mural – In Photos dot Org

The Bright Side of the Streets

I have a good reason for photographing this perfectly ordinary scene. Over the years I’ve taken photos of men sitting on that electricity box, and this just adds to that collection.

First there was this photo of Liam Foley, an elderly man enjoying a cigarette. He passed away 2 months after that photo was taken. I was glad I could pass on that photo to his family.

Then a few years later, yet another photo of a man enjoying a cigarette.

And now, many years later, a photo of a man about to roll a cigarette.

I like what they did with the door and the mural. Lovely to see the colour there.

Aperture	ƒ/5
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	62mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/500s

Cork in Miniature

I love this mural showing various sights around Cork City. It’s just off Paul Street and well worth a look. The artist, Garreth Joyce, painted it in 2023.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/125s

What is Home?

The mural, “What is Home?” by the artist Asbestos, at the end of South Main Street, in Cork. As seen through the ring of a nearby life buoy hanging on a pole.

Aperture	ƒ/1.8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	75mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/640s

An Urban Tribute to Frederick Douglass

A few years ago, a small mural was painted on a box on Grand Parade, featuring Frederick Douglass. Google Maps shows it was still there in 2024, but I’m not sure about it now.

Frederick Douglass visited Ireland in 1845 and was warmly received, finding a sense of freedom here that contrasted sharply with his experiences in the United States.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	240mm
ISO	400
Shutter speed	1/500s

Frederick Douglass Inspires in Cork City Centre

I love this mural of Frederick Douglass. It’s painted on a wall of the small avenue going up to the Unitarian Church on Princes Street. I think the church has been closed for quite some time, but I’m glad this area is maintained.

The history of the church here is fascinating too.

After a fire in January 2024 destroyed the interior of the chapel, Cork Unitarian Church was left without a home and with little hope of continuing. Some of the church’s lay leadership believed that there was a future if the model for running the church radically changed. The church now operates as a Limited by Guarentee corporation – independent of external ecclesiastic governance (e.g. ordained ministers, synods, etc.). This is more in keeping with the model of most Unitarian Universalist (i.e. UU) church congregations in the EU (see: EUU). The Cork church congregation no longer has a permanent building to maintain. All of the energies of the church go to meeting the needs of the congregation, not preserving historically significant architecture.

While the Cork congregation has moved on to a different way of doing “church”. The congregation still has an affection for its former Princess street home. We also have an interest as Corkonians in seeing that the asset of the building, with all of its historic and architectural significance, is preserved. Cork Unitarian Church supports effort to donate and repurpose the Princes Street building as a publicly held asset – revitalising Cork’s City Centre and providing social and cultural benefits of the entire Cork community.

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	1000
Shutter speed	1/500s

Underpass Artists

Two young men decorate the underpass on the Line in Blackrock this evening with spray paint. There are fabulous murals on both walls of the underpass!

Fun fact: spray paint, the tool of choice here, was invented in 1949 by Edward Seymour, on the suggestion of his wife, Bonnie.

Aperture	ƒ/1.7
Camera	Galaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length	6.3mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/60s

Walking to the team

In Warsaw, there’s a striking mural of Polish athletes, and the first I saw of it was when this man was walking towards a stairs leading down to the open area in front of it.

The mural is sponsored by Adidas and created by Jakub Podlodowski. He has written about it on his Facebook page here.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	240mm
ISO	160
Shutter speed	1/500s

The Santa Barbara Courthouse Mural Room

A view of the mural room, with seating in front, and a stage with furniture. The murals adorn the walls showing the sometimes inaccurate history of the state.

The windows of the mural room look on to the benches of the room. 100 year old curtains line the windows and the walls are covered in murals.

Visiting the Mural Room in the Courthouse of Santa Barbara was a treat I was not expecting. The murals depict the history of the region, sometimes inaccurately, as they include Peter Pan, Robin Hood and Errol Flynn!

Aperture	ƒ/2.2
Camera	Galaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length	2.2mm
ISO	500
Shutter speed	1/30s

It’s mine

A man walking next to the hoarding around a building site with the word "Your" spray painted on it.

A man walking past the site of the old tax office on Sullivan’s Quay in Cork, last July.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	75mm
ISO	200
Shutter speed	1/500s

Please, I can’t breathe

A mural on a wall in Santa Barbara shows George Floyd, and his words, “PLEASE, I CAN’T BREATHE”.

The mural was painted by Griffin Lounsbury and Chad (Chadillac Green) Westmoreland. Here’s an article about the mural by a local newspaper.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	32mm
ISO	1600
Shutter speed	1/500s

Wheels in Santa Monica

Wheels is a mural made by artist, Anne Marie Karlsen from ceramic on 2nd Street in downtown Santa Monica, but I didn’t know that when I saw it. The vibrant colours and design caught my eye, framed by the trees and a parked van. More about it from here:

Anne Marie Karlsen created Wheels, an ambitious and vibrant ceramic tile mural that adorns the west-facing wall of Parking Structure 8 on 2nd Street in downtown Santa Monica. The artwork reveals different compositions depending on one’s vantage point and the wheel motif is loosely inspired by the structure of the recently retired Pacific Wheel on the Santa Monica Pier. Upon closer examination, viewers will discover that the abstracted shapes in the circular forms are in fact, photographic images the artist took of the Pacific Wheel in motion. The composition is meant to create the sort of whirling, topsy-turvy effect that one experiences on an amusement ride. The artwork acknowledges a part of Santa Monica history, while simultaneously becoming a bold new design for the future.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/500s

The watchful eye of a mural

Chatting next to a mural in Malaga, Spain.

Aperture	ƒ/4
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	24mm
ISO	160
Shutter speed	1/500s