Photo of the Week - Week 17:
Phibsborough's Alexander ALX400 bodied Volvo B7LDD, AX589, is seen operating Route 122 on Dorset Street Lower on Bank Holiday Monday the 2nd May 2011.
This week's image of the week comes courtesy of AX589 operating Route 122.The sun was perfect on Monday along Dorset Street and Drumcondra. However taking a second glance at the photo above, I became quite startled to see an eye staring back at me. Now from the photo it is apparent that I, along with a renowned enthusiast, have been spotted by the driver and the passenger. That's not usual, you get used to such reactions being 'professional' bus paparazzi. No what had me more concerned was the eye on the top window just above the route number. Below is a better look.
The all seeing eye of AX589.
The more I looked at it the more I considered paranoia. Checking Wikipedia for advice I read that "Paranoia is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion." Seemingly in my case the thought of being paranoid was possibly the fear trigger.
Therefore the only way to conclude that I was not paranoid was to find a logical solution to the optical illusion, to throw away any irrationality. And it becomes clear with the aid of another photo.
Summerhill's EV44 and AV128 are shown operating sister routes 16 and 16A on Dorset Street Lower on the 2nd May 2011.
The red van that AX589 is overtaking is shown behind AV128, which is pulled in at a stop. And it is one of the modern streetlamps that AV128 is shown behind that it the optical culprit. Looking at the ground beside AX589 we see the line leading to the front corner of the bus, and though must of the shadow on the bus is hidden by the doors, it reappears and casts a shadow on the front of the bus.
The strange metallic shape causes the multitude of lines, the glass bulb contained creates the eye pupil effect. It's as simple as, but still it makes quite an interesting observation. Conclusion: Maybe the paparazzo isn't as 'professional' as he thought he was, making the amateurish error of allowing the shadow of the street lamp effect the photo.
As for the image of EV44 and AV128, well does not need arguing that this is a better photo than that of AX589. Two buses, contrasting vehicle types, sister routes, a strange allocation for the 16 route in EV44... The list goes on, but yet I chose not to have it as image of the week. Why? Well amazingly EV44 has already been image of the week twice in the relatively short history of this site, once operating on the 102 while in Harristown, the second time on another strange Sunday allocation on Route 20B.
To finish I note that last week I spoke of RML2646 and that I was unable to fully confirm that it had survived the fire. Well it has, and was spotted in O'Connell Street on Bank Holiday Monday.
Not the best photo in the world, but RML2646 is seen returning to the Dualway Depot after a days work on ticket duties on the 2nd May 2011.