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!

The Boats of Bantry

Boats tied up at the quay in Bantry two weeks ago. Bantry was once criss-crossed with waterways like Venice is today but those are long gone. The sea is still an important part of the culture of the town.

If you’re interested in the history of the region, here’s a page from westcork.com on the subject.

Aperture ƒ/7.1
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/125s

Sunset at Drake’s Pool

We took Oscar and ourselves for a walk in Drake’s Pool last Sunday. We arranged to meet Donal and Celine there.

While the girls enjoyed a leisurely walk, us guys trailed after them making photos of everything!

Drake’s Pool is just outside Crosshaven, and is named for Sir Francis Drake.

Aperture ƒ/22
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 20mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/500s

Please Recycle

Empty beer can on the rocky beach at Church Bay, Co. Cork.

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

Oscar in the grass

Oscar sitting patiently for us while we finished a bbq at my sister-in-law’s house!

This required quite a bit of work because I had to clone out his lead, 3 garden chairs and the side of the bbq. Is it obvious where?

Aperture ƒ/5.6
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/60s

The Swan Gang

Tough looking swans gather for bread at the Lough in Cork for bread.

The problem with shooting dangerous wildlife with a wideangle lens is that unless you stick the camera in their faces nobody will believe you were risking life and limb by leaning down right next to them when shooting. Well, I was that close. *gulp*

See how the swan in the background is lunging for his neighbour with a wicked looking snap? He wasn’t the only one doing that!

Aperture ƒ/7.1
Camera Canon EOS 20D
Focal length 10mm
ISO 200
Shutter speed 1/100s

Clinging Flowers

Flowers cling to the rocks in Church Bay, Co. Cork.

Post processing: curves, channel mixer, blurred layer and layer mask, lomo and unsharp mask.

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

Old Rope

Old rope tied to a rusty old screw embedded in weather beaten mortar at Church Bay near Crosshaven.

I used to dive off this rock about 10 years ago, mind you the tide was in whenever I did!

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