Cork City – In Photos dot Org

It’s a bird city

Seagull with open beak standing over a discarded sandwich on asphalt pavement in Cork City

Adult seagull and juvenile gull sharing a dropped sandwich on a city street in Cork, with the younger bird showing mottled brown plumage

Cork City, where birds have become incredibly adept at turning human carelessness into dining opportunities.

Urban-adapted birds like the seagulls and crows photographed here have developed significantly different behaviours compared to their rural counterparts. City-dwelling seagulls often show reduced fear responses to humans and have learned to time their foraging around peak human activity periods, such as lunch hours when dropped food is most available.

Crows, meanwhile, have demonstrated remarkable problem-solving abilities in urban environments and can even learn to associate specific locations with regular food sources. Studies have shown that urban bird populations often have different dietary compositions, stress hormone levels, and even song patterns compared to rural birds, reflecting their adaptation to city life and the constant presence of human activity.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	150mm
ISO	400
Shutter speed	1/320s

Holding Hands

Two hands intertwined, fingers gently clasped together as a couple watches the festivities unfold around them. The simple act of holding hands in public, something many take for granted, becomes a quiet celebration of love and belonging at Cork Pride.

While this year’s event was smaller than last year’s celebration (perhaps due to the absence of Eurovision star Bambie Thug, or simply the rising costs of travel), the energy remained undimmed. The parade began on Grand Parade before winding its way down St. Patrick Street, with dozens of people proudly carrying a massive pride flag that rippled in the hot, humid afternoon air.

After the parade, the community gathered at Kennedy Quay for the traditional after-party, where the real magic happened. Gay men danced together in the summer heat, some bare-chested, others waving colorful fans as they laughed and moved to the music. Same-sex couples like the one in this photograph stood hand in hand, watching the celebration with quiet contentment, expressing their love openly in a space where they felt safe to do so. These moments, the dancing, the hand-holding, the unguarded laughter, show exactly why Pride events are needed now more than ever.

The laughter, the energy, and the community were all so beautifully, defiantly joyful.

More photos from Cork Pride coming tomorrow.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	500
Shutter speed	1/500s

Cork’s Social Life Spills Onto the Street

The Long Valley Bar is always busy, and I love seeing interesting characters sitting at the tables outside.

The Long Valley Bar has been serving Cork since 1842 and is famous for its traditional “combination” sandwiches – hence the “Plain Comb” on the menu board. These legendary sandwiches typically contain a hearty mix of meats, cheese, and pickles, and have remained virtually unchanged in recipe for over a century. The pub’s sandwiches have achieved almost mythical status among Cork locals and visitors alike, with many considering them the best pub grub in Ireland. The establishment has retained its original Victorian fittings and atmosphere, making it not just a place to eat, but a living piece of Cork’s social history.

Aperture	ƒ/3.5
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	400
Shutter speed	1/500s

Cork’s Bell Tower from the Steepest Street

Shandon Bells as seen from the top of Patrick’s Hill, from the wall surrounding Bells Field.

The eight bells of Shandon Bells were cast in Gloucester, England, in 1750 and shipped to Cork. They’re tuned to play in the key of D major, and each bell has inscriptions including biblical verses and the names of local dignitaries from the time. Read More.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	113mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/160s

A child’s bloody nightmare

A page from a child’s “colour in the picture” book provides a stark subject for this photo. Is that red blood on the wheels of that car?

Spotted on the ground somewhere in Cork City.

Aperture	ƒ/5.6
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/80s

Short Circuit

Electricity everywhere and so evident at night in street lighting. I took this shot after meeting Mark for coffee 2 weeks ago. It’s this building site right in the middle of Cork City. More conventional shots will follow over the next few days.

Aperture	ƒ/11
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	10mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	8s

Cork City Streets on April 19, 2008

This is an experiment. I am hoping to post (almost) every photo I take as small 400px wide images using the new gallery function in WordPress 2.5.

~~These posts won’t appear in the feed because of the number of thumbnails~~ Feedreaders won’t see the gallery, and only an excerpt will be shown on the homepage if I’ve got my snippets of code right. It’s not polite to shove 90+ images down the throats of subscribers IMO! You’ll have to view the actual post to see the thumbnails.

Out of these images, I think there’s maybe 2 or 3 that I’ll work on and post later. Hopefully this gallery may provide a context to those photos I work on and publish later. At the very least you’ll see that I take a lot of photos of nothing in particular! 🙂

Oh yes, I got my Sigma 10-20 lens back today. Only took 5 months to repair! Thanks Sigma!

Aperture	ƒ/3.5
Camera	Canon EOS 20D
Focal length	18mm
ISO	400
Shutter speed	1/1600s