Photography by Frank Courtney Co. Dublin Ireland

Charity CD Cover – Star of Light, Scoil Mhuire Choir, Trim, Co. Meath –

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 23:58:22 +0000

Just a quick mention here for the ‘Start of Light’ CD which was produced by the Schoil Mhuire Choir from Trim Co. Meath (Choir Director : Jane Lynch) where the proceeds are in aid of the SVP.

I was delighted that one of my favourite Christmas photos was chosen by them for the cover. I took this a few years ago, when the tree used to be erected down by the castle. These days it’s in Market St – beside the courthouse.

Christmas 2011 – photos from Dun Laoghaire Pier

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 02:51:22 +0000

Some photos taken from Dun Laoghaire pier – the bandstand was outlined with some Xmas lights (though the protective barriers around it did take away from the impact).

Happy Christmas everyone.

Food Photography – Alexis Bar & Grill, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin

admin — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 15:22:43 +0000

Alexis bar & grill in Dun Laoghaire has been open for nearly 5 years now – and going strong from the start. Recently, they decided to revamp the menu, the interior and their website.

I’ve been taking photographs for them since they first opened, and I’m also a happy customer. The photos below show some of the photos I did for their new website (www.alexis.ie) as well as some of my own favourites.

First the interior :

Now – on to the food :

Last but not least – the desserts :

And a few behind the scenes photos :

Bear in mind that some of the menu consists of daily or seasonal specials – so not everything pictured above will be available on a given day.

Killiney Hill

admin — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 23:22:26 +0000

The weather was mild and bright last Sunday, and I went for a walk to one of my local favourite places – Killiney (and Dalkey) Hill. The day was a bit too hazy for the sort of photos I wanted to take – but I ended up with a few anyway. The first one is of the Obelisk on Killiney Hill taken from Dalkey Hill.

The second is of a castle taken from near the Obelisk. Like most people around here – I know who lives there – but I’m not sayin’

ODonoghues Pub – Merrion Row

admin — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 23:48:59 +0000

This blog also replaces an older one I started – Graphic Dublin – but let slip by the wayside. However, I mean to continue it on – even if only as a category on this one. I’ll be starting by reposting some of my favourite images from the old one. This is my first one, and is a firm favourite of mine.

The main reason for this being the sign just above the head of the guy engaged in an animated conversation on his mobile

Kinsale for the Bank Holiday

admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 17:20:20 +0000

I was in Cork for Halloween – enjoyed it a lot, even though the weather wasn’t great. One of my trips was to Kinsale. Had a great meal in Fishy Fishy and just enjoyed walking around the town. I took a few quick photos there – these are two I particularly like myself :

Using QR Codes to label everything

FrankC — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 17:10:16 +0000

This is an idea I picked up from the moo blog and also fitted in nicely with something I had been meaning to do for ages. As a working photographer, I carry lots of equipment with me for each job. Occasionally, some of this can get lost – or at least temporarily mislaid. I decided to label everything with my contact details, so that there would be some chance of getting it back if I lost it. Around the same time, I read a blog post from moo about using QR codes.

So, I decided to design some moo stickers with a custom QR code, and use them to label all my equipment. It would be possible to just print ordinary labels, with my contact details, but that would be a lot less interesting and far too low-tech !

However, apart from that, there are a few advantages to using the stickers instead :

They’re small, and therefore can be used on virtually anything – including CF cards
The vinyl they’re printed on is harder wearing and more waterproof than my usual inkjet-printed labels
I can have quite a lot of information on a small label
It makes it just that bit easier for anyone with a smartphone to contact me

However, I’ve also added my phone number for those who don’t have a smartphone, or don’t know how to read a QR code.

Here are some photos of how I use them :

There are loads of websites you can use to generate QR codes, I used this one :

http://zxing.appspot.com/generator/

I also used the information on the next website to guide my layout. The stickers are probably a little smaller than the ideal size – but seem to work fine :

www.jeffkorhan.com/2011/08/3-best-practices-for-generating-reliable-qr-codes.html

And, last but not least – the moo website

http://moo.com/share/fynqrf

(This is my affiliate link – and you get a 10% discount on your first order).

Open House Dublin – 2011

FrankC — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 20:53:11 +0000

Open House Dublin was on from 7-9th October. I managed to visit 2 properties this year – Government Buildings and Martello Tower Number Seven, Killiney Hill Road. The Government Buildings tour was very interesting, but unfortunately no photos were allowed inside.

The Martello Tower visit was also very interesting – and there are some photos below. The restoration is still continuing – the site being a former town dump for Dun Laoghaire. All the work is an amazing private project by Niall O’Donoghue. You can read more about it here and on the Facebook page here. Once again, these are just some cameraphone photos (I really should start carrying my ‘proper’ camera with me) :

Dalkey – Street Art

admin — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 16:32:10 +0000

OK – my first post on the new blog.

Well, Dalkey is not exactly renowned for street art. However, I saw the image below in an alley just off the main street in Dalkey. I thought it was interesting, and took a quick shot using my cameraphone. I afterwards discovered that the artist – Solus – is quite well known and has a facebook page here