I was there too
Mommy Cat, the oldest of our cats passed away yesterday at somewhere around the age of 17. We’re not sure, because she adopted us around 15 years ago. We are sure that she was roaming the estate for some time before that.
She had lovely kittens, but only one is left now, Hoppy, who is in the centre of the image here.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 10 |
| Shutter speed | 1/340s |
I walked out my front door last night and spotted a fiery sunset behind the houses across the road. The colour slowly changed over the next ten minutes as the sun sunk further and further beyond the horizon.
I took 151 photos of the sky that night, most of them taken with me waggling my camera back and forth to capture some sweet ICM.
This was shot at f/13 so there were plenty of dust spots to heal. Luckily you can copy heals from one photo to another and if they’re the AI kind, Lightroom Classic will calculate the best way to heal each time.
| Aperture | ƒ/13 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 240mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/2.5s |
WordPress 6.2 comes out at the end of the month, so make sure your plugins and themes are ready for it by running the latest release candidate (currently RC2) on a test server!
Tick, tock. Time’s running out! If you don’t test it, the Wapuu will be very disappointed!
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 44mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
Diego, our tiny Chihuahua, gazes up at me with his soulful eyes, his tiny tail wagging excitedly. It’s clear that he’s eager for his daily walk, a time when he can explore the world and take in all the scents and sounds around him. Despite his diminutive size, Diego is a ball of energy and enthusiasm, always ready for a new adventure.
His favourite word? Walkies! In his excitement, when he heard that word, he runs for a toy to play with it with me!
His second favourite word? That would be “treat”. Of course. He loves his treats.
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 50mm |
| ISO | 40000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
Some photos are special, not because they’re wonderful photos, composed well, with striking colours or lovely contrast. The best photos are the ones that make your heart sing.
The cat on the left who is looking at me is Mommy Cat, the matriarch of all the cats we’ve adopted in this home of ours. The one annoying her is her son, Patches. There’s a whole series of photos here with Mommy Cat looking at me while her tail swishes up and way from Patches’ paws.
The photos were taken in 2009. They’re not great. They are a bit blurry because the exposure wasn’t fast enough for a long lens. Thanks to the modern AI tech in Topaz Photo AI I was able to sharpen it a little and present it here.
Mommy Cat is still with us. She’s an elderly cat now. Her fur was very matted on her back but in the past 2 years she has started sleeping in the kitchen. We managed to get her to the vet on Thursday, her first visit since being neutered, and they shaved her, and removed two bad molars. Only her head, her paws, and the end of her tail have any fur. But, SHE IS STRONG. She has a massive appetite. She’s on pain relief and antibiotics. She is a lot more agile than before, as the matted fur isn’t pulling at her. She is curled up on a couch now, where she couldn’t jump before, with one of the dog’s blankets on her.
So, I wanted to share a photo of Mommy Cat today, #Caturday. She is amazing.
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 300mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
A little robin looks off to the left in the grounds of Blarney Castle last November. They’re a friendly bird.
If you want more, take a look at the fabulous robin photos that BathNature is posting and follow them!
I think my Blarney Castle membership expires today. I’m uncertain if I’ll renew it as it’s expensive, and I barely used it at all in the past 12 months.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 240mm |
| ISO | 10000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
An old photo of Diego from a few years back when he was dressed up as Santa. He’s used to wearing coats and I think he looks adorable in this one!
| Aperture | ƒ/1.8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 6D |
| Focal length | 50mm |
| ISO | 1600 |
| Shutter speed | 1/50s |
Twelve years ago today, it had snowed heavily in Blarney. I took Oscar out for a walk that morning and brought my camera along because of the snow!
I don’t think he really minded the cold, but he was always happy to get home, snow or not!
| Aperture | ƒ/10 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
First up is Hoppy. She’s around 13 and only has three legs but she’s a fast mover. In the past she didn’t mind the cold but now she likes to avoid it.
Here’s Mommy Cat. She’s Hoppy’s mom.
She’s around 16 as best we can guess, as she was around for a few years before she brought her kittens in to us.
For years, she would never come into the house, but now she spends 99% of the day inside, asleep. She doesn’t go any further than the garden now.
We can’t touch her as she’ll take a swipe at us if we do, but we still love her.
Then there’s Diego, our chihuahua. He was 8 this year. A middle aged dog with a special diet and who absolutely loves cuddles.
The cats and him sort of ignore each other, but if the cats get a treat, Diego makes sure that we know he wants one too.
It’s so very cold outside but Hoppy, Mommy Cat and Diego are inside in the warmth and putting up with me taking photos of them.
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 20000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
