From Evening to Night in Cork

The north side of Cork City, with the North Cathedral and Shandon Bells visible. The Church of the Ascension is barely visible on the horizon, with the restored glowing cross bright in the night sky.

This is a time blend photo. Two images, shot at different times of the day, combined into one. The sky was photographed at sunset, when the sky was still bright, while the urban streets and buildings were captured much later after sunset. A first attempt, on an evening of rain and cold when we didn’t expect much of a sunset at all.

Here’s a video that explains how to do it:

Here’s another, slightly different edit of the photo that will make it more obvious what’s going on.

A time blend of the north side of Cork City with The North Cathedral and the steeple of St. Anne's Church, or Shandon Bells visible.

Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length54mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/60s

Wait For Green

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.


Apertureƒ/2.8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/1000s

Frozen in motion

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!


Apertureƒ/2.8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO12800
Shutter speed1/320s

The Gorilla in Valencia

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.


Apertureƒ/3.5
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO1000
Shutter speed1/60s

The Caminito del Rey Bridge

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.


Apertureƒ/7.1
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length23mm
ISO125
Shutter speed1/160s