The sun lit up the clouds over Valencia in Spain one evening as rush hour continued.
| Aperture | ƒ/14 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 35mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1s |
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Wait For Green
ESPERE VERDE! Wait green! On a street in Valencia I saw the white bars of the pedestrian crossing, a “safe zone” to cross the road for pedestrians. Then I noticed the person crossing the road, their clothes neatly matched the bars of paint.
Aperture ƒ/2.8 Camera ILCE-7M3 Focal length 24mm ISO 100 Shutter speed 1/1000s -
Frozen in motion
I was out walking in Valencia and spotted a cyclist headed in my direction at speed. That’s not so uncommon, but he was cycling really fast through the area.
He caught my attention, I photographed him. High ISO FTW!
Aperture ƒ/2.8 Camera ILCE-7M3 Focal length 24mm ISO 12800 Shutter speed 1/320s -
The Blue Lagoon in Iceland
In March 2012, I visited Iceland with my team from work and for our activity day we went to the Blue Lagoon for a swim. It was March and, as illustrated by the photos above, snow blanketed the ground, and it was freezing! The water was lovely and warm, and you’d be fine as long as you kept as much of your body in the water as possible!
I’m revisiting this trip today because of the concerning news from Iceland. There have been numerous earthquakes, and magma is building up, only 800m underground and very close to the Blue Lagoon and the Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant. The ground has risen by 8cm because the magma is pushing it up. The nearby town of Grindavik has been evacuated as a fissure runs through it. Earthquakes have already caused serious structural damage to buildings there.
Data shows the “magma tunnel is significant, and it is approaching the surface” according to this video. The tunnel is about 15km long. It seems likely there will be an eruption very soon.
Edit on December 19th: it finally erupted. You can see it on this live cam. This video shows the vantage point from a helicopter. The erupting fissure is 3.5km long!
Aperture ƒ/9 Camera Canon EOS 40D Focal length 18mm ISO 100 Shutter speed 1/200s -
The Gorilla in Valencia
A Western lowland gorilla from the Republic of the Congo sits on the ground outside a viewing area where humans gaze at him.
He lives in the Bioparc in Valencia, Spain, and I think his name is Mambie. He was born in 1991 and is a beautiful animal, but when we were there, he charged and rammed into the glass windows twice. The Wikipedia page for these gorillas describes that behaviour as stereotypic behaviour, or abnormal or compulsive behaviour. It’s easy to imagine that he’s not happy there, but he is hand reared, as he was born in a zoo. This life is all he knows. These animals are endangered, and there’s a population of 500 living in zoos worldwide.
I was sad to see him in captivity. Valencia Bioparc is small, compared to wildlife parks like Fota in Co Cork, but the larger animals had room to roam about. At least, as much room as a 10 hectare site will allow.
It is definitely worth going to visit if you’re in the city. Just don’t eat in the overpriced restaurant.
Aperture ƒ/3.5 Camera ILCE-7M3 Focal length 24mm ISO 1000 Shutter speed 1/60s -
A stag and his grass
A stag buries his head in grass, to decorate his antlers and make himself more attractive to female deer.
Killarney National Park, October 2023.
Aperture ƒ/6.3 Camera ILCE-7M3 Focal length 514.7mm ISO 1250 Shutter speed 1/500s -
The Caminito del Rey Bridge
If you do the Caminito del Rey hike, you’ll come across this bridge at the end of your journey. The old bridge isn’t used any more as a modern suspension bridge has been built right next to it.
It’s still quite a sight as you walk over it and definitely not somewhere to go if you have a fear of heights.
Aperture ƒ/7.1 Camera ILCE-7M3 Focal length 23mm ISO 125 Shutter speed 1/160s -
it’s in here somewhere
“Well, it is in here somewhere. I’ll find it eventually.”
“Oh sure, you forgot it, didn’t you?”
“Give her a chance. It probably fell between the seats.”
“OK, GOT IT!”Aperture ƒ/2.8 Camera ILCE-7M3 Focal length 24mm ISO 160 Shutter speed 1/500s -
Have a seat on the bridge
In Valencia, Spain, they rerouted a river that ran through the city, making a very long park through the city. The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias, the science museum, is behind me, nestled in the space the river once took, while in front is the Pont l’Assut de l’Or. It’s a beautiful bridge spanning the gap over the old river.
In the background is the Caixa Forum, and further on, out of view is the Museu Oceanogràfic, the fabulous aquarium in the city.
All along the old river run paths and play fields, grassy areas, trees, and benches for sitting on. It’s a wonderful place to visit if you’re in the city. Bikes can be hired too, but I found it stressful because there were so many people around. Getting the bus is easier.
The photo above was shot before sunrise, when the only people around were joggers and people working in the local area. Lovely and quiet!
Unfortunately, there’s a bin at the end of every bench. Not much I could do about it. I wanted to remove it in Photoshop, but I appear to have this bug where no tools work. Uninstalling and reinstalling did not help. 🙁
Aperture ƒ/10 Camera ILCE-7M3 Focal length 16mm ISO 400 Shutter speed 2.5s
Oz Haven, Co. Cork (2006)
The couch on the street (2007)
Emerald House B&B (2008)
Good food causes cancer (2009)
Streets of Cork (2016)
Temple Hall (2017)
Kite Surfer at Garrettstown (2018)
Egg Delivery (2019)
A Swan by Ross Castle (2021)
Fluttering Flag (2022)
Out of this world (2023)
