ECCG ‘Transport’ Competition – 07/06/2016

‘Transport’ was the theme of our fourth and latest internal competition of 2016 held at the Midleton Park Hotel on Tuesday 07/06/16. Following two viewings of the eighteen entries, marks were awarded which yielded a close run result especially in Grade B where only one point separated first and second. The results were as follows:

Scores

Gaining his second first place in a row, Finbarr O’Shea took the honours in Grade A  while Anthony O’Connor and Denis Barry came second and third.

With two wins already under his belt for the year, Keith Johnson made it three by winning Grade B. Jim O’Neil was second and Noelle Lowney third.

Newcomer, Karina Leeson, made an outstanding debut in ECCG competition by winning Grade C with a score of 318 points which also landed her third in the overall placings. Well done Karina!. Eileen Upton and Jim Curtin came second and third respectively in Grade C.

In the overall high scores across all three Grades, Finbarr O’Shea, Anthony O’Connor and Karina Leeson took the honours.

Well done to all entrants, especially those new members entering for the first time, and congratulations to those who gained valuable points towards this year’s Photographer of the Year competition.

The image below is the overall highest scoring image by Finbarr O’Shea. Click the image to see all the entries. Enjoy!

See also:
How I took that Shot – Finbarr O’Shea
How I took that Shot – Keith Johnson
How I took that Shot – Karina Leeson
Competition Gallery
Competition Results and 2016 League Table

Nire Valley, Co. Waterford – 29/05/2016

Nire Valley 29-5-16 KDay-15On Sunday 29/5/16, a small group of us travelled east towards the Nire Valley in Co. Waterford. The day started very sunny but as evening came the rain began to fall. This did not deter us however.

On the Dungarvan to Clonmel road we came to the village of  Ballymacarbry, here we took a right turn and this road led us to the Nire Valley.

This Valley is part of the Comeragh mountains and was formed during the last Ice Age.  It contains many beautiful glacier lakes. We only travelled a short way into the valley and took some nice shots by a two arched bridge next to Hanora’s cottage.

Nire Valley 29-5-16 KDay-7After a quick break at the local hostelry, we made our way back towards Dungarvan. We stopped at a lovely grotto by the roadside, perfectly placed in the high rock face.  A short distance before the town, we made a stop at Colligan woods, here we found a gem.  The Colligan river, with a nice foot bridge, passes through a most beautiful wooded area, with designated walks of varying capabilities. This area has great potential for the enthusiastic photographer!

We took many nice shots here, but, as the rain became more persistent we reluctantly gave in and headed for the car.

No doubt we will make a return journey to this area in the not too distant future.

Click here to see a gallery of images from this shoot. Enjoy!

Mary Day

Gougane Barra Shoot – 22/05/2016

Gougane Barra DBarry-11

Though over 90Km away, a trip to Gougane Barra is never a chore. Tranquil, contemplative, scenic are words that readily come to mind about the place; photographers’ haven are others.

With a reasonably favourable evening forecast we decided to make the journey and following radio reports of record downpours at the K Club and Semple stadium where Rory McIlroy and Cork were respectively bidding for glory, we hoped the bad weather was not coming our way.

Gougane Barra EUpton-6On arrival, all was quiet with very few visitors around so we had an unobstructed view of the place from all angles and, with only a few light squalls to contend with, the evening was beautiful with intermittent sunshine, interesting cloud cover and above average temperatures.

To some extent a photographic cliché, Gougane Barra is charming and it is impossible to resist pressing the shutter release even though you are well aware that there are no ‘new’ shots to be had there. One man who set out to disprove this though was ECCG member, James Brady who sent his drone off on an exploratory flight around the lake in search of the alternative shot which he certainly got. The place is as beautiful from the air as it is from the ground.

Gougane Barra JBrady-2

With an hour and a half left to sunset, we decided that enough was enough. We packed the gear and headed east happy with a successful shoot. In common with us, Rory Mcllroy was also a happy camper having won his first Irish Open Golf Championship by three strokes. Not so good in Thurles however, where the Cork senior hurlers were outclassed by Tipperary in the first round of the Munster championship. Best not even mention the score! Instead, take a look at James Brady’s stunning (and calming) aerial footage below.

