I was there too
We were in Youghal recently on a cold and blustery afternoon, and so were lots of others with their dogs. Not in this photos is Diego, but he was keeping a close eye on the other dogs!
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
Two skateboarders on Grand Parade in Cork, away back in 2021. The guy sitting down was wrecked tired by the looks of him.
| Aperture | ƒ/2.2 |
| Camera | SM-G998B |
| Focal length | 2.2mm |
| ISO | 50 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1400s |
This was the derelict site of the demolished tax office in Cork, but back in February 2019.
What difference 6 years? Nothing really except they’ve removed the rubble. It’s still an ugly eye sore. They really should have put a park there if they’re not going to do anything with it.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 16mm |
| ISO | 125 |
| Shutter speed | 1/40s |
Sitting on that bench must be awkward, or you’d have to be very friendly with whoever you’re sitting next to.
| Aperture | ƒ/9 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 26mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
I had some fun in Bantry today, experimenting with a new exposure mode I haven’t really used in the past, Spot Highlight. I came across it in this video made by Sean Tucker. In this mode, the camera will expose for the highlights, sacrificing shadow detail to make sure that bright areas contain detail and aren’t over-exposed.
Luckily, the sky was clear, and it was a lovely day in Bantry, so there were plenty of highlights and shadows.
The histograms of such images showed most of the data was in the shadows, for obvious reason. There were usually plenty of dark areas in those images.
I tested the new adaptive profiles in Lightroom Classic on this image too, but it brightened the shadows in a way I didn’t want it to. Luckily, you can reduce the “Amount” slider, so the effect is reduced.
I used Lightroom’s native noise reduction “enhancement” which generated a 64MB DNG from a 69MB RAW file. I was delighted when I converted that to a 3.6MB lossy DNG, and I was still able to use the adaptive colour profile!
This photo was taken inside a lovely shop called Meara & Morley in Bantry. My wife loved it. I think we’ll be returning in the future!
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1250s |
I spotted this stunning Siamese Cat in the town of Garachico in Tenerife recently. He was wandering across the street near the Plaza Juan González de la Torre.
Despite my calling him, he just walked on up the street, ignoring me, but he did give one look back as he walked past some rubbish bins, and out of sight.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 240mm |
| ISO | 1250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
An anonymous man in a suit at the Dingle Races a few years ago. I’m pretty sure he was sucking a lollipop.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.9 |
| Camera | M2101K6G |
| Focal length | 5.89mm |
| ISO | 56 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
Adi Roche, the founder and voluntary CEO of Chernobyl Children International, was a prominent figure in Irish media for many years, tirelessly advocating for children affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Her passionate commitment to this cause left an indelible mark on countless Irish people, including myself when she visited my school in the early 1990s. Her presence was inspiring, leaving us all in awe of her dedication and humanitarian spirit.
In 2004 I photographed her on a float during the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Cork. She may have been the Marshall that year, perhaps?
| Aperture | ƒ/4.5 |
| Camera | CYBERSHOT |
| Focal length | 45.2mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
This woman was screaming into a microphone on Grand Parade, Cork, for the last few years. This is a photo from 2022, but I remember seeing her in late 2024 too. I could never make out what she was saying as the sound was distorted so much by the volume on her speaker.
I hardly ever saw anyone talking to her. I wonder how effective this sort of preaching is?
| Aperture | ƒ/2.8 |
| Camera | DSC-RX100M4 |
| Focal length | 25.7mm |
| ISO | 125 |
| Shutter speed | 1/640s |
Jaysus, I nearly dropped me phone when I spotted this scene in the Musée d’Orsay like. There’s your man on the left, pure glued to his iPhone, probably updating his Insta or whatever, and the other fella hanging on to some pamphlet or other. And there in the middle, this massive marble yoke, probably worth more than me gaff, just sitting there being completely ignored. Had to grab the shot with the camera – savage composition altogether. It’s gas when you think about it – here we are in one of the fanciest museums in Paris, and the only one paying attention to anything is yer man in the statue. Reminds me of walking down Patrick Street, with everyone’s heads buried in their phones while the city’s gorgeous architecture looms above them. Mad stuff altogether, boy.
(A bit over the top, but that’s how Perplexity thinks Cork people sound like. Accurate?)
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 26mm |
| ISO | 10000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
