I was there too
This is one of those delightful urban photography moments where colour, context, and coincidence align to create something more interesting than the sum of its parts. A woman in a green T-shirt and shorts, on an Uber bicycle with green basket, cycling in front of a shop bearing the name “VERDE & Co Ltd”. Verde being Spanish/Italian for “green.”
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
Cork City during the height of the Celtic Tiger era, captured in 2007 when Ireland’s construction boom was at its peak and the city skyline was dominated by cranes building new office blocks and apartments, including the Elysian Tower.
It would all come crashing down financially within a year. Some apartments in the Elysian were vacant for years.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 20D |
| Focal length | 75mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/640s |
I visited London briefly during the summer with some friends and Piccadilly Square was one of our destinations. There were so many people from all walks of life gathered there it was a rich representation of life in the city.
Tonight at Blarney Photography Club I gave a talk there about the trip with my fellow traveller, Annette. Over the course of an hour we dove through 156 images between us. A grand snapshot of the city.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 82mm |
| ISO | 400 |
| Shutter speed | 1/400s |
TBL8 Brass Band playing in Cork earlier this evening. They were so good. Blasting out the hits!
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 16mm |
| ISO | 250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
The January sales in Brown Thomas attract many but the shop is a good place to meet someone as I presume this gentleman was, back in 2016.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | Canon EOS 6D |
| Focal length | 105mm |
| ISO | 1600 |
| Shutter speed | 1/250s |
People walking along a corridor in a shopping mall in Birmingham, England. 2022.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 23mm |
| ISO | 640 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
The mural, “What is Home?” by the artist Asbestos, at the end of South Main Street, in Cork. As seen through the ring of a nearby life buoy hanging on a pole.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 75mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/640s |
I was having a coffee and scone at the café in the Cornmarket Centre when I spotted the circles on the roof. Apparently they are acoustic baffles to absorb sound waves and echoes. I guess it is quite a large enclosed area..
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 24mm |
| ISO | 320 |
| Shutter speed | 1/30s |
I love the murals around Cork City, and the mural on Sullivan’s Quay is particularly eye-catching. Ordinary life continues on, but at least we’re treated to the gorgeous colours whenever we pass by.
| Aperture | ƒ/9 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 77mm |
| ISO | 1600 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
From the car park on North Main Street, Cork, you can Bruce College and St Mary’s Dominican Priory. I liked how the stark lifeless concrete frame of the multi-story car park contrasted with the variety of materials and colours in the world outside.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 201mm |
| ISO | 1000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
When you can take the train, you should probably take it rather than flying.
| Aperture | ƒ/4 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 17mm |
| ISO | 200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/5s |
The Millennium Bridge has always been a bit of a drama queen – first it wobbled so much they had to shut it down, and now it’s serving up some of the most atmospheric shots in London.
This long exposure captures something almost supernatural about the daily pilgrimage across the Thames, with ghostly figures drifting like spirits between the sleek modernity of Norman Foster’s steel and glass creation and the timeless majesty of Wren’s baroque masterpiece. The blurred pedestrians become streams of human consciousness, each person’s journey reduced to ethereal wisps against the solid certainty of St. Paul’s dome.
The Millennium Bridge earned the nickname “Wobbly Bridge” because it swayed so dramatically when it first opened in 2000 that it had to be closed after just three days. The problem was “synchronous lateral excitation” – when large crowds walked in step, their footfalls created a resonance that made the bridge sway side to side by up to 7 centimetres, causing people to walk in sync to compensate, which only made the wobbling worse.
Photography videos I’ve watched recently:
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 41mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 5s |
