I was there too
The shell of the R&H Hall office in Cork Docklands today. It went up in flames on November 23rd, following a fire in the main R&H Hall building on November 10th.
It’s not the first time this block has been damaged by fire. In 2006, grain silos that stood next to this office were damaged by fire and subsequently demolished. Here are a few photos of this office in 2006 and the grain silos behind it.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 3200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/125s |
Hoppy, one of our cats, loves the luxury of having multiple beds she can lie in around the house.
Actually, all our animals can do that. Diego, our chihuahua, certainly takes advantage of that, laying himself down near whomever he wants to be with at any one time.
Animals in this house are spoiled? Whatever made you think that?
| Aperture | ƒ/2.4 |
| Camera | SM-G998B |
| Focal length | 9mm |
| ISO | 640 |
| Shutter speed | 1/35s |
Far back in time, to the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, a film called My Spy was due to appear in cinemas on March 13th, 2020.
Unfortunately, the country went into lockdown on March 27th. This photo was taken in May that year. Adverts hadn’t been changed in most places. Hoardings still had the same slogan for months, buses were the same. The banners on the Cork Opera House looked the worse for wear. A surreal time.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 16mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
A few weeks ago, I visited Blarney Castle to take some photos of the Autumn colours. Unfortunately the light was dull, and the ground was wet, but I had my tripod with me, so I set it up for some long exposure shots.
After a few minutes of that, I noticed a flicker out of the corner of my eye. I spotted a robin almost right in front of me! He was literally standing on the large log next to the mushrooms I was photographing. And of course, my camera settings were completely wrong to photograph him. In the 10 seconds it took me to swivel the camera around, fiddle with the settings and look up again, he was flying off to a nearby tree. This time I got a couple of shots of him, and then his friend approached and landed on the ground right by my feet! This time I was ready!
Why do settings change so much? In low light, you have to amplify the light hitting the camera sensor. Sort of like turning up the volume. You know how if you turn the volume up really high you’ll get distortion and crackling (and a headache and sore ears), the same thing happens with cameras. The best quality photo comes when the volume (called ISO for cameras) is turned down to a “normal value” but then it takes longer for the camera to “hear” an image. Damn, I’m straining an analogy here. For most cameras, that’s 100. This photo was taken at ISO 12800 and the only reason you don’t see lots of crackling (noise) is because of the magic of software called Topaz Photo AI. A previous ISO 100 image took a whole 1 second to make a photo. This robin photo was 1/160 of a second. He wasn’t going to hang around long!
| Aperture | ƒ/11 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 240mm |
| ISO | 65535 |
| Shutter speed | 1/160s |
The “futuristic” water tower that sits on Kilmore Road Lower in Knocknaheeny is seen from Bell’s Field in this photo taken in July this year.
It was completed in 1972 and Councillor Gerald Yael Goldberg (1912-2003) described the water tower as ‘futuristic’ but predicted that it would ‘fit into the landscape’. I’m not so sure. It’s in such a prominent spot it can be seen as far away as Blarney.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 600mm |
| ISO | 1000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
A sight well known to anyone who lives in Cork City. The Spire of St. Anne’s Church, or Shandon Bells stands like a beacon. The Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne is just off shot to the right, out of this shot.
The County Hall can be seen far off in the distance out on the Carrigrohane Road. That building was once the tallest building in Ireland.
Look back further and you’ll see fields on the hills surrounding the city.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 150mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/160s |
Who rules this house? The animals do! Diego, our tiny chihuahua, sits in a bed sometimes claimed by one of our cats, Hoppy. She was very unhappy that Diego was in there. He’s the king of all he sees.
Isn’t he handsome in his new jacket? It’s lovely and warm and made with love by Jo!
| Aperture | ƒ/2.4 |
| Camera | SM-G998B |
| Focal length | 9mm |
| ISO | 640 |
| Shutter speed | 1/35s |
