I was there too
A small hut on the island of Alcatraz looks out on San Francisco. It looks well preserved and anyone in the hut would have a god view of the city and probably the surrounding coastline up to the Golden Gate Bridge.
| Aperture | ƒ/10 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 200mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/400s |
Oscar ambling along on the beach at Garretstown in Co. Cork. He never liked the beach, there’s just too much dirt and gravel and sand and just plain yuck, but he had a great time that evening. I don’t think Shih-Tzus are the most adventurous of dogs! Compare this picture with an earlier shot before he was groomed. Quite a difference eh?
Under Irish law, dogs should be kept on a lead in public places at all times, and really should not be allowed on a beach but I made sure he did his business before we went anywhere near the sand! He’s so timid he rarely left our side the whole time, and I had the lead in my pocket, just in case.
I spotted a horse in the distance and the hoof marks were visible in the sand, but I was too late to get a shot of the horse and rider this time unfortunately.
This page on Shih Tzus describes Oscar perfectly:
The Shih-Tzu is an alert and spunky little dog. Happy and hardy, endowed with loads of character. They are royally dignified, courageous and sometimes arrogant. This breed does well with polite, careful children. The gentle loyal Shih-Tzu makes friends easily and although obstinate can respond well to consistent patient training. A very alert watch dog, the Shih-Tzu likes to bark, but is usually quiet inside the house. They are stubborn and clever. Shihs can get snappish if they are surprised or peeved. Playful and lively, this affectionate little dog needs to be with people and are generally good with other pets. Some can be difficult to housebreak.
| Aperture | ƒ/11 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 179mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/200s |
A girl clambers over the statue of two sea lions on Pier 39, San Francisco. This pier is where people embark on the journey to Alcatraz Island and it was packed with tourists. Luckily Toni booked our tickets a few days previously and we were able to walk straight onto the boat!
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 200mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/320s |
Two fishermen enjoy the sun while a huge container ship, the Maersk Derince, passes by in the background. You can see they’re very busy. Even the gull that has landed close by is watching intently.
It’s another hectic day in San Francisco.
Technique: I wasn’t sure what to make of this photo. I love the composition, especially the background to this sedentary activity. Unfortunately it was very misty and colours looked washed out. By converting to b/w and playing around with the exposure I think I produced an interesting looking photo. Finally, adding a vignette around the edges focuses the eye on the fishermen in the foreground.
I like this: Plane landing via Podz
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 200mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/2000s |
A young visitor to the Modern Homes Exhibition in City Hall Cork flings himself enthusiastically on the very comfortable Naturafit bed covers while Naturafit representative Kurt Gamper looks on in amusement.
We bought one of those bed covers a few months back and it’s great. It helps keep the bed warm and it’s very comfortable. My wife Jacinta bought one of their pillows and she swears by it.
Disclaimer: Other than being satisfied customers we don’t have any connection with the company.
If you visit the exhibition this weekend make sure you buy some chocolate from the Fosters Chocolate stand by the entrance. It’s delicious!
There are hot spas on display too, but if you’re thinking of buying, please read about Carl Fogarty’s experiences. It might make you think twice!
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
Shel Israel and Rick Segal joined members of the Cork blogging and business communities for dinner in Taste of Thailand last night.
They spent the day talking to business people so I’m sure the dinner was a welcome end to the day. Pat ordered one of the banquet selections and we tucked into what I think was four courses of delicious food. I wish I knew that much food was coming out because I could barely eat my breakfast this morning I was so stuffed!
Dinner was excellent of course, and I can heartily recommend Taste of Thailand if you’re looking for a nice meal in Cork.
Tom has posted a picture and some words about the dinner last night too and reminded me that Pat should be thanked for organising it. Thanks!
Will has a write up on the night too. I must take a look at that MusicIP app Rick was going on about. He said it works in Linux too so it could be a useful experiment. I wonder what it’ll make of my varied collection of music?
| Aperture | ƒ/5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 59mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
I wondered earlier when my moo mini-cards would come but I needn’t have worried. The postman delivered them today! Very cute they look too, I’ll have to order more!
