These tall evergreens planted in front of a set of small houses in Oracle were almost gone before I saw them. The scene looked bizarre. Tall trees, tiny houses. I wonder who lives in them? Here it is on Google Maps. Try the Street View, you’ll see two cars pulled up in front of the…

Sears Tower is one of the famous landmarks of Chicago I photographed while in the city. Remarkably, despite the months I spent in the city, I never actually went to the top of the building. I almost did once, but turned back for some reason. Could have been the long line to get past security….

Bantry town is built on the hills surrounding a natural harbour so it’s a hard slog with a buggy if you want to go anywhere. Shot this from the road overlooking a few houses. You can see the local hospital in the background too I think. Hope everyone at WordCamp in San Francisco has a…

A public walkway over the railway tracks in Cobh, Co. Cork. Walking down by the quay in Cobh is a nice relaxing way of spending an evening, at least before it gets dark. Despite the presence of the nautically shaped Garda station close by it’s a bit too secluded and remote for my tastes. I…

Kimball, a station on the L in Chicago. This was a station I used every day when I lived in Chicago a few years ago. I had to ride the brown line one more time when I visited the city in 2005. I had hoped to work on some shots of today’s trip to Kinsale…

The National Monument, Grand Parade Cork was erected in 1906 to commemorate those who died in uprisings against the British in 1867 and 1798. It’s one of the few parts of the Grand Parade that hasn’t changed much despite all the redevelopment of the city.

Marina City in Chicago is made up of two 65 storey towers with a distinctive circular shape. I just love the look of them actually. They’re right on the river but this shot is taken from the L, probably on the Brown line after leaving Kimball which will be tomorrow’s photo! As usual the Wikipedia…

Pobal ar Aire. Community on Alert. This is (was?) a scheme designed to help neighbourhoods help themselves by volunteering to keep an eye out for trouble makers or lawlessness. The local police are then informed. It seems to work well, these signs are dotted all around the country, but in Bantry it looks like they’re…

A corner shop in the English Market has a simple but effective way of shutting up shop for the day. Put a broom stick across the entrance! The English Market is completely roofed over and locked tight at night so I guess traders feel reasonably safe with minimal security precautions. That’s what’s wonderful about the…

Both Phil and Geraldine listed this blog in their “Arte y Pico” award list which gave me a warm glow because (other than the River Lee photos earlier in the week) comments have been far and few between here for quite a while. Unfortunately I’m going to break the chain and not link to the…

The River Lee in Cork shot from the Nano Nagle Bridge (erected in 1985 to commemorate Cork’s 800th birthday). Far off in the distance is Holy Trinity Church as well as Parliament Bridge. That ugly building on the right is where the IDA have their offices. What an eye sore. Another version of this shot…

Trolleys outside Quinnsworth Tesco in Douglas last weekend. There’s such manic building going on in Douglas right now it’s a nightmare for any driver trying to get around the place. Hopefully it won’t last too much longer but they seemed to be digging up the carpark there for ages. Now it’s on to the road…