URBAN PHOTOGRAPHS

Urban Expression And Depression By Infomatique

university campus

GRANGEGORMAN AREA INCLUDING THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

by

GRANGEGORMAN AREA INCLUDING THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

Using a Zeiss Batis 135mm lens imposed some constraints but I very much like this lens.

I am due to visit Belfast within a few days and the last time I was there, early 2019, I had a bad fall and damaged two or three ribs as well as my Sony A7RIII camera and my Voigtlander 40mm lens. Not long after that fall I purchased a Sony A7RIV and even though I intended to use the RIII as a backup body I never used it again mainly because I could not get geo-tagging to work. In general I preferred the newer body.

When I visited Kilkenny earlier this year both my Sony A7RIV and iPhone overheated. Ever since the Sony has given weird random problems and become somewhat annoying to use so I decided to give the A7RIII another go and much to my surprise I got, after a lot of effort, geo-tagging to work [not 100% reliable but acceptable]. If I switch off the camera it is necessary to reset Bluetooth.

I know that many claim that the A7RIII produces better images and that it is not worth paying the extra for the A7RIV and I can see why after using the MKIII today.

NICHE by Orla de Brí

by

NICHE by Orla de Brí – UNIVERSITY CAMPUS LIMERICK SEPTEMBER 2021 AND MAY 2018

When I first photographed this a few years ago I thought that this was the “diver” and could not find any relevant information but as a result of my 2021 visit and the use of a reverse image search I discovered that the artist responsible was Orla de Brí. I am now in the process of publishing the 2021 and 2018 images.

In 2021 I used a Sony A7RIV with a Voigtlander 40mm lens
In 2018 I used a Sony A7RIII with a Sony FE 24-70mm lens [the better combination]

Niche’ was commissioned for the campus of The University of Limerick. 8 meters in height, it comprises a polished bronze figure with branches on a Corten Steel pilar.

Orla is an Irish Sculptor with a studio in Co Meath. de Brí works in bronze, steel and fibreglass. She has had seven Solo Shows, and has completed 27 site-specific, large-scale public sculptures, in Ireland, London and Istanbul.

Working in both Gallery and Public Art her work is also in many significant private collections both nationally and internationally.

THE LIVING BRIDGE I USED A VOIGTLANDER 40mm LENS

by

THE LIVING BRIDGE I USED A VOIGTLANDER 40mm LENS

This visit to Limerick I limited myself to using primes and I am not sure if it was a good idea and I may not limit myself in this way when I visit Belfast at the end of the month. Also, much to me surprise, there was a lot of dust on the sensor which was more than annoying. Much to my surprise as I had my camera professionally cleaned a few days earlier.

The Living Bridge – An Droichead Beo is a unique design by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, London and consists of seven 50-metre spans linked together by piers which create four platforms of refuge for walkers.

The platforms are designed to accommodate social gatherings, informal teaching sessions, music and dance performances, as well as a wide array of educational, social and cultural activities – all contributing to this facility’s status as a “living” bridge”.

The bridge alternates between rhythms of bridge and island, with lightweight bridge structures joining to more solid pier locations. This is reflected by the change in construction materials from steel to concrete and the transition from open parapets to solid pillars and glazed side walls which serve to shelter the “inhabitants” of this animated facility.

The architects designed the bridge to move in a beautiful flowing line across the Shannon, mirroring the river. The design conveys the sense of a series of bridges leaping from pier to pier, each supported by one of the existing islands in the riverbed. This gives the traveller the sense that they are crossing the river on stepping stones.

From the south campus, access to the bridge is through what presents itself as a hidden gateway in the Millstream Courtyard and provides a vital link between the Glucksman Library, Concert Hall and Millstream developments to the Health Sciences and the new Irish World Academy of Music and Dance on the north bank. An impressive Plaza will welcome you to Clare once you have travelled over the bridge.

The Pedestrian Living Bridge project was resourced through a partnership of private and public funding and was assigned to Arup Consulting Engineers in Dublin. Kerin Contract Management in Limerick managed the project while building work was undertaken by Eiffel Construction, France’s largest bridge builder.

SCULPTURE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE UL CAMPUS – THE WALL OF LIGHT BY SEAN SCULLY

by

SCULPTURE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE UL CAMPUS – THE WALL OF LIGHT BY SEAN SCULLY

The wall is known as ‘Crann Saoilse’ (2003) or the ‘Wall Of Light’.

The UL campus is truly one of the most beautiful university campuses anywhere in the world. Visitors never fail to be impressed by this peaceful green place with its trees, its fountains and the beautiful river Shannon flowing majestically through it all.

In November 2019 the University of Limerick announced details of its plan to develop a second campus in the heart of Limerick city on the old Dunnes Stores site. The Dunnes site has been derelict for a number of years and was purchased by the university in 2019.

Sean Scully RA (born 30 June 1945) is an Irish-born American-based artist working as a painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His work is held in museum collections worldwide and he has twice been named a Turner Prize nominee. Moving from London to New York in 1975, Scully helped lead the transition from Minimalism to Emotional abstraction in painting, abandoning the reduced vocabulary of Minimalism in favour of a return to metaphor and spirituality in art.

Scully has also been a lecturer and professor at a number of universities and is highly regarded for his writing and teachings, collected in the 2016 book, Inner: The Collected Writings and Selected Interviews of Sean Scully.