If you’re wondering, there’s an easter egg in the Debian apt-get tool. Just try “apt-get moo”!
2006-10-08 – Since I first heard from Thomas Hawk about the moo mini cards, it’s nice to see his cards have arrived!
| Aperture | ƒ/4.5 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 28mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/8s |
Girls seated on the side of the pavement and on the road deep in conversation at the Ceili Mor in Cork a few weeks ago. Despite the noise of people dancing, an announcer and music playing I think a meaningful discussion was had!
Looks like I’ve made it. One of my photos was used on the snopes.com messageboard without linking back to me or crediting me. I shouldn’t be surprised I suppose, but I am a little angry at the original poster. Thankfully someone linked to it further down in the conversation. Thanks Kathy B.
Snopes.com have now published the picture and the joke description on a separate page linking to this blog. Thank you!
Read what Chris Weeks writes about copyright. I wonder what he has in mind. On a related note, the Orphan Works Bill is dead! This law in the US would have meant that “images on the web in particular as fair game for unauthorised (and thus unpaid) use, as it requires only rather nominal checks to be made to establish the owndership of copyright before material can be freely used.” I like the way Peter Marshall solved unauthorised commercial usage of his images. He sent an invoice and a polite letter to the offending company!
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 200mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
A very happy boy runs through the incoming tide at Inch Strand, Co. Kerry. The tide came in suddenly forcing all the adults back but it brought a big smile to this youngster’s face!
Originally shot in colour with the sun behind the boy, I had to brighten the image significantly to get any detail in the boy. That blew out the brighter parts of the image so I made it into a black and white image and I’m very happy with the result.
It was competition night in Mallow Camera Club last night. The standard was amazingly high, but then again, a number of old hands, and pros are members as well as newbies like myself. I had to select 15 images for entry and with some difficulty whittled 30 images down to that number. After all that, there was some mix up with the projector and my images weren’t shown anyway. I don’t mind because the deadline for digital images had been during the week, not on the night, and I think images had been copied into the wrong directory. This photo would have been one of those images shown.
Just got an email from Shutterstock, my check’s in the post! Woo!
| Aperture | ƒ/13 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 48mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/320s |
Sometimes it’s good to chill out, relax and step out of the rat-race, even for a few moments.
This scene was made on St. Patrick’s Street outside Le Chateau, a bar with seating in front of the building as most places do these days because of the smoking ban. Yet another of the advantages of that ban!
On a related topic, how does insurance work when you’re drinking and enjoying the facilities of an establishment outside the physical walls of the bar or restaurant? The bar doesn’t own the pavement. Also, it’s illegal to drink in public areas isn’t it? In front of a pub is a public area surely?
In other news, I’m now a paid up member of Mallow Photography Club! Despite driving from Kerry on Monday, and feeling the worse for wear, I went to the meeting that night. It was a portraiture night using studio lighting. Three local girls, only one of whom had any photoshoot experience were our models and did a great job, even with the gaggle of photographers busily snapping away! I got a couple of good shots of the girls, which may end up on my photoblog next week if they’re happy with them. No promises because it’s the first time I’ve done this sort of shoot and it’s more than a little intimidating for a newbie! I need to read and absorb more of Strobist.
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 10mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
A child greets one of the onlookers at the Cork Folk Festival after the “Christ Restoration Ministries Gospel Choir” have sung and danced. There were lots of kids about and they were all having a great time!
I love this photo because the parents look so happy, kids are drinking their water and watching, the expressions on people’s faces as they see this small child come up to an adult, and of course the expressions of those who are oblivious to what’s going on. So much happening in one scene.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 144mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
A boy is dragged by his mother up St. Patrick’s Street at the Ceili Mor. He was playing with a balloon by punching it continually. I saw him approach and as luck would have it, err, I mean, I quickly composed this shot. I love the expression on his face and I’m very happy that I caught this moment!
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 18mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
