Antennas in the sky like sentinels

Antennas reach to the sky above San Francisco. I’m not sure of the name of this hill, or how to get there again! Niall showed myself and Mark around up there before heading down by the Bay Bridge, grabbing a bite to eat in a local restaurant and finally ending up at the post-WordCamp bash with the rest of Automattic and everyone else!

Aperture ƒ/13
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/320s

The Collins Bookshop

If you walk past this area now, the Amacas Restaurant is in this building on Paul Street, Cork. At the time the building was empty, having been vacated by the Gingerbread House a few weeks previously.
This sign is now gone too, but Collins Bookshop on Carey’s Lane is still there, I think. There’s a fancy glass partition in front of the building now where smokers can sup their coffee and eat their food. A far cry from the previous occupant’s dining arrangements.

I’m a sucker for old and weather beaten signs, street furniture and general rusted implements so I had to get a shot of this while walking past.

Aperture ƒ/5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/200s

San Francisco Tram

A tram waits for tourists a few blocks from Union Square in San Francisco. It’s a popular attraction. There was a long line of people waiting to board just behind me!

Technique – I used a blurred layer with a layer mask and circular gradients to create the blurred background. Black and white conversion with colour mixer.

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/60s

The Atlantic Manor Hotel Demolished

The Atlantic Manor Hotel stood for many a year at Garrettstown in Co. Cork and is even still listed on a travel website but it is gone now. Ryan visited there a while back and took some great interior shots of the decaying ruins before they disappeared. Check out his Flickr album too.

A JCB operator was clearing up some of the rubble when we happened to drive past last year and as luck would have it, I only had my wide angle lens so I was limited in what I could shoot unfortunately. It does force you to learn a new discipline and work with what you have though.

We drove past there recently and all that remains is barren wasteland. People still have their memories.

Jacinta and Adam are possibly coming home today. I’m very happy (and tired!)


Apertureƒ/13
CameraCanon EOS 20D
Focal length10mm
ISO200
Shutter speed1/320s

Stop for four

The light says stop so we stop. A junction in downtown San Francisco as we walked about town. I just realised the vehicle in the picture is parked awfully close to the corner. There isn’t any driver staring madly at the camera. Hope he didn’t get a ticket. That’s Banana Republic across the street and what looks like Rinelli?

Off to the hospital again in a short while. Unlike the beautiful blue sky in this photo it’s overcast outside, but I’ll be in a hospital room for most of the day so it doesn’t matter..

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/640s

No Entry to Tuckey Street

Tuckey Street is a one way street that joins The Grand Parade with South Main Street in Cork. In typical Irish fashion, the one-way has been reversed over the last few years and anyway, the road works on The Grand Parade make getting onto the street a bit more difficult at the moment.

Nothing left to say, I’m off to the hospital again shortly. Hopefully Jacinta and Adam will be left out tomorrow. I’ve already registered Adam‘s domain name for the next couple of years!

Does anyone know how to get namecheap’s DNS to not redirect to the www hostname? I prefer nowww urls but it doesn’t seem possible. On the “@” line, entering the IP address of the server as an ANAME record simply causes a URL redirect to the IP. At least I have two servers now so maybe it’s about time I host my own DNS.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/3200s

The Color Kids

Two kids running along Cornmarket Street last August had a great time. I don’t think they were being chased by anyone so it was pure innocent fun!

Heading into the hospital again shortly. In between taking care of Adam with Jacinta I watched Kill Bill 2 on the Macbook which has become a glorified DVD player. I’m tempted to copy over some of my WP projects so my brain doesn’t turn to mush. I have three ideas for different plugins I’m trying to find time to code.

Aperture ƒ/7.1
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/200s

The Art of Negotiation

A group of boys discuss the day’s market in Midleton at the Food and Drink Fair there last September.

I’m off to the hospital again. I came home for a few hours sleep. Strong coffee day today methinks and no sign of baby just yet. Don’t even contemplate ringing me unless you’re family. The phone won’t be picked up.

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/320s

Mother and baby on the street

A mother and her baby stroll along St. Patrick’s Street Cork. This was taken last September in beautiful Autumn weather.

This morning started with a bang when Jacinta woke me at 5am because an ear infection was bothering her so much. We went to South Doc who were absolutely useless and sent us to the Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) where we spent over two hours waiting to be seen by a doctor – the doctor who showed up explained that it was the worst time of the day to show up as they’re doing their morning rounds. We finally got a prescription from him. More fun at the CUMH!

This evening we’ll go to the maternity hospital again where Jacinta will begin the induction process. We’re both hoping it won’t be long and drawn out but it’s very likely that we’ll be parents at some stage tomorrow.

Thanks to all who have been in touch, I’m going to be busy texting after the birth!

Aperture ƒ/4.5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/1250s

Expectation

Car drivers rev their engines in anticipation of the lights changing at a busy junction.

This is the junction of Bridge Street, Patrick’s Quay, and Patrick’s Bridge in Cork. This photo was taken from the far left of Yellow Boxes. Patrick’s Hill is visible in background as you follow the road up the incline.

Bloody dangerous junction too. Very busy one.

No sign of baby yet, I guess it’ll be tomorrow. Stand by your Twitter for updates!

Aperture ƒ/13
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/320s

Co. Cork Cemetery

A graveyard in Co. Cork attracted my attention last summer while walking with Oscar down a small road. I didn’t go in but I got a few nice shots from over the cemetery gate.

This is a the result of sandwiching two versions of this image together. One is overexposed and the other underexposed. It’s difficult to get the bits around the trees right but I think I did a pretty good job!

Aperture ƒ/11
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/320s

Kilbrittain 6 miles

A sign points to Kilbrittain in Co. Cork near the beach at Garrettstown.

Has it been 2 years already Ryan? My Flickr account expires in February 2008 so I have a bit more time on my hands. It’s been well worth it however!

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