Three Gatecrashing Guys

Three members of the audience at Stanley Super 800’s recording of the music video, Gatecrashing at Caroline St. Cork on Sunday.

Aperture ƒ/5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 15mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/60s

Stanley Super 800 Gatecrashing Again

Stanley Super 800 playing in the old Tramway power station in Caroline St. Cork on Sunday.

More photos here!

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/30s

Stanley Super 800 Gatecrashing

Where does the weekend go? Last weekend was "getting the baby stuff together" weekend, but it was also buy another UPS time too as Blarney was hit by another couple of power cuts. It was also Ken‘s stag and I was simply too tired to go out on Saturday night so I missed all the fun in the Indian Palace and the pub afterwards. Sorry about that!
Sunday morning was more of the same – work some photos for the blog, build a chest of drawers. Who knew preparing for a baby would be so much work?

Anyway, come 4pm Sunday afternoon I was in the old tram power station on Caroline Street to watch Cork band Stanley Super 800 record their new video "Gatecrashing". Over the next few days I’ll post a few photos from the 2 hour session.

Stanley Super 800 Gatecrashing

The video was filmed in front of an audience dancing and shouting and having a great time. Although they look relaxed in this shot don’t be fooled. They’re a bunch of mad folk who gave it their all and had a great time to boot!

Sorry for the poor quality of the photo. The room was full of artificial smoke and the autofocus was fooled by it. Liberal use of unsharp mask helped and I am so glad I brought my wide angle lens!

Truely they were the stars of the show!

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/30s

Drag the child shopping

A mother drags her reluctant offspring up the main street in Killarney in early February. She was in a hurry but he didn’t want to be rushed.
Mom won the battle!

PS. today is Daffodil Day, I’ve made a theme header you can use on your blog if you want to spread the word about cancer research and the importance of their fund raising events.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/160s

A tour of Cork University Hospital

A few days ago my wife Jacinta and I were invited to tour the new maternity wing of Cork University Hospital. It’s due to open officially on March 24, only a few days away now!

I asked the very pleasant security guard if I could take any photos but he said that I needed permission to shoot. Perhaps if I had time but the tour was about to start so I made do with remembering as much of it as possible.

I’ll update this post with details of the tour over the next few hours. We were really impressed, but they didn’t plan a few areas of the hospital properly, which is going to bite them in years to come.

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

Shadows of prison and freedom

A crow flies off into the freedom of the air with a crumb of bread he found on the pavement. The railings of nearby houses are like those of a prison keeping humans in and trapped and closed off.

Who is free?

Aperture ƒ/10
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/200s

The eyes in the bus

A child looking out the back window of a bus.

Weird colours and look due to some experimenting with new plugins. Way overblown I know but I gotta have some fun sometimes!

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/100s

Patrick’s Day in pictures

Revelers who were obviously having a great time at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cork!

Patrick's Day in pictures

Big and crazy hats were the order of the day for many visitors and spectators

Patrick's Day in pictures

Crowd Safety officials had their hands full with the large crowd at the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Cork. I think they’re worried.

Patrick's Day in pictures

A carousel in Emmet’s Place attracted parents and kids and did a roaring business after the short St. Patrick’s Day parade in Cork. Each time themachine came to a halt parents and children alike both rushed up to grab their places!

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

Trad Irish Music Gig at an Spailpin Fanach

Dancing and music went on for several hours in An Spailpin Fanach on Wednesday night to raise funds for charity.

My brother Donal and his girlfriend Celine are off to Lesotho in April for 10 days with the ISPCC. You can read more about it on ispccinafrica.com.

Continue reading “Trad Irish Music Gig at an Spailpin Fanach”

Aperture ƒ/5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 40mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/60s

The Importance of Being Earnest

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I decided to take in a bit of culture and go see “The Importance of Being Earnest” performed by Chattyboo Productions at Cork Arts Theatre. Frank Prendergast has a leading role in the play and he blogged about it a few days ago, but I didn’t know anything about Oscar Wilde. I expected a stuffy Victorian period drama along the lines of many popular movies I’ve seen. Little did I know the comedic gem that was lying in wait.

I won’t give anything away about the story, except to say that it has a perfect mix of love, humour, twists and scoundrels. We spent the whole time either laughing or engrossed in the twists and characters of the plot.

Unfortunately the play finishes on Saturday so you only have a few more days to enjoy this wonderful experience! Check out Frank’s post for an audio clip, and go book your tickets by ringing the Cork Arts Theatre at 021-4505624.

Lots more photos after the jump…

Continue reading “The Importance of Being Earnest”

Aperture ƒ/3.2
Camera DMC-FZ5
Focal length 12mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/30s

The Black Surfer

A surfer rides the waves at Garretstown in early January this year. I’m not sure how many were out there but we talked to one wet and cold looking one when he came out of the water and he told us they had been there for a few hours.

The heavens opened and rain fell shortly after. Only the surfers were left out in the open.

Donal has a good post about exposure. Donal, you should read Understanding Exposure: How to Shoot Great Photographs with a Film or Digital Camera by Bryan Peterson. I’ll lend you my copy if you want. It’s a great read.

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 200mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/125s

Ireland V England at Croke Park

Ireland played England in rugby at Croke Park yesterday, and Ireland won, 43 points to 13!

This was an historic occasion. Landsowne Road, where rugby and soccer matches are normally played is being renovated. Croke Park is the headquarters of the GAA, the native Irish sports of football and hurling. Playing “foreign sports” there was like someone desecrating holy ground. Not that that stopped American football being played there a few years ago. I guess some sports are more foreign than others. It literally took years for this to happen. I kid you not. Year after year, the issue of “foreign sports” came up at GAA meetings and it was only recently they allowed them in. Bravo!

Anyway, to pile insult upon injury, the first second rugby game there would be Ireland vs England. Republican supporters were up in arms during the week. “800 years!” “Bloody Sunday!” “1916!” “Black and Tans!” Imagine, “God Save The Queen” would be played in Croke Park? It’s hard to fathom but it’s all over now.

This is the closest I got to the match. We were in town, I wandered around a bit with my camera before heading home and watched a DVD, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. What a wacky film. I loved it! Yes, I don’t have much of an interest in sport.

Aperture ƒ/4.5
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/250s