I was there too
ESPERE VERDE! Wait green! On a street in Valencia I saw the white bars of the pedestrian crossing, a “safe zone” to cross the road for pedestrians. Then I noticed the person crossing the road, their clothes neatly matched the bars of paint.
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
I was out walking in Valencia and spotted a cyclist headed in my direction at speed. That’s not so uncommon, but he was cycling really fast through the area.
He caught my attention, I photographed him. High ISO FTW!
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 12800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/320s |
In March 2012, I visited Iceland with my team from work and for our activity day we went to the Blue Lagoon for a swim. It was March and, as illustrated by the photos above, snow blanketed the ground, and it was freezing! The water was lovely and warm, and you’d be fine as long as you kept as much of your body in the water as possible!
I’m revisiting this trip today because of the concerning news from Iceland. There have been numerous earthquakes, and magma is building up, only 800m underground and very close to the Blue Lagoon and the Svartsengi Geothermal Power Plant. The ground has risen by 8cm because the magma is pushing it up. The nearby town of Grindavik has been evacuated as a fissure runs through it. Earthquakes have already caused serious structural damage to buildings there.
Data shows the “magma tunnel is significant, and it is approaching the surface” according to this video. The tunnel is about 15km long. It seems likely there will be an eruption very soon.
Edit on December 19th: it finally erupted. You can see it on this live cam. This video shows the vantage point from a helicopter. The erupting fissure is 3.5km long!
| Aperture | ƒ/9 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 40D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
A Western lowland gorilla from the Republic of the Congo sits on the ground outside a viewing area where humans gaze at him.
He lives in the Bioparc in Valencia, Spain, and I think his name is Mambie. He was born in 1991 and is a beautiful animal, but when we were there, he charged and rammed into the glass windows twice. The Wikipedia page for these gorillas describes that behaviour as stereotypic behaviour, or abnormal or compulsive behaviour. It’s easy to imagine that he’s not happy there, but he is hand reared, as he was born in a zoo. This life is all he knows. These animals are endangered, and there’s a population of 500 living in zoos worldwide.
I was sad to see him in captivity. Valencia Bioparc is small, compared to wildlife parks like Fota in Co Cork, but the larger animals had room to roam about. At least, as much room as a 10 hectare site will allow.
It is definitely worth going to visit if you’re in the city. Just don’t eat in the overpriced restaurant.
| Aperture | ƒ/3.5 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 1000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
A stag buries his head in grass, to decorate his antlers and make himself more attractive to female deer.
Killarney National Park, October 2023.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 514.7mm |
| ISO | 1250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
If you do the Caminito del Rey hike, you’ll come across this bridge at the end of your journey. The old bridge isn’t used any more as a modern suspension bridge has been built right next to it.
It’s still quite a sight as you walk over it and definitely not somewhere to go if you have a fear of heights.
| Aperture | ƒ/7.1 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 23mm |
| ISO | 125 |
| Shutter speed | 1/160s |
We happened to come upon a rally in Valencia while we were there recently. A large crowd gathered in a circle around a speaker. I didn’t understand a word they said, but the anger was obvious.
I was in Cork on Saturday and heard a rally announced by a loudspeaker on a van driving down Patrick Street, so I went along to see it.
There was a huge crowd, again. I was near the front of the crowd and watched them display the photos of children killed. Horrendous. It’s barbaric what’s happening in Gaza. What happened on October 7th was terrible, but what’s going on in Gaza is so much worse.
Fitzgerald’s Park in Cork was flooded on October 21st last. The playground was completely off limits as water rolled off from the surrounding landscape. The pond had burst its banks and flooded the surrounding path. Seagulls were the only ones enjoying the scene.
We’re going to see a lot more flooding around Cork in the future. Climate change is making the world warmer, seas rise. Winters in Ireland will get wetter, storms will have more energy.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 20 |
| Shutter speed | 1/190s |
I had the privilege of capturing this electrifying event for the first time ever, and let me tell you – it was an experience unlike any other!
Despite the chilly weather and occasional rain showers, the participants’ spirits were unwavering as they danced, sang, SCREAMED and shambled along as zombies. ?
As the procession made its way along Shandon Street, North Gate Bridge, North Main Street, Castle Street, and finally Cornmarket Street, a massive crowd gathered to watch and cheer on the fun! ? I chatted with some enthusiastic spectators who followed the zombies and monsters from Shandon Street to Cornmarket Street to make sure they didn’t miss anything.
At the very end, we were treated to dancing and singing by the groups in the parade, and it was wonderful. I’m sure it’ll be on next year. You should go see it if you’re in Cork!
Continue reading “The 2023 Dragon of Shandon Parade”| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/15s |
Happy Halloween!! Last night was my first time photographing the Dragon of Shandon parade, and it was incredible! The weather was pretty bad, with intermittent rain showers, and it was a cold October evening. Brrr.
That didn’t dampen the spirits of all the participants, who danced and hollered and stumbled along like zombies or medieval executioners. Not to mention the fabulous floats!
More photos to come. I haven’t had time to look over them all yet. Check out the ones Fergal shared here on Facebook!
Remembering you, Robert, the first time I went to this, and you’re not there with your camera.
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/20s |
