Pigeons resting on the “Home energy upgrade office” in front of Bishop Lucey Park in Cork.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 75mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/3200s |
Chicago Apple Store
An Apple Store in Chicago, in 2003. I wandered in here while I was in the city, curious about what it would look like, as I didn’t use any Apple products at the time.
Check out those CRTs at the back of the second photo!
| Aperture | ƒ/2.2 |
| Camera | CYBERSHOT |
| Focal length | 9.7mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
If I must die, let it bring hope
Those are the words of a Palestinian poet killed by an airstrike in Gaza. I saw them printed on a small white kite on the Palestinian flag carried by a man at the pro-Palestinian rally in Cork today. The rally was organised by the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Last week another poet, Refaat Alareer, was killed by an airstrike. Alareer was a professor of English literature at the Islamic University of Gaza, where he taught Shakespeare, among other subjects. One of his latest works widely shared, again on X, concludes with the words: “If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale.”
The Guardian, 12th December 2023.
The rally today was the biggest I’ve seen so far, and The Echo Live estimated about 1,000 people took part.
| Aperture | ƒ/7.1 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 75mm |
| ISO | 1600 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
So many steps
The city of Lisbon is infamous for its hills, and the Escadinhas Damasceno Monteiro is a fine example. It is down the street from where we were staying. It’s got lots of steps. So many steps.
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 160 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
Still Water and Blue Sky
One afternoon while we were in Valencia we visited the Museu de les Ciències Príncipe Felipe on hire bikes. There were huge crowds there, taking selfies and hanging around, but with a long 20-second exposure they all (mostly) disappear into a blur. In the photo above you’ll also see the Pont l’Assut de l’Or bridge and CaixaForum in the background and, of course, the clear blue sky.
| Aperture | ƒ/14 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 16mm |
| ISO | 50 |
| Shutter speed | 20s |
Let’s have a ceasefire now
What good has it done to kill over 28,000 people in Gaza? Hamas must free those hostages, it’s not like their presence is stopping the Israeli army from reducing the country to rubble. Let’s have a ceasefire now. This struggle has only caused misery, suffering and hate on both sides.
In 2006, Israel stopped an attack after 37 children were killed. Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper with that headline. I happened to photograph it on the streets of that city in late July that year. They’re not stopping now, are they?
Some listening:
Edit a few days later, one more about Israeli attacks on an overpopulated Rafah on the Egyptian border:
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
It’s for me’o!
It’s still cold, but following up on my recent photo outside a gelato shop, here’s another one, on the corner of Patrick’s Street and Winthrop Street in Cork.
I love ice cream too, but maybe not enough to eat it on a cold wintery day, outside!
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 500 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
A crack of sunlight
There was almost complete cloud cover the other night over Cork as we attempted to photograph the setting sun behind St. Anne’s Church, or Shandon Bells, as it’s known locally.
A few minutes before the official sunset, the horizon caught on fire and briefly lit up. It didn’t last long, and the transition between daylight and night just meant the sky got darker and the air colder around us.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 117mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/15s |
Stars on the North Side
Cathedral Road was busy on yesterday evening and can be seen as light streaks in this five second exposure of the Cathedral of St Mary & St Anne, or North Cathedral. The Church of the Ascension is seen at the top of the image, with its distinctive red cross glowing in the dark.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 152mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 5s |
Listen to the radio
A man sits at one of the tables outside Gino’s Gelato listening to the radio. It was a cold day, and he was dressed for the weather, as were the people nearby. That ice-cream shop was still selling delicious treats to customers!
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 640 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1500s |
Alexandre III Bridge at Night
The Alexandre III Bridge in Paris was a beautiful sight to see. Unfortunately, there were road works on the bridge and traffic was busy, so you had to be careful where you went. A large group of Japanese tourists spent an age taking photos with the bridge in the background. They even had lights on a stand. It was quite a set-up.
| Aperture | ƒ/16 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 32mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 2s |
A man and the R&H Hall
As we were photographing the R&H Hall building the other morning, Henry spotted a boat, the Simon Princess, sailing towards us. I thought the boat might pull in on the other side of the river, but no, it stopped just a few metres away.
As it passed slowly, I caught a nice photo of one of the crew looking out, with the R&H Hall building providing a nice background. A photo that will be impossible to replicate in 6 months time.
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 85mm |
| ISO | 5000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/400s |