Blur to save your life

Posted by Brendan Ó on January 27, 2013

Has been quiet here on the blog this week. Work has been getting in the way.

However, there has been another week of blur. Another week of blur saving the world, as it always does. Another hard task to choose my favourites from the pool, but here goes. Thanks to all for posting, for sharing, for supporting. Have a good week.

Some of the best images from Blur will save the world

Thanks to the following photographers for posting these great images. Click to see more of their work. From left to right

Shane Connaughton - pix•Olga - Ade Santora - PHSIMAGE - ShelSerkin - serap günay - petyrc - Thomas Hawk - seasalt42

And before you do that, click on the music below and let it be your soundtrack

Time finds a place

Posted by Brendan Ó on January 22, 2013

The sky is one of the first things that form in my recall. I question whether the sun was shining or is it my sentimental slant making it so. Perhaps. Either way, I see it vast, cloudless. Time hanging still, like dust in sunlight. Closing my eyes now, I see you. I see us. You before me, biting on your lips, moistening them. You look everywhere; everywhere except at me. That cold January day.

What is it? I asked. Why are we stopping? Your eyes came to meet mine and I sensed it immediately. Those words; those words which I had willed you to utter for so long, they were about to be come. I reached out my hand, took yours, smiled at you. Tears welled in your eyes. Your words stuttered, but with a kiss I hushed you and told you. Yes! Yes, I will, I will marry you. You lifted me, swung me around.

And now I see that sky again, enormous above us, an expanse of possibility. I hear the river running along beside us. I see you, your smiling face. Forever now, you said. Forever!

As our years passed, this scene we recounted many times. To each other, of course. To our children too. We brought them there. Stopped them and told them, this is where your dad asked your mother to marry him. Why there? Why in this place? Time finds a place, we said, place doesn’t find a time.

Time finds a place

The best of Superosity on January 20

Posted by Brendan Ó on January 20, 2013

I find it amazing to see how this group has grown to now having 2,527 members. That is the population of a big village. A village diversely populated. I would love to do a demographic breakdown of the members sometime. It’s not the easiest of task to look through the images of the past week to select a ‘best of’, but it is an enjoyable one. One where I found myself choosing black and white images. I had not intended to pick only black and white images, but these were the ones which had made the biggest impact on me through the week. I advise you to click on the links below to the photographers’ streams and see what else they have to offer. Thanks to those who shared these images this week and as always – a big thanks to all who post to the group.

Best of Superosity - January 20, '13

Click here to see more from these fabulous photographers -

XpatScot - Hameediii - Janey Kay - bluecut - Rintaro_Wada - StephenCairns - SabrinaRomahn - adde adesokan - Kurt Mercury - Meljoe San Diego - sennzz - MdKiStLeR

And while you are doing it, click on this to give you some background music

Kiss this photographic future

Posted by Brendan Ó on January 17, 2013

Instagram - I have 2345 photographs on Instagram. I first downloaded the app in 2011. Doing a little mathematics, I see that I have taken about 3 Instagram shots every day over the past two years. How many photographs have I taken with the DSLR in the same time? I doubt I am anywhere near that figure. And why? Well, the iPhone is a multi-functional device and it goes everywhere with me. I pat myself down to check it is with me as often as I check that I am zipped up. It is precious to me; my all-time favourite gadget. As Apple has developed its technology, the camera has improved in quality and with the fun that Instagram has brought to shooting I have fallen in love with it.

Like most photographers, I am constantly seeing frames, seeing moments, seeing people that I just know would make great photographs. So many times in the past these moments passed me by, luckily consigned to memory. Now, with the iPhone with me at all times, I can get that shot. And I can get that shot without having to raise and point a weapon-like instrument that a DSLR is. The iPhone allows you to get great street shots – discreetly. The latest update from Instagram, the one which allows you to later rotate the image makes this even better. Now you can have your phone at any angle and know that later you can flip that image around. No need to have raised directly at your targets. Such fun. And fun is what it is all about with the iPhone.

I keep two Flickr accounts. I set up another in 2011 just for the Instagram shots. I had been posting Instagram shots to this Flickr account for a while, but when I was away in Asia I really got into it and on a 5-week trip I took more than 1500 iPhone shots. Again, doing a little maths you can see that more than half my Instagram shots come from that five weeks. For holidays, I venture to say it is the best camera you can have with you. When we were in Barcelona in August, I hardly used the DSLR at all.

One of the very best things about Instagram is the community aspect. Cast your mind back a few years and try to imagine a scenario where first thing in the morning you could flick through images taken that day (factor in a time difference here) in Shanghai, Tokyo, Ankara and the grand old U.S of A. Now imagine this on a daily basis and you begin to realise how wonderful this is. You get to see the world through the eyes of others. The dream of living vicariously is possible.

And what images they create and share. Each day it is a trip (pun intended) to see how Michael in Tokyo and Mimo in Shanghai find commonalities and beauty in these two Asian mega-cities. Their images elicit a million wows each day. Serap from Ankara presents Turkey with grace, elegance and artistry. Then for sheer beauty and jaw-dropping images there is Trina – Pixelmama, a whole different class of wows! Some of you may follow their streams on Flickr – but I can tell you, you are only getting half the picture. Get an iPhone, download Instagram and kiss this photographic future.

To follow these guys on Instagram: Me – @nadnerb - Michael – @mdkistler -Mimo – @mimokhair - Trina – @pixelmama

Here is a small selection of my Instagram shots that have not been posted to Flickr:

Vietnam

Tokyo

Tokyo

High-Speed train to Tokyo

Barcelona Airport

Berlin

Train Station, Cork

Holocaust Memorial, Berlin

A man without a nose

Coffee shop, UCC, Cork

Little beads of dew sparkling in the sunlight

Posted by Brendan Ó on January 14, 2013

A sunny morning here in Cork yesterday. Looking out my window I saw the little beads of dew sparkling in the sunlight. It looked beautiful. I grabbed the camera, switched lense to the 55 – 200mm, and stretched out on our drive, lying on my stomach I got a few photographs.
These are straight out of the camera. For once, I made no Lightroom adjustments.
Of course, in my haste to get out (and also to get back in before neighbours saw me lying on the ground) and take the shots I forgot to change the settings on the camera. But still I think the result is nice.

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The best images of the week from Superosity

Posted by Brendan Ó on January 13, 2013

Hundreds of images are posted each week to Superosity. It is a hard job to choose the best; let’s just call them my favourites. There are so many other excellent images in the group pool – click on the youtube video below and get over to Superosity and treat yourself to some wonderful photography.

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Thanks to the following photographers for sharing these great images. From left to right - AlpGeissler - skallx - Urban Muser - w_stairs - maktub77 – street dog - …arpi… - wjosna - peteskiphoto - CameraManCoe - Correy.Bratton - cecilyc123 - Delta9 Mikki - Rintaro_Wada

There is a marvelous video here from - Orlando Z.

And here is some music to go with your week of Superosity -

A blur will save the world showcase

Posted by Brendan Ó on January 13, 2013

9 photographs from Blur will save the world. Thanks to all the great photographers who post there. These inspire so much.

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From left to right - mugijo - MdKiStLeR - enrico vattani - serap günay - ac malloy - mugijo - imagejoe - alainpaul2012 - Nikita_70

These are other great images which would not go into the mosaic for some reason. These will delight also – click, click, click - xxfromneptune - ~mimo~ - mutablend (mostly off)

If you do not wish your photos to appear on this blog, I fully understand and will take it down immediately. Thanks to all.

Music to view the images to -