John Coveney Photos' photostream  

More pics on facebook. The requirements of the Dad-taxi service meant I had limited time on the Bull Island this afternoon for the Battle of the Bay kite-surfing festival but I like this one. As the light was very strong anyway, I pushed it even further by adding contrast as well as blue in the white balance to to get a vaugely Alexian look to it. I took it with the Canon 100-400mm, handheld with image stabilization at 210mm, for 1/1250th of a second, f11 and ISO 200. The statue is commonly known as the Virgin Mary Monument but its correct name is Realt na Mara - Our Lady Queen of the Sea - built in 1972.

An alternative title for the shot could be Someone to Watch Over Me but I didn't think the rythym of this classic jazz ballad by George Gershwin syncs with kite-surfing!

I went down to Poolbeg one evening early last March to get a moonshot that didn’t really work – but this grab shot as I arrived wasn’t bad as a consolation! I used the Canon 17-55 lens at 55mm for 1/250th of a second, f8 and ISO 100.

In at #41 this morning :-) - thanks as always for your interest and comments. Another one from the Offshoot outing to Great Saltee off Co. Wexford on 12 May. The aim here was to get a clean background by finding a Razorbill Alca torda with the sea behind it– but without reflections from the sun. Given the very strong illumination and consequent harsh shadows, I added some fill light with high speed flash (info here & here). As I was only 2-3m from it – as captured by Olive, I didn’t use the flash extender. I stopped down the aperture to try to get both the eye and the tip of the beak sharp. It was the taken with Canon 100-400mm, for 1/400th of a second, 400mm, f9 and ISO 200. This is my favourite from a long series of this bird – the constant moving of its head and resultant changes in the lighting, as well as the bird’s regular blinking meant that most of the shots were throwaways!

Three EXPLORES in a row! This one is in this morning at #285 - as always thanks for the interest and your comments - it's risen to #28 now! I shot it during at the English Market during a visit to Cork over Easter. Even though I wasn’t that happy with it when I printed it, it got a “Highly Commended” at Offshoot’s food competition this week - perhaps in part because the judge liked my title :-). Check out all the winners here. I used available light – I didn’t want to be too obtrusive around the market by using flash - with the Canon EFS 17-55 lens at 35mm for 1/25th of a second (image stabilized), 5.6 and ISO 200.

Explored at #60 - thanks for the interest. A shot of a Gannet Morus bassanus taken on Saturday’s Offshoot outing to Great Saltee off Co. Wexford. I used a Canon 100-400mm, handheld with image stabilization at 250mm, for 1/3200th of a second, f7.1 and ISO 200. I got some fill in light on the bird's underparts using high speed flash (info here & here) using a flash extender - also known as a "better beamer" – and no, that's not an improved German car! I got mine from Speedgraphic. The downside of using flash on shots like this is that there's only chance on each approach - fortunately the birds almost hang in the air for an instant just before they land.