Symmetrical Abandonment

This was the derelict site of the demolished tax office in Cork, but back in February 2019.

What difference 6 years? Nothing really except they’ve removed the rubble. It’s still an ugly eye sore. They really should have put a park there if they’re not going to do anything with it.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length16mm
ISO125
Shutter speed1/40s

Bantry Through the Shop Door

I had some fun in Bantry today, experimenting with a new exposure mode I haven’t really used in the past, Spot Highlight. I came across it in this video made by Sean Tucker. In this mode, the camera will expose for the highlights, sacrificing shadow detail to make sure that bright areas contain detail and aren’t over-exposed.

Luckily, the sky was clear, and it was a lovely day in Bantry, so there were plenty of highlights and shadows.

The histograms of such images showed most of the data was in the shadows, for obvious reason. There were usually plenty of dark areas in those images.

I tested the new adaptive profiles in Lightroom Classic on this image too, but it brightened the shadows in a way I didn’t want it to. Luckily, you can reduce the “Amount” slider, so the effect is reduced.

I used Lightroom’s native noise reduction “enhancement” which generated a 64MB DNG from a 69MB RAW file. I was delighted when I converted that to a 3.6MB lossy DNG, and I was still able to use the adaptive colour profile!

This photo was taken inside a lovely shop called Meara & Morley in Bantry. My wife loved it. I think we’ll be returning in the future!


Apertureƒ/4
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/1250s

The sign Americans dread

It’s a commonly held belief that Americans don’t know how to drive around roundabouts, but when I visited that country last year (in the before times), I saw at least 2 roundabouts and local people had no problems traversing them.

Good luck getting around them in a monstrosity like the Cybertruck however.


Apertureƒ/2.4
CameraSM-G998B
Focal length9mm
ISO50
Shutter speed1/1400s

Hay Bales at Dusk

In a field behind Wine Strand on the Dingle Peninsula, I spotted some hay bales. The sun had already set, but the sky wasn’t very interesting. The lay of the land cast an interesting shadow and I like photographing bales whenever I see them.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/250s

Inchydoney Serenity

A close-up of a fence and waves.
A person paddleboarding in the ocean, with waves breaking in the background

Last Sunday, the first Sunday in February, was a glorious one. The sun shone out of an almost cloudless sky. It was cold, but the sun brought the crowds, and there were cars parked all along the coast road, from the hotel to the nearby car park at the other end of the beach.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length62mm
ISO160
Shutter speed1/500s

Adi Roche in the 2004 St. Patrick’s Day Parade

Adi Roche, the founder and voluntary CEO of Chernobyl Children International, was a prominent figure in Irish media for many years, tirelessly advocating for children affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Her passionate commitment to this cause left an indelible mark on countless Irish people, including myself when she visited my school in the early 1990s. Her presence was inspiring, leaving us all in awe of her dedication and humanitarian spirit.

In 2004 I photographed her on a float during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Cork. She may have been the Marshall that year, perhaps?


Apertureƒ/4.5
CameraCYBERSHOT
Focal length45.2mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/500s

The Three Sisters at Twilight

From Dooneen Pier on a lovely April day in 2022 I saw the Three Sisters off the distance. The sea was fairly calm, and the evening was warm for that time of the year. I think I spent a good hour wandering up and down the pier taking photos, until darkness descended, and I went back to our B&B.


Apertureƒ/13
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length72mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/25s

Beach Art Celebrates St. Brigid’s Day

The weather forecast for today was great, so we visited Inchydoney Beach this afternoon. While it looks like the beach isn’t busy, cars were parked all the way from the hotel down to the public car park at the other end of the beach. It would be easy to think it was the middle of the summer, as there were so many vehicles!

Yesterday was St. Brigid’s Day in Ireland, so it was nice to see St. Brigid’s Cross drawn on the sand, but I’d forgotten about IMBOLC. You can read more about it on Wikipedia.


Apertureƒ/4
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length38mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/1000s

The Irony of Travel Dreams During Lockdown

Halfway through 2021 when lockdowns were still a recent memory, and a sign advertising the island of Gozo was probably not what most people were thinking of. I don’t think I’ve seen this advertising campaign since, either.


Apertureƒ/1.8
CameraSM-G998B
Focal length6.7mm
ISO50
Shutter speed1/500s