Climbing to the top of Blarney Castle requires a climb up steep stairs that get narrower and smaller as you reach the top. It’s not for the faint hearted or claustrophobic!
Tag Archives: Photo
Matt and Donncha
Matt and I pictured in front of Blarney Woollen Mills!
Walking Patrick’s Bridge
Pictured walking along Patrick’s Bridge, Cork on Saturday evening. What really attracts me to this image, despite it’s obvious flaws, is the figure in the dead-centre. There’s light all around yet here’s a walking shadow.
Red Blarney Roses
While out with Matt this fine morning we walked over to Blarney Castle. Just inside the railings are some beautiful red roses. I just had to take advantage of the beautifulsunshine and snap off a few shots!
Photo was desaturated, and the red and yellow channels were restored afterwards to isolate the lovely colour of the flowers.
Blarney Castle Gate Pillar
The current Blarney Castle was rebuilt after a major fire in 1446 and afterwards had an entrance gate different to that which is presently visible.
I was out for a walk a few days ago taking photos when I met two men in high-visibility jackets. They saw me with the camera and one of them stopped me and asked me if I knew about the nearby historical pillar.
In the 1600’s the river flowed in a different course past Blarney Castle. If it still flowed that way, it would go right under the Blarney Woollen Mills factory. He showed me a slight hump in the road which is all that remains of a bridge over that river!
This pillar which is hidden behind a stone wall was originally part of a gateway to Blarney Castle in the 1600s. I’m not certain if it was a river or a land entrance but it’s a shame that it’s now lying unused in a field.
Making a Sale
Pictured at the Fota House Craft Fair at the end of November.
A Very Keane Santa
Santa gets everywhere these days, especially wherever there’s a buck to be made!
Running around Eighteen Turns
We went down to Fota House a few weeks ago to see Eighteen Turns created by Daniel Libeskind. We weren’t as lucky as Ryan as there were parents with kids running and screaming around the piece all afternoon.
What better way to remember the day than the photo above eh?
Boole woz ‘ere
George Boole, the inventor of boolean algebra lived in the last house on the right of this photo from 1849 to 1855.
I’m certain that most Cork people pass this house daily and haven’t a clue as to it’s previous occupant’s contribution to the world we live in today.
Kent Train Station
Kent Train Station in Cork is familiar to many travellers. It was built in the 1800s, and the Wikipedia article on it has some interesting background information.
Capitol Cinema, gone
The Capitol Cinema in Cork closed it’s door to audiences yesterday. Ryan has photos from last night too.
According to what he read in the Examiner, the building will now be used for apartments and retail purposes. I can’t complain, this particular cinema has been in a bad state of repair for a long time although it had ye olde style theatres. I remember seeing Gattaca in screen 3 several years ago and it was in a tiny room with vertical patterned wallpaper.
The main theatre was much larger but other cinemas around Cork attracted the audiences.
Working
When you travel to Cork by train you’ll pass underneath the north side of the city through a railway tunnel. We had to switch trains on the way back from Dublin the other day and finished our journey in one of Iarnrod Eireann’s old stock. They didn’t even turn the lights on as we went through the tunnel but that gave me the opportunity to snap this gentleman working.
HOWTO: Photo was a 20 second exposure and his face was completely blown out but by decreasing the contrast I brought out his reflection in the window. B/W conversion was done using the channel mixer with RGB settings of 29.6/161.7/-200 to give a psuedo infra-red effect.