Bridge Jumping Season

When the rare Irish sun decides to grace Graiguenamanagh with its presence, the locals know exactly what to do: head straight for the old stone bridge over the River Barrow.

At least it was in the summer of 2013. I doubt they’re doing it today, in the middle of December.


Apertureƒ/7.1
CameraCanon EOS 6D
Focal length105mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/320s

We’re Always Connected

A woman completely absorbed in her phone, standing directly beneath a massive Vodafone billboard promising “Always Connected Technology”. I guess we are always connected. Even if alone.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO1250
Shutter speed1/500s

Moving the Goalposts by The Lough

When you want to play a game of football, you need to set your sights high and aim big. No point playing with 2 jumpers for the goalposts when you can bring the real thing from home!


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraCanon EOS 20D
Focal length10mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/125s

Bus Stop Chronicles

I just read that Martin Parr passed away yesterday. He was a giant in street photography circles with a fantastic library of unusual photos showing a slice of life wherever he had his camera.

I was lucky enough to attend a Zoom call he hosted last year, showing photos and telling stories.

So, today’s image has to be a street photo. A busy scene on St. Patrick Street, Cork in 2017.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraCanon EOS 6D
Focal length50mm
ISO320
Shutter speed1/400s

The Rush at Oxford Circus

At the end of a day of street photography we took the train back to Liverpool Street Station from Oxford Circus. That of course calls for the obligatory long exposure shot of the train coming into the station.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO800
Shutter speed1/8s

Urban Geometry at Night

Black and white night-time photograph of a modern brutalist covered structure with horizontal fluorescent strip lighting and concrete cylindrical support pillars, gravel and paved ground in foreground, white metal railings, modern building visible on right side, and a contemporary public space at Bishop Lucey Park, Cork.

The brutalist architecture of Bishop Lucey Park seems to suit black and white night shots. This was only my first time trying to photograph it in such a way but I’ll try again.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO400
Shutter speed1s

Festive Commerce in Cork

Brown Thomas on Patrick Street, Cork, is all lit up again for Christmas. On Oliver Plunkett Street they’ve put up the usual decorations and they look fabulous!

Night-time photograph of pedestrians walking on Oliver Plunkett Street, Cork, beneath cascading golden fairy lights creating a canopy effect overhead, large red neon-illuminated festive spheres and decorative motifs suspended above the street, blurred figures in winter clothing in motion, storefront signage visible at street level.

Links:
Christian does a nice edit of a panorama in Lightroom Classic. I learned something new – use the aspect slider to adjust the oddities of LrC panoramas.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/6s

Books for Christmas

Light shines out of the windows of the Dubray bookshop in Cork recently.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length16mm
ISO3200
Shutter speed1/125s

A Sunlit Afternoon on the Wall

This is me standing on the old walls of Cork where I took this photo in Bishop Lucey Park yesterday afternoon. The sun had already started to head to the horizon and it wasn’t even 3pm, but it did light up the mural on the wall and placed the ground in front of me in shadow.

For many in Ireland, November is firmly in the winter months of the year. It seems to be a traditional Irish/Celtic thing because Met Éireann uses meteorological seasons which classify September, October and November as autumn.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/1000s

Palestinian Rally in Cork

Today was International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and it being Saturday there was another rally supporting the Palestinian people and Gaza in Cork. It went from Grand Parade, down St. Patrick’s Street and up Oliver Plunkett Street, finishing up on Grand Parade again, at the corner with South Mall, along the river.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/2000s

Bishop Lucey’s Pigeon

If there’s one thing that was a constant in the old Bishop Lucey Park in Cork it was the pigeons. They swarmed over the old city wall where humans were denied because of a fence around it. Sometimes the wall was thick with them, waiting for a child to come along and scream and laugh at them as they flew into the air in panic.


Apertureƒ/4
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length24mm
ISO400
Shutter speed1/500s

Mobile Appetite

One of the food trailers at the Skibbereen market on the day I visited in 2019 was “Little Green Shoot”. They’re on Facebook, but haven’t updated since 2020 so they may not be operating any more. A lot has happened since then.


Apertureƒ/4
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length16mm
ISO160
Shutter speed1/500s