High Rise Crane

A view of the crane helping in the construction of a new office block behind Cork City Hall. This is from the lobby of the carpark next door.

Other views of the same site: Building a City Sunset, Craning to See the Sky.

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/320s

Purple Sky

After shooting the Tenacious I looked behind me and smiled as I saw a great reflection of the beautiful sky on this car.
Wisps of cloud filtered the sun momentarily as I captured this image and a bit of post-processing helped to make the reflection stand out!

Aperture ƒ/9
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/160s

Tenacious in Cork

Tenacious in Cork
Tenacious in Cork

The sailing vessel, Tenacious, docked in Cork a few weeks back. I spotted the top masts over the buildings of the quayside while we went home so I had to stop!

She’s a beautiful ship and apparently the largest wooden tall ship built in England in the last 100 years! She also has facilities to allow disabled people access to her, even ascending high up among the sails! She was featured on a tv programme last night with footage taken in Cork.

Tenacious was built in Southampton and is owned by Jubilee Sailing Trust a, “charity that aims to promote the integration of people of all physical abilities through the challenge and adventure of tall ship sailing.”

Donal has a great picture of the Tenacious lit by the setting sun.

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 16mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/800s

Strange on the street

A woman caught in an awkward step by my camera on Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork.

Aperture ƒ/6.3
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/200s

Surreal in the market

A woman walking in the English Market is the perfect subject for a bit of surreal experimentation with the GIMP!

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 1600
Shutter speed 1/125s

The Grand Parade Construction Site

Another view down the Grand Parade and a look at the construction site that takes up most of the street! Well known shop fronts such as the Singer Sewing Centre are visible in the background. In sharp contrast, the new Soho bar and restaurant is right next to it. It’s all modern steel beams and plate glass.

Since this photo was taken they’ve taken down the fountain in the centre of the street. I presume it’ll be put back again?

Aperture ƒ/10
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/200s

Running Child

Shortly after my previous shot a little girl ran past me. She had a lovely smile and was obviously enjoying the sun! Her mother brought up the rear at a more sedate pace.

Aperture ƒ/11
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/250s

Begging

Children pass a Romanian woman begging in Cork. She is part of a growing group of gypsies who have come to Ireland as refugees. Unfortunately many of them have realised that Ireland is a land of rich pickings while their application for asylum is processed.

New laws have changed matters but Ireland is still an attractive destination. Statistics available from the Irish Refugee Council show a marked decline since 2002 however.

Ireland is or has been described as the, “land of a thousand welcomes” but you won’t be quite so welcome if you don’t have money to spend. Racism is as rife and widespread as elsewhere.

Aperture ƒ/9
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/160s

Beer kegs on the quay

Beer kegs on Union Quay. The Lobby is open again isn’t it?

Yum, I like Erdinger!

This was taken only moments after this one which probably explains why a keg is sitting at the base of a life ring pole. It’s not some weird “save him and feed him beer” thing we do!

Aperture ƒ/10
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/200s

The Puppy, the cat and the calf

The Puppy and the calf

Sasha took quite an interest in a field of calves across the road from her home last night, and they in her! This particular calf was braver than the rest and sniffed at Sasha, Oscar, me and whoever was at the gate!
Ali, the cat, didn’t think much of the bovine crowd gathered around and soon settled in the ditch to sleep!

Photos of the day: Italian fans celebrate.

Aperture ƒ/4
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 1600
Shutter speed 1/80s

Run for the bus!

A bit of an experiment this one. As I walked along Merchant’s Quay this woman and her husband barrelled past. The picture of her husband is simply a blur but I like what I got of her.
The streaky lines are caused by an excessive dodge/burn tool but I like the effect so I left it in. What d’you think?

Photos of the day: Annaweb, NoWords

Aperture ƒ/8
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/125s

Swan and Young

A mother swan and her young offspring. There was a lovely sunset causing a deep red reflection in the water. The mother swan was very protective and aggressive and reared up and spat at me a moment after I took this shot!

Edit: This photo is hosted on Zoomr! Thomas Hawk is appealing to the greed and curiousity of bloggers and giving out pro accounts to those who host a photo on their site and blog it. Hey! What can I say? I bit!