silhouette – In Photos dot Org

Shadows of North Main Street

A month ago, Cork City Council acquired 4 eyesore buildings at the top of North Main Street in Cork. They are in a prominent location and not used for much over the years – I remember a shoe store in one, a clothes store in the place next to it and a retro goods store too. They’ve been mostly derelict for a long time.

Hopefully they’ll be demolished and we’ll see something decent done with the location.

North Main Street sits on one of Cork’s oldest thoroughfares and was actually built on reclaimed marshland. The street runs parallel to what was once the original course of the River Lee before extensive land reclamation in the 18th and 19th centuries. Many of the Georgian buildings here were constructed using limestone quarried from local Cork quarries, which is why they’ve developed that distinctive weathered patina that photographs so beautifully in black and white.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	12800
Shutter speed	1/500s

Growing Up by the Sea in Cork

Black and white silhouette of teenagers standing on a fishing pier with seagulls perched on equipment and masts against a bright sky in Ballycotton, County Cork.

It was a lovely evening in Ballycotton last Thursday, and a group of teenagers were making the most of it, jumping off the pier into the water and enjoying life.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	240mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/800s

Warning: Photographers at Work

Some members of Blarney Photography Club as they worked with their cameras just off the beach in Youghal, Co. Cork last night.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	172mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	5s

Fire in the Sky at Sunset

The sun sets behind a hill on the Dingle Peninsula, Kerry, back in 2021.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	240mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/1000s

Scottish Skyline: From Spires to Bridges

A beautiful sunset pictured from our apartment in Edinburgh a few weeks ago. The weather was glorious that week! It hardly rained at all!

Did you know that the Forth Bridge, visible just left of centre, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was the world’s longest cantilever railway bridge when it opened in 1890? It’s still a marvel of Victorian engineering that stands proud on the Scottish skyline.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	172mm
ISO	250
Shutter speed	1/200s

Rooftop Sunrise in Edinburgh

One of the good things about an early flight is getting up early to see the sunrise. That was me yesterday morning, when the world outside was mostly asleep, but I was preparing to head to the airport in Edinburgh for a flight to Cork.

Aperture	ƒ/3.5
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	24mm
ISO	1000
Shutter speed	1/30s

Shadow Play on a Scottish Street

Shadows on a wall as the sun sets in Edinburgh.

I had hoped to go up Calton Hill this evening, but the Beltane fire festival is happening there tonight. I have to be up early in the morning, so I decided not to go, but now I already regret not going! I’d have stayed far too long taking photos and be so tired for my flight in the morning.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	112mm
ISO	500
Shutter speed	1/500s

Golden Dawn Through the Trees

A dramatic sunrise scene with an orange sky and silhouetted trees in the foreground, partially shrouded in mist.

This morning, the sun rose through a beautiful orange haze. This was some 600m away through the eye of a long lens, and it looked even better in real life.

Aperture	ƒ/6.3
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	600mm
ISO	800
Shutter speed	1/4000s

Silhouettes of Lisbon at Dusk

A glorious sunset over Lisbon in late 2023. The famous 25 de Abril Bridge is there, of course, as well as construction cranes nearby working in building sites.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	124mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/6400s

The Calm Before The Day

The sun rose this morning a few minutes after 7am, but this is what the sky looked like about 8 minutes before. There was a glorious orange glow and the clouds were lit up from underneath by the sun coming around the globe and shining through the atmosphere.

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	26mm
ISO	500
Shutter speed	1/125s

Family Moments by the Atlantic

I was watching the sun set in Tenerife when a family approached and walked by. They were silhouetted by the sun, but instead of the usual black shadows, I wanted to try something different. No doubt the purists will be scoffing at the bright vignettes. Well, thanks. 🙂

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7RM5
Focal length	122mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/400s

Edinburgh’s Feathered Monuments

There’s something magical about Edinburgh during the golden hour, when the sun begins its descent and bathes the city in warm amber hues. I was walking along Princes Street with my colleagues after a long day of meetings when this scene stopped me in my tracks.

At first glance, it might seem like just another urban sunset, but nature has a way of adding its own whimsical touches to our carefully constructed world. A pigeon had chosen one of Edinburgh’s grand statues, the statue of King George IV, as its evening perch, creating an unintentionally perfect silhouette against the burning sky. As I framed the shot, I noticed its companion – another bird adorning a statue atop one of the buildings to the right (The Royal Society of Edinburgh, if Google Maps is right), as if they were having a silent conversation across the street.

The Georgian architecture of Hanover Street creates perfect leading lines, drawing your eye down to where the street meets the sky. The passing cars, their tail lights glowing in the dimming light, add a modern contrast to the historical grandeur of the buildings. There’s something deeply satisfying about capturing these moments where the past and present, nature and architecture, all converge in perfect harmony.

I shot this handheld with my camera set to underexpose the scene slightly, letting the buildings fall into shadow while preserving the rich orange tones of the sunset.

I love that there were pigeons sitting on those statues, even if they’re barely visible in the web-sized version here. They’re a reminder that nature finds a way, no matter what we do to tame it!

Aperture	ƒ/8
Camera	ILCE-7M3
Focal length	70mm
ISO	100
Shutter speed	1/15s