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.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length240mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/800s

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.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length172mm
ISO100
Shutter speed5s

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.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length172mm
ISO250
Shutter speed1/200s

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.


Apertureƒ/3.5
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO1000
Shutter speed1/30s

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.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length112mm
ISO500
Shutter speed1/500s

Golden Dawn Through the Trees

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.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length600mm
ISO800
Shutter speed1/4000s

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.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length124mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/6400s

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.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length26mm
ISO500
Shutter speed1/125s

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. 🙂


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length122mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/400s

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!


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length70mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/15s

A Chimney in silhouette

Many years ago, I photographed the sunset over the North Side of Cork City, using the silhouette of a roof and chimney as a foreground.

This is so long ago that I used a 2MP Fuji, my second digital camera.


Apertureƒ/2.8
CameraFinePix2800ZOOM
Focal length22.4mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/17s