I was there too
Lifeboats are dotted around the The Queen Elizabeth 2. They’re high up above some of the lower decks as far as I can remember and there are plenty of them. Hopefully won’t ever be needed.
| Aperture | ƒ/10 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 200mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
The sun sets early in Breckenridge Colorado, well slightly earlier than in Ireland anyway. Myself and Anthony were working on one part of our secret project, and Mike Adams was working on the other bit, when Michael Koenig jumped up and went outside on to the balcony. I looked up and saw gorgeous red clouds and followed him with my camera. This is the result.
Tall evergreen trees outside the house, and snow capped mountains on the horizon. The sun set behind them in a blazing ball of glorious colour. Beautiful.
| Aperture | ƒ/4.5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/50s |
Blarney Castle is that way. Go out the gate, turn right, turn left and park. Right in front of you.
I got back to Ireland yesterday afternoon. A mostly uneventful flight home, except for some problems with check in and I had to check in twice more. On the last attempt I got bumped to Economy Plus with more legroom and to an aisle seat thanks to the very nice lady at the gate.
The check in computer should be smart enough to offer an aisle seat in Economy Plus to me, even after I’ve declined that upgrade first. An aisle seat is worth the extra $109 because I was late checking in.
I hope Lenny and Eoin got home without much hassle. We had hoped to meet up in Heathrow but my text to Lenny only delivered moments before I boarded the Aer Lingus flight to Cork. Guess United is faster than BA? I saw a flight around the same time to Dublin was cancelled so they may have had a wait.
I love that I can run up the stairs now without getting winded. Wet? Damp? Oh yes! I don’t know how many bottles of water a day I consumed in Breckenridge because the air was so dry. Lovely people there, shame about the altitude!
I have at least 100 photos to post to Flickr from this blog. I should write a plugin that emails the image there with description and tags from the WordPress interface.
| Aperture | ƒ/7.1 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
Crowds gathered to see the Queen Elizabeth 2 off from Cobh 2 weeks ago, but they weren’t getting on board unless they had a ticket!
| Aperture | ƒ/9 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
A singer outside the Commodore Hotel in Cobh kept the crowd entertained and attracted the attention of my son Adam who wasn’t happy unless he was outside listening to him.
Photos of Breckenridge, Colorado to follow, although I didn’t take that many. Too busy to leave the house much unfortunately!
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
An Siopa Beag ar Oilean Chleire is the small shop on Cape Clear Island in The Club in the North Harbour. It’s more than a shop of course, and tables are set up outside for customers to enjoy their tea or whatever they’re eating.
| Aperture | ƒ/13 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/400s |
On Friday morning around 5am the Gardai on duty at Blarney Garda Station were called away on what turned out to be a hoax. Unfortunately while they were out the Garda station was attacked, the front door kicked down and firebombs thrown into the rooms downstairs. The building itself is quite old and burned quickly. Luckily the blaze was seen by a security guard from a nearby hotel or much more damage could have been done.
The building is unusable now of course. A Garda has been posted outside since, and this afternoon forensics were examining the site.
More coverage: Irish Times, Tribune, Herald.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 72mm |
| ISO | 1000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
The Green House, a small cafe in Blarney near Blarney Castle. It was previously the local Post Office but is now quite nice I’m told. Haven’t been in there yet.
Blarney Garda Station was set alight last night. I half heard something on the radio about it and confirmed it when Gordon replied to my Tweet on the matter. I hope to get some shots later, even with the horrible weather outside!
| Aperture | ƒ/5.6 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/80s |
The funnel of the Queen Elizabeth 2 looms over Cobh as seen from near the Commodore Hotel.
| Aperture | ƒ/14 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 88mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
The QE2 docked in Cobh last Thursday. This was shot at the bottom of steps down to the water where seaweed made footing precarious. I saw a few people venture down the steps but none went further than half way down. The tide was well out so I was maybe 3m below the quayside, standing in wet and slippery seaweed. The risks I take to get a photo!
Oh yeah, there’s already something gone bust in my new Canon 40D. The pop up flash refuses to pop up unless I prise it open with a fingernail. It tries a few times, gives up and issues an Error 99 and needs to be switched off and on. The same happened to my Canon 20D, but I’m surprised the 40D didn’t last a bit longer ..
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 21mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
The club and the hill. This is the North Harbour in Cape Clear Island. The club is familiar to all who visit this part of the world, as are the hills unfortunately. This particular hill overlooks the whole harbour and feels like a 45 degree struggle at times.
I still have memories of climbing it as a youngster on a hot and humid May day while a student at Colaiste Ciaran. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that!
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/160s |
Luxury cruise ship Queen Elizabeth 2 tied up at the quayside in Cobh, Co Cork last Thursday. This was moments before she cast off. You can see a tug in the background of this image.
It was bitterly cold down on the quay, but we were lucky that the evening sun cast a lovely golden glow over everything.
PS. some photography links: The Right Frame of Mind, Design Star, Join a stock photog on a photoshoot.
PPS. Just back from the camera club. This image came second overall in the digital section of tonight’s open photo competition. It drew with another image, on equal points. Chuffed!
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 200mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
