top. It’s not for the faint hearted or claustrophobic!
-
Walking Patrick’s Bridge
Pictured walking along Patrick’s Bridge, Cork on Saturday evening. What really attracts me to this image, despite it’s obvious flaws, is the figure in the dead-centre. There’s light all around yet here’s a walking shadow.
-
Red Blarney Roses
While out with Matt this fine morning we walked over to Blarney Castle. Just inside the railings are some beautiful red roses. I just had to take advantage of the beautifulsunshine and snap off a few shots!
Photo was desaturated, and the red and yellow channels were restored afterwards to isolate the lovely colour of the flowers. -
Blarney Castle Gate Pillar
The current Blarney Castle was rebuilt after a major fire in 1446 and afterwards had an entrance gate different to that which is presently visible.
I was out for a walk a few days ago taking photos when I met two men in high-visibility jackets. They saw me with the camera and one of them stopped me and asked me if I knew about the nearby historical pillar.
In the 1600’s the river flowed in a different course past Blarney Castle. If it still flowed that way, it would go right under the Blarney Woollen Mills factory. He showed me a slight hump in the road which is all that remains of a bridge over that river!
This pillar which is hidden behind a stone wall was originally part of a gateway to Blarney Castle in the 1600s. I’m not certain if it was a river or a land entrance but it’s a shame that it’s now lying unused in a field. -
Trees and Lights
On a trip to our local shopping centre last night I noticed these lovely twinkly blue lights on the small trees outside. All I had to do was set the camera to aperture priority mode, set it to f/22 and wait for a carto come along!
-
Links Of The Day
- John Hooton – I went to the Mallow Camera Club on Monday night. John is one of the senior members there. His photos are very impressive!
- Photoblogs Discussion – want to get traffic to your blog and learn more about running your own photoblog? This is a good starting point.
- Colorize black and white photos – this works rather well. I tried it on yesterday’s image and all the houses were coloured in!
- You’re not allowed take photos in the Sistine Chapel, but some people have managed to evade security long enough to make a few images: Herman, Flickr set, Private Tour, Journeys
- Improve your Photography without using your Camera – examine other photographer’s images. Where did they get their light? (via)
- Homemade Bounce Flash Toys – I spent so much on my flash that I went and splurged on an over-priced bit of plastic to sit on top. Looks nicer than bubble wrap, but expensive.
- See Saw Magazine
- Pseudo Lith Prints on your PC
- Focus on Composition – nice ideas.
- Top ten tips for great photos – you’ll be able to say you’re really good when you know when to break these.
- Photo Articles
- small budget photography – yes, I’ve been collecting links for the last few weeks!
- Retouched Portfolio – another before and after gallery
- Flickr FS
- Cork Surf
- dpchallenge – great photos and a competition to push your skills.
- Nice processing effect to isolate your subject.
- Outback Workflow
- Some Artists – Irish artists and news.
- Photography is dead – seeing has never been believing. Photo manipulation has been around a lot longer than digital photography has. Interesting read however.
- Getting Digital Files Home Safely
- To Full-Frame or Not To Full Frame? – considering the price, I think I’ll be staying with my 20D for a few years!
- budigitalized – Budi has some great photos on his wordpress.com blog!
- Smooth Skin
- Winkflash Pricing – looks very reasonable. Anyone experience with them?
- Canon Forum
- Rob Galbraith Forums
- Ron Bigelow writes about photography – white balance, sharpening, composition and more. Good stuff!
- Photo Tips – really good, the article about passion made me ponder my own motives.
- Sports Illustrated Photo Canon 20D Settings
- Pixel Impact – nice photo blog, but suffering from some php errors right now.
- 25 more lessons I’ve learned
- Eclipse 2005
- Tips From The Top Floor – audio broadcasts of photography tips.
- Brenda Dada – nice photos
- Focus Pocus
-
Running around Eighteen Turns
We went down to Fota House a few weeks ago to see Eighteen Turns created by Daniel Libeskind. We weren’t as lucky as Ryan as there were parents with kids running and screaming around the piece all afternoon.
What better way to remember the day than the photo above eh? -
Boole woz ‘ere
George Boole, the inventor of boolean algebra lived in the last house on the right of this photo from 1849 to 1855.
I’m certain that most Cork people pass this house daily and haven’t a clue as to it’s previous occupant’s contribution to the world we live in today.
-
Kent Train Station
Kent Train Station in Cork is familiar to many travellers. It was built in the 1800s, and the Wikipedia article on it has some interesting background information.
I’m Texting (2006)
Bay Bridge Reflections (2007)
Towering over Cork City (2008)
Cold Morning Sunrise (2009)
Walsh BSC (2010)
Blarney in the Snow (2013)
Streets of Cork (2016)
Cobbles and Buildings (2018)
The Moon Rising (2019)
WAR HURTS US ALL (2021)
When the sun rises tomorrow… (2022)
Get away from my tail! (2023)
A bit of a devil (2025)