Pentax

Camera straps say so much about you. Mine says “Canon”. What does your strap say? Nikon? Sony?

My dad used to shoot with a Pentax SLR for years so I have fond memories of the brand. I’m curious about their DSLRs. Anyone have one?

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 21mm
ISO 1600
Shutter speed 1/800s

Carol Singers

Carol singers on Patrick’s Street yesterday. It’s nice to see carollers again. It seems they haven’t been out much in previous years but this year I spotted 3 groups dotted around the city streets singing their hearts out.

So, yesterday I said that Pat Phelan’s generosity giving away a phone, a 20″ LCD screen and a broadband dongle had inspired me to do something similar.
I can’t afford to be as generous, but I can perhaps offer a nice personal new year’s gift for 2 lucky visitors to my blog. As you may know I’m a member of RedBubble and I have a small portfolio on that site. I’ve only sold 5 prints off there making for a grand profit of 33 Euro so it’s a good thing I have a day job to fall back on.

What I would like to do is offer 2 people who comment on this post a print of (almost) any image(*) on this blog! On Tuesday afternoon I’ll pick two winners. The first winner will get a mounted print (example) worth $84.38, and the second will get a laminated print (example) worth $40.38. All prices are in US Dollars, and I’ll pay for post and packing too. Each print is up to 12″x18″ in size.

So, leave a comment on this post with your name and email address to be in with a chance to win. There’s no need to mention what print you want in the comment. All I ask of the winners is that they email me a photo of the image hanging on their wall. I’d love to see that!

* Some images are too cropped and small to print to a reasonable size.

Aperture ƒ/3.5
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/250s

Shoe Shopper Heaven

I’m reliably informed that many women enjoy the occasional trip to shoe shops and other establishments were garments and other finery may be purchased. Thankfully my wife isn’t one of them and hates shopping almost as much as I do. Nevertheless we found ourselves inside this shoe shop in Chicago so I decided to make the most of the moment and snap a few photos.

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 21mm
ISO 1600
Shutter speed 1/100s

The Echo Seller

The Evening Echo seller on Patrick’s Street, Cork, has been selling the evening paper for longer than I care to remember. I took a shot of him back in 2005 and he’s still there, braving wet and cold and every other sort of weather.

PS. shot on Saturday while on a hastily organised photowalk with AJ.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 400
Shutter speed 1/500s

Panaflex

When I originally took this photo in Chicago (on La Salle, near the CBOT) it was a snapshot of a film crew. I took a few more shots of the crew but I was intrigued by the camera. Panaflex, what’s the specs on that then? Turns out it’s a product of Panavision, you know, that name that’s in practically every American film’s credits? Interesting history too although how they consider that big lump small enough to be handheld is beyond me!

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 55mm
ISO 800
Shutter speed 1/125s

Flying the Irish Tricolour on the QE2

The Queen Elizabeth 2 is a British ship, and it’s likely that many of the passengers were British too. I spotted one large Union Jack flag draped over a railing and people on the ship waved mini Union Jack flags too. That sort of gets under the skin of many Irish people.

A huge crowd had gathered on the quayside at Cobh. A band was playing and people cheered and waved as the ship departed. The atmosphere was great but when the Irish Tricolour appeared on the roof of the ship, being waved by a young man, the crowd let out a huge cheer, and whistled and clapped in appreciation.
They were still waving the Irish flag as the ship left the harbour. I spotted them after she turned!

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 88mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/100s

No Through Road

Construction work on the building site between Emmett Place and Patrick Street in Cork continues at a pace. Despite the slow down in the economy high rise cranes can still be seen on the city skyline and are more prominent than the recently opened Elysian.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera DMC-FZ5
Focal length 6mm
ISO 80
Shutter speed 1/160s

Tour of Ireland Crowds

Some of the crowds who gathered for the Tour of Ireland as it passed through Blarney in Co. Cork.

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 88mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/160s

Tour of Ireland Stragglers

Some of the final riders who passed through Blarney during the Tour of Ireland race last week.

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 33mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/100s