On the Onyar River

The Onyar River flows through the city of Girona in Spain. Photographed in August when I was surprised to see any water at all considering the dreadful drought that hit Europe in the summer.

Colourful buildings line the banks of the river and the Cathedral can be seen in the background of a clear blue sky.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length35mm
ISO125
Shutter speed1/500s

The Eiffel Bridge

The Eiffel Bridge (Pont de les Peixateries Velles) over the Onyar River in Girona is an eye catching red bridge. It was built by Gustave Eiffel, just before he built the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

The Eiffel Bridge

There appears to be a few Eiffel Bridges around the world, and strangely enough, this one isn’t listed on that Wikipedia page.

The Eiffel Bridge

Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length16mm
ISO250
Shutter speed1/500s

Across the Chetwynd Railway Viaduct

Most Cork people are familiar with the Chetwynd Railway Viaduct built over the Bandon Road near Bishopstown. Here it is from the top, in 2005.

An important and substantial landmark designed by Charles Nixon, Engineer, which makes a dramatic contribution to the surrounding area. It carried trains on its single line from Cork to West Cork until 1961. It stands 90ft above the road and has a 21ft span. The viaduct displays fine craftsmanship in the stone work seen in the piers and excellent design in the elegant steel arches.

buildingsofireland.ie

Apertureƒ/3.5
CameraCanon EOS 20D
Focal length18mm
ISO1600
Shutter speed1/200s

The Ballydehob Bridge

Early in October we were lucky to have some wonderful weather for almost hours at a time. I spent some of that time in Ballydehob taking photos of the fabulous bridge there.

Ten minutes later it started raining and I was running to the car!


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length16mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/250s

The Oldest Bridge in Ireland

The oldest bridge in Ireland is claimed to be this bridge built by St. Patrick in the 6th century. It’s on the grounds of Moville Boutique Hostel in Co. Donegal.

I say “claimed” because there are others such as the Esker Bridge in Dublin and this one in Trim.

Who knows? The hostel is lovely and well worth a visit so you might as well visit the bridge while you’re there!


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length16mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/8s

The view from Quinta da Foz

One of the benefits of working from home at Automattic is meeting up with your team a few times a year in various parts of the world. Obviously that did not happen last year, won’t happen this year either and we had been playing a meetup for April or May last year but that didn’t work out.
In November 2019 I met my team in Porto, Portugal. During the week we had a day to relax so we did a tour of vineyards. After a lengthy drive we toured a couple, took a boat ride on the local river and had a nice meal in a local restaurant. The Quinta da Foz was the second vineyard we visited and it was wonderful. Old architecture and setting mixed with new technology to make wine.

Here’s the view from the road in front looking out on a tributary of the Douro River. It’s a beautiful part of Portugal.

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera ILCE-7M3
Focal length 16mm
ISO 125
Shutter speed 1/400s

The Lights of The Mary Elmes Bridge

The Lights of The Mary Elmes Bridge

Mary Elmes was an an Irish aid worker who saved many Jewish children from being transported to concentration camps during World War II.

In 1942, the Vichy authorities made it clear that Jewish children were not legally allowed to be exempt from being sent to the concentration camps, as they had been. Elmes, with help from some colleagues, rescued dozens of children, taking them to safe houses or helping them flee the country altogether. Well aware that she was putting herself at risk, Elmes hid many children in the boot of her car and drove them to safe destinations. She aided many others by securing documents, which allowed for them to escape through the undercover network in Vichy France.

She was born in Cork in 1908 and today, a new bridge named in her honour was opened officially (backup) by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr John Sheehan.

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Aperture ƒ/13
Camera ILCE-7M3
Focal length 16mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 5s