2019

On Sunday, 13th January, East Cork Camera Group paid a visit to Youghal. We met at Green Park and divided into groups in order to cover the entire town. The Clock Gate Tower was our first stop and is the most visible landmark in the centre of the town. Although built in 1777 as a gaol, its story spans 700 years of history. It is divided into four floors. Each floor depicts a different era in time and includes a medieval merchant’s dwelling, 18th Century Gaol, a “time-keeping floor” and a former family home.

There was a commanding view from the top of the building. The only sound to be heard was the clicking of cameras until the Clock struck “3” and then we descended with the sound of the bells ringing in our ears. An absolutely fascinating place to visit and we could have spent hours there.

Our next stop was St Marys Collegiate Church, nestled under the protective arms of Youghal’s Town Walls in the Raleigh Quarter, which can claim to be the oldest church in Ireland with continuous worship since the 13th Century. The trusses of the stunning nave roof have been carbon dated to the late 12th century. There we photographed plaques and effigies and in particular the magnificent stained glass
windows.

One of Ireland’s oldest cinemas, the Regal Cinema reopened its doors in 2018 following a year-long renovation. The cinema was built in 1936 and many of its original architectural features have been meticulously restored making a visit a truly nostalgic experience.

We then headed to Youghal Lighthouse which has a unique history beginning in 1190 when a light tower stood on the site of the present tower. The Tower as we know it was built in 1848. Its location is unique in that it is almost in the centre of the town.

We could not leave Youghal without paying a visit to the beach. We all headed down to the front strand to capture the setting sun. As the sun set, we headed for home after a very enjoyable day spent in one of the towns of Ireland’s Ancient East.

See a gallery of images from the shoot here. Enjoy!

– Eileen Upton

How I Took That Shot – Noel O’Keeffe

The image above took first place in Grade B for new ECCG member, Noel O’Keeffe in our recent ‘Seascape’ competition. This is how it came about:

We were on a family trip to Mail Head last year. I took a good few pics around the area.

It was taken on Nikon D7200, using my very used 17-55 lens. Manual, ISO 125 35mm F10 & 1/250 sec.

There was very little post-production done on the image.

– Noel O’Keeffe

How I Took That Shot – Finbarr O’Shea

The image above, by Finbarr O’Shea LIPF’ took first place in Grade A in our recent ‘Black and White’ competition. This is how he made the shot:

I took my picture at Coumeenoole on the Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, a location I
visit a few times a year. I think it’s best to photograph this beach
when the tide is on its way out at sunset. I converted the file from
colour to b&w with Nik silver efex which is a free download.

My camera settings for the picture were: ISO100, F16, 1 Sec, with a 6 Stop
ND Filter. 16/35 lens at 20mm Focal length, on a full frame camera.

– Finbarr O’Shea

How I Took That Shot – Andrew Corkbeg

The image above took first place in Grade A in our recent ‘Seascape’ competition. This is how it was made:

I knew about the sea view printed competition I decided to take a photo that will be both normal photography and my favourite style digital composition.

For the photoshoot organised by ECCG with the theme seascape I invited one of my models. The photoshoot took place in Ballycotton at the time of the sunrise. I got the idea to put a tornado in the background at the same time she doesn’t look back just calmly looking into the future hoping for a better time. Then two days later and 20 layers on photoshop and you saw the final result.

– Andrew Corkbeg

How I Took That Shot – Niall Sharkey

This shot by Niall Sharkey was placed joint first in Grade B in our recent ‘Seascape’ printed competition. This is how the shot came about:

I took the photo down beside Knockadoon signal tower near Youghal, Co. Cork. I positioned myself close to the cliff edge to take the shot. It was taken at sunrise and the colour in the sky was amazing!

There was lovely cloud cover to bring texture and interest to the sky but what caught my eye was the deep red and pink hues from the rising sun as it lit up the undersurface of those clouds. Also, there was a significant warm/cool contrast between the seaward side and the land which gave it an almost 2-tone look.

Admittedly, I was aware of a seascape competition coming up so I needed some land/sea contrast and framed the image to catch both. My widest lens was 24mm and retrospectively I was sorry I didn’t stitch two images together in photoshop as the highlight of the scene was the vivid sky colour which was out of shot! Next time!!

I took the image on a tripod. The camera was a Nikon D810 with a 24-120mm lens. A slower shutter speed was used to soften the sea a little and capture the detail better at the base ISO of 64.

– Niall Sharkey