Monthly Archives: May 2014

Round Cobh Island Windsurfing Race – 2

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Photo: Finbarr O’Shea

After a largely disappointing day on Saturday when strong winds forced the cancellation of the race, we were hoping for better on Sunday and that’s exactly what we got!

A bright, sunny day unfolded and, with conditions ideal, the race was definitely on. Competitors began to gather at Cuskinny for the 2pm start and soon, boards and rigs covered the beach as race preparations got into full flow.

Following a briefing on the pier it was onto the water and off to the start line. The fleet made an impressive sight in the early minutes as it made its way past the Spit Bank lighthouse towards the town. Dwarfed by the Cruise Liner ‘Brilliance of the Seas‘ berthed at Deep Water Quay, the leaders made good speed as they passed the Naval Base at Haulbowline and headed up river towards Belvelly where a crowd had gathered on the bridge to await their arrival. The bridge proved little difficulty as the competitors dropped their rigs and passed underneath for the final leg of the race

Back at Cuskinny, friends and relations waited for sight of the returning competitors and at about 4.30pm, their wait was over as one, then two rigs appeared in the distance. Shortly afterwards, first and second crossed the finish line and made their way to the beach where they were applauded home by the waiting crowd.

Meanwhile, back in Cobh, a huge crowd had gathered to bid farewell to the Brilliance of the Seas which, following one long blast of the ship’s whistle, was clear of  its berth and slowly turning to starboard in preparation for departure.

One day, one island, two more events to add to Cobh’s rich maritime history.

Mouse over the image below to see and activate the slideshow controls and photographers’ detail. Photography by Fidelma Read, John Tait, Finbarr O’Shea and Denis Barry. Enjoy.

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See the post and images from Day 1 here.

Check the race out on Facebook

SailCork website

 

 

 

Round Cobh Island Windsurfing Race – 1

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Hoping for an action-packed day out in Cobh today, we headed to Great Island for the Round Cobh Island Windsurfing Race. All seemed to be going to plan with a number of competitors limbering up near the start line but then, due to 45kn winds gusting in the harbour, the race was postponed until tomorrow.

With some time on our hands we were content to play the tourist for a few hours at Cobh Heritage Centre mixing with the disembarking passengers from the imposing presence that was the majestic cruise liner, Celebrity Infinity, just recently alongside at Deep Water Quay.

Meanwhile, at the back of the island, some windsurfers were putting in some training (aka having the craic) for tomorrow’s event under the watchful eye of a cool canine sailor.

Mouse over the image below to see and activate the slideshow controls and photographer details. Photography by John Tait and Denis Barry. Enjoy.

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Here’s hoping for better luck tomorrow.

Check out the post and images from Day 2 here.

 

Free Top-of-the-Range Software

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Note that the program requires a system with 8GB of RAM and a 64-bit version of Mac OS X 10.7 / Windows 7 or higher.

Click here for more

 

Group Meeting 6/5/14

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Ann Marie Collins speaks to the Group by Denis Barry

We were delighted to welcome Ann-Marie Collins L.I.P.F. as our guest speaker at The Midleton Park Hotel on Tuesday 6/5/14. A former member of ECCG, Ann-Marie has recently turned professional specialising in Custom Newborn Photography. As a mother of two herself, she appreciates how fast baby’s first few weeks go by and decided that she would capture those precious memories in her East Cork studio for parents to treasure for a lifetime. Her passion for this genre of photography is evident even in how she speaks about the subject not to mind the exquisite photography she produces.

Ann Marie presented a slide show of some of her work which you can see on her website here. The variety of poses and props were amazing while all her subjects seemed quite at home posing for the camera! It was a revelation to hear that sessions can take several hours to complete but considering her passion to get it just right, it was not surprising. She also showed some wall hangings in canvas and other materials as well as albums and prints which really show off her subjects well.

Newborn photography is a particularly sought after service so if you want Ann-Marie to perform her magic on your newborn, don’t wait until baby arrives as you will be too late. Contact her studio some months ahead of time to ensure your booking.

See Ann-Marie’s website here. Find her on Facebook here. You can contact Ann-Maire here.

Our next speaker was Mervyn Daly who demonstrated the art of mounting photographs for framing or exhibition/competition. A delicate operation in its own right, Mervyn covered the subject in detail showing all the tricks involved to get a perfectly mounted image.

The Group were delighted to welcome three new members at the meeting and look forward to working with them and seeing their work in the months ahead.

 

Ballyannan Wood Shoot – 4/5/14

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ECCG Group at Ballyannan Wood

A damp morning greeted the members when we met at the Midleton Park Hotel this morning. Keeping an eye on the weather over the weekend to see if the shoot could go on, we decided in the end to ‘go for it’ as we had been rained off so many times already this year. We were glad we did.

The wood, just on the edge of Midleton town, was a treasure trove of plants, trees and graphic shapes and the bluebell crop was in full bloom adding a vivid vitality to the scene. The damp weather had lent its own unique spice to the landscape leaving delicate drops of moisture on the flowers and leaves. Along with the woodland, the estuary shore added another dimension with old boathouses, graffiti and beached timber among the photographic subjects.

Have a look at some of the images captured below. Mouse over the image to see and activate the slide controls and to see details of the photographer. Photography by Joe Keniry, Trevor O’Connell, Jim Curtin, Finbarr O’Shea, Anthony O’Connor, Bill Sisk and Denis Barry

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