Let’s have a ceasefire now

What good has it done to kill over 28,000 people in Gaza? Hamas must free those hostages, it’s not like their presence is stopping the Israeli army from reducing the country to rubble. Let’s have a ceasefire now. This struggle has only caused misery, suffering and hate on both sides.

The San Francisco Chronicle newspaper for sale on the streets of that city in 2006.

In 2006, Israel stopped an attack after 37 children were killed. Here’s the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper with that headline. I happened to photograph it on the streets of that city in late July that year. They’re not stopping now, are they?

Some listening:

The Israeli Hostages
Leaving Gaza
The Words to Say It (transcript)
The growing dissent over Biden’s Israel policy

Edit a few days later, one more about Israeli attacks on an overpopulated Rafah on the Egyptian border:

A screenshot from Google Maps of Rafah and the border with Egypt. Dense city on one side of the border in Gaza.

Apertureƒ/4
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO400
Shutter speed1/500s

It’s for me’o!

It’s still cold, but following up on my recent photo outside a gelato shop, here’s another one, on the corner of Patrick’s Street and Winthrop Street in Cork.

I love ice cream too, but maybe not enough to eat it on a cold wintery day, outside!


Apertureƒ/2.8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO500
Shutter speed1/500s

A crack of sunlight

There was almost complete cloud cover the other night over Cork as we attempted to photograph the setting sun behind St. Anne’s Church, or Shandon Bells, as it’s known locally.

A few minutes before the official sunset, the horizon caught on fire and briefly lit up. It didn’t last long, and the transition between daylight and night just meant the sky got darker and the air colder around us.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length117mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/15s

Stars on the North Side

Cathedral Road was busy on yesterday evening and can be seen as light streaks in this five second exposure of the Cathedral of St Mary & St Anne, or North Cathedral. The Church of the Ascension is seen at the top of the image, with its distinctive red cross glowing in the dark.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length152mm
ISO100
Shutter speed5s

Listen to the radio

A man sits at one of the tables outside Gino’s Gelato listening to the radio. It was a cold day, and he was dressed for the weather, as were the people nearby. That ice-cream shop was still selling delicious treats to customers!


Apertureƒ/1.7
CameraGalaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length6.3mm
ISO640
Shutter speed1/1500s

Alexandre III Bridge at Night

The Alexandre III Bridge in Paris was a beautiful sight to see. Unfortunately, there were road works on the bridge and traffic was busy, so you had to be careful where you went. A large group of Japanese tourists spent an age taking photos with the bridge in the background. They even had lights on a stand. It was quite a set-up.


Apertureƒ/16
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length32mm
ISO100
Shutter speed2s

A man and the R&H Hall

As we were photographing the R&H Hall building the other morning, Henry spotted a boat, the Simon Princess, sailing towards us. I thought the boat might pull in on the other side of the river, but no, it stopped just a few metres away.

As it passed slowly, I caught a nice photo of one of the crew looking out, with the R&H Hall building providing a nice background. A photo that will be impossible to replicate in 6 months time.


Apertureƒ/5.6
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length85mm
ISO5000
Shutter speed1/400s

The Lights Have Stars

A car drove towards me a few nights ago while I was playing around with an 8 star filter on my camera. Most of the time it’s totally overdone, but I liked how this came, especially as the headlights are reflected in the bus shelter.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length154mm
ISO20000
Shutter speed1/160s

The Kennedy Quay Skyline

Kennedy Quay this morning as the sun rose, with R&H Hall in the centre of the image, as this skyline will disappear in the next few months.

Note: the sky has been replaced. It was a very dull, overcast day. Hopefully, this is more pleasing to the eye. The old R&H Hall building has not been replaced, yet.


Apertureƒ/13
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/8s

R&H Hall in Cork City

The R&H Hall building looms over Kennedy Quay as seen from Michael Collins Bridge today. It’s going to be demolished this year, so if you want to record “what once was” on the site, get down there soonest!

This Irish Examiner article talks about the demolition, and includes this picture of what will replace it.

A view of the proposed development on Kennedy Quay showing the Rehabilitation Hospital at the junction with Victoria Road, the residential block, the three office buildings, including the new Silo building and the re-purposed Odlums building.
A view of the proposed development on Kennedy Quay showing the Rehabilitation Hospital at the junction with Victoria Road, the residential block, the three office buildings, including the new Silo building and the re-purposed Odlums building.

Apertureƒ/4.9
CameraGalaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length27.2mm
ISO50
Shutter speed1/160s