My Exploration of Cork City and Picture Editing!

I explored the historical places of Cork City and chose to give a historical background on The English Market as I discovered it has a very long history and I really enjoyed my visit there. It is an indoor covered market that is open Monday through to Saturday from early morning to evening. You may find yourself stumbling into this market several times as it has several entrances including Grand Parade, Princes Street and Oliver Plunket Street, so no excuse for missing out then! This market, which is as much an institution as UCC, was born way back in 1788! It has grown and developed ever since, quite the achievement! As is the fact, which their website reminds us of, is that;

It has survived the Famine, revolutions, wars, fire and economic decline.

The markets website is quite helpful in highlighting what the market has to offer, it even has a 'You and Your Baby' section; as well as giving nutritional information, this shows how it caters for everyones needs as it does too for a diverse population. It reminds us of how people used haggle back in the old days and that this can still be seen today by those who are up to the challenge! It informs us that

The quality of produce being sold in the market today is of the highest standards, supported by the long standing Irish tradition of friendly and personal service.

*What Can Be Found Inside? *

There are up to twenty butchers inside but Flynn's Butcher is unique as it is a father-son tradition with their own known meat named 'Kaisler'. Moynahan has all the necessities for the famous Irish breakfast. Chicken Inn offers some of the best deals to be found in the country! Fresh fish from such ports as Donegal can be found at Kay O' Connell's Fish Market. My favourite part of the market is The Chocolate Shop. I have done a lot of shots but I had never done a shot of chocolate until I discovered The English Market where a shot of chocolate can be bought for a euro! Yum yum yum! One is completely spoilt for choice when it comes to bread as there is like forty different kind of loaves available to buy! Which has to suit even the most fussy of bread eaters! Lots of variety can be got at The Olive Stall, as it is commonly known though the sign is in Irish. This stall offers things from Greece, Spain, France and Italy! So your taste buds can have a field day! A European element can be found again at the French style patisserie Heavens Cake. For all the fans of Italian food like me our tasebuds can be satisfied by Iago where Italian style pasta and sauces can be bought. The English Market is beautiful to walk around and if one really wants to soak in the atmosphere go to The Farmgate Cafe which is an upstairs restaurant in the market. You can look down on the market and at certain times can enjoy eating to the sound of piano playing.

An article on a tour advising site summed up the experience of The English Market when it said it;

is a pleasant opportunity to combine shopping, dining, and a cultural experience all in one.

I am sure all would agree with the Markets site when it says;

The atmosphere is reminiscent of bygone times and especially on a wet and windy day its nice to stroll through and remember that as much as things change, they stay the same.

The English Market is a must see historical place in Cork City not only for the hi story it holds but also for the smoothies that can be had there! :) 

               Picture Editing!!            

I used Picnik to edit my pictures. This was a really helpful and easy to use site. The above three images are edited versions of the original image I took. The original image of The English Market sign can be seen in my description of The English Market and then can be compared to the above image which obviously shows differences. When editing this image I zoomed in and cropped the images as well as playing around with the colour and temperature. I think I prefer the original image as there was not a lot I could do with the editing of this one.                                                                                                                                                           

The image of the birds is a close up on one part of the statue one can see inside The English Market. I zoomed in, cropped the image, and adjusted the temperature and saturation to brighten the colours. I like this picture the most because there are so many colours in it.                                                                       

The framed image I think came out better after editing than the original image. The drawing was in blue and less viewable than when I edited it areas became darkened and shaded so to be seen more easily.           

I had a look at the link to McClurken's Class on Blackboard. McClurken's Class carried out a Historical Marker's Group Contract which is 

'a website for the sixty-two historical highway markers found in Fredericksburg City and Spotsylvania and Stafford Counties...each page will include trivia, pictures or images that relate to the subject of the marker.'

The use of pictures here is similar to what our class did in giving a digital account of historical places in Cork. In this site I found a part on Resources for creating Online Exhibits which I found interesting. It discussed two tools Omeka and Community Walk. Both tools the page described to

'offer exciting opportunities for presenting public history and developing creative class projects'.

Omeka is described as

'an open-source web publishing platform designed to help historical institutions develop interactive online exibits'.

It allows the public to get involved and contribute stories, documents etc. Such sites provide forums for people to use in an attempt to preserve memories of such events as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. It can also be used as a tool to document local history by the input of family photos to tell a historical tale perhaps closer to home.                                                                                                          

Community Walk

'offers another opportunity to enhance local history. It allows users to create customized maps and walking tours complete with color-coded markers, linked text, and photographs'. 'These projects reveal how public historians are using the digital resources to collaborate with the public to document community history. They also offer an intriguing opportunity for teachers who want to get their students actively involved in interpreting the past'.

I think these two particular tools are a very easy and useful way of documenting the past. Using the Internet in this way to sell an area for tourism or to document it historically is far more easier than I would have thought prior to having an insight into how it is done. I also feel it is perhaps more affective than giving people brochures or leaflets on an area as it reaches a wider audience on the web, it targets those who are most interested as they can go in search of the information if they want it and the ways in which to present online perhaps appear more appealing. So overall I found it useful and enjoyable playing around with my photos!!