Click here for to see a gallery of images from the shoot. Enjoy!
Members: See more here.

 

Drone Flying and Photography Tutorial – 17/05/2016

Drone Tutorial ZLlewellyn-1-Edit

Getting your camera into unusual positions and getting new angles is often touted as being the mark of a good photographer, something we endeavour to do all the time.

Taking this to new heights (pardon the pun!), we had a tutorial on Drone Flying and Photography recently from ECCG member, James Brady, who put his dji Phantom 3 through its paces.

Drone Tutorial DBarry-1Beginning with some classroom work, James outlined the features of the drone and controller, discussed flying the drone including the regulations now in place governing their use and using the drone for photography and videography. Then with all questions suitably answered, we went outside to a nearby park for a practical demonstration.

Drone Tutorial FOShea-3-EditThe experience was mesmerising! This little package, weighing a little over 1Kg is packed with enough smarts to practically fly on its own with minimal input from the pilot. James demonstrated the start up procedure and flew the drone expertly around the park while a live video feed streamed back to the display on the controller, immediately revealing a view of the town rarely seen. The images were breathtaking and solid as a rock even in the blustery and overcast conditions that prevailed.

The specs of the onboard camera are:
Sensor 1/2.3” Effective pixels:12 M
Lens FOV (Field Of View) 94° 20 mm (35 mm format equivalent) f/2.8
ISO Range
100-3200 (video)
100-1600 (photo)
Shutter Speed 8s -1/8000s
Image Max Size 4000 x 3000
Still Photography Modes
Single Shot
Burst Shooting: 3/5/7 shots
Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB): 3/5
Bracketed Frames at 0.7EV Bias
Time-lapse

Midleton County Council Office

Midleton County Council Office

Video Recording Modes
2.7K: 2704 x1520p 24/25/30 (29.97)
FHD: 1920x1080p 24/25/30
HD: 1280x720p 24/25/30/48/50/60
Max Video Bitrate 40 Mbps
Supported File Formats FAT32 ( ? 32 GB ); exFAT ( > 32 GB )
Supported SD Card Types Micro SD Card 8 GB included
Operating Temperature 32° to 104° F ( 0° to 40° C )
Photo JPEG, DNG
Video MP4, MOV (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264)

Church of the Most Holy Rosary

Church of the Most Holy Rosary, Midleton

Drone Tutorial FOShea-4The return to home feature, implemented automatically when the drone is out of range or by pressing a command on the controller, landed the drone back automatically within two feet of where it had taken off from – simply amazing.

We reviewed the images on a large screen back at The Midleton Park Hotel after the demo and were suitably impressed by the quality of the images even in less than ideal conditions.

The popularity of drones is definitely on the increase and brings new opportunities to the photographer and videographer alike.

Thanks to James for sharing his knowledge and expertise.

Members: Click here for more.

 

Fort Davis Shoot – 15/05/2016

Fort Davis FOShea-4

Given that we shot all 57 cruise liners that called to Cork Harbour during the 2015 season, shooting another in the 2016 season was really not on the agenda but that’s what happened on Sunday last 15/5/16.

With the recent and rare fine weather, sunsets are the order of the day at the moment and with low water at around sunset, we headed for the lower harbour and decided on the elevated site near Fort Davis in Whitegate, East Cork.

The sunset, while nice, wasn’t brilliant but off in the distance, berthed at Cobh Cruise Terminal, lay the 333m long MSC Splendida which was due to depart about an hour after sunset. Having been on board this beautiful ship nearly twelve months ago, ECCG has a particular fondness for her so we decided to wait and see her off.

In the distance we could see it had silently slipped from the berth and was moving past Cobh. Slowly, with the Cork Pilot Launch at her heel, Splendida came around the Spit Bank Light, past the Whitegate Oil Refinery jetty and was a beautiful sight, all lit up in the blue hour, as it almost silently passed between Forts Davis and Camden towards Roches Point enroute to Southampton.

With a capacity for 4,363 passengers and 1,370 crew, Splendida is, effectively, a floating small town and this sight will be repeated many times over this season as upwards of 60 liners are due to visit Cork harbour this year. Check out the Port of Cork Cruise Liner schedule for dates and times.

Click here to see a small gallery of images from the shoot at Fort Davis. Enjoy!