A RED METAL YOKE BY BOB SLOAN – THIS SCULPTURE IN BELFAST HAS NO NAME
I photographed this just before sunset using a Zeiss Batis 85mm lens.
In Irish slang, the word ‘yoke’ doesn’t have anything to do with eggs. Instead, it’s another way of saying ‘thing’. So if someone in Ireland sees an object that they’ve never seen before, they will commonly be heard to ask, ‘What’s that yoke there?’
Ireland appears to have a huge collection of red metal things and in general I have found it impossible to find out anything about the sculptures or the artists and in some cases I end up not being at all sure that the item in question is in fact an example of public art.
It took me a long time to track this down but I know that it dates from 1992 and that the artist responsible is Bob Sloan and of course it is untitled [enter ‘untitled’ and see how many results are returned].
My understanding is that this was relocated from Riddel Hall to May’s Meadow in Belfast City.
Bob Sloan is a practising sculptor since the 1960s. The artist studied at the Belfast College of Art [1959-63] and the Central Schools of Art and Crafts, London [1963-64]. His work can be seen in many public collections including the Arts Councils of Ireland and N. Ireland, the Ulster Museum, the RUA, The Queen’s University of Belfast, Laganside Corporation, the N. Ireland Housing Executive, the N.I. Tourist Board, the George Cross Memorial Garden and the Royal Ulster Academy as well as in private collections in Ireland, England and America.
Today I used a Zeiss Batis 85mm Lens and as a result I have decided to bring it with me when I visit Belfast for a week at the end of March. I also took the opportunity to use some new software from DxO.
DxO is a French company dedicated to photography. Founded in 2006, it is located in Boulogne-Billancourt. They company markets DxO PhotoLab, ViewPoint, and FilmPack image processing software.
The software that I am testing is DxO PureRaw2 and it is best described as a simple to use fully automated version of DxO PhotoLab. The software converts raw files to 16-bit linear DNGs, using DxO’s industry-leading lens correction and noise reduction algorithms. These DNGs can then be processed using your preferred imaging software [I use Lightroom], just like normal camera raw files.
I currently have DxO PhotoLab. DxO PhotoLab 5 is software which corrects various optical aberrations, notably image distortion, with corrections tuned to particular lenses and cameras. It also adjusts lighting and colour rendering. The software reads the Exif file to gather information about the camera, the lens and the settings that were used.
Its automatic optical adjustment can fix:
Distortion of curved line (should be straight) Color fringes Light fall off of vignetting Make same sharpness from centre to corners
I also use Nik Collection. Nik Collection is a collection of 7 plugins for Adobe Photoshop and applications compatible with Photoshop plugins; Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop Elements are officially supported. DxO acquired Nik Collection from Google on October 25, 2017, and it was first released as a DxO product, Nik Collection 2018, on June 6, 2018.
Direct connection to iPhone or iPad via high-speed Lightning connector - large viewfinder, touch control and instant sharing. WiFi connectivity for remote camera controls
20.2MP 1" CMOS-BSI sensor and f/1.8 prime lens (32 mm equiv) - capture details even in extreme low light and take gorgeous portraits with soft bokeh
Fast shutter speed (to 1/20000 sec), Long Exposures to 30 seconds, high ISO (51200), full HD video (1080p/30, 720p/120)
Rechargeable lithium-ion battery and micro SD card slot (stores high-quality RAW format files; 8GB microSD card included)
Instantly share your DxO ONE images from your iPhone to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more. Battery life - Up to 200 images
Last update on 2024-04-16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
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