Pink Moon - Killarney National Park Being in lockdown has been strangely enjoyable on lots of fronts, but not being able to head out into the hills has been quite frustrating.  Thankfully, I had a consultant's appointment in Tralee which I was going to just cancel, but then realised it was a ticket to freedom for a few hours at least !   So I changed the date by a couple of days, and left early.. stopping off in a completely deserted Killarney National Park on my way. I thought of making this image some months ago and had put it in the diary.  Seeing this beautiful full moon setting on this clear morning in this amazing place was very special, and gave me enough of a hit to carry me through another few weeks of lockdown. The detail in the print is amazing using the Canon 135 TS-E Tilt Shift lens to make the panoramic.  Can't wait to do a huge print of this for the gallery when we open.. but in the meantime you can order the first editions online !

One of my main goals for the PARKLIGHT book project was to find new views to familiar scenes, and you don't get much more familiar than Ladies View. Although the viewing point is justifiably hugely popular, I've never really found that it provided me with an interesting enough composition. So I began to explore the area around there and managed to find a more northerly and higher vantage point in through the woods above Looscaunagh Lake. It's quite a job to get through the dense and eerily dark woodland but breaking out to this view is always hugely rewarding.

Another image that is the product of many years coming back again and again. I have previously photographed here a few times a year for at least 15 years and on this morning finally got the conditions I had been waiting for all that time. A beautiful scene, just as the sun rises and lights the top of the mountain before it quickly burns off the mist lingering above the water below. The perfect mix of drama and serenity together .

A location I had passed by many times without stopping but on this occasion the late morning light was a real beacon and I parked up nearby and spent a wonderful couple of hours finding compositions amongst the Oaks and moss covered stones. This image is all about light and the wonderful way it draws you into this scene with all it's textures and shapes. Woodland scenes can sometimes be too chaotic but the sun streaming through the gap in the trees in the background softens everything and makes this work really well. A favourite of many in the gallery, bringing the magic of the woodland into your room !

When I’m not in Kerry or West Cork.. Connermara is the next place that feels very special and one which I have a real connection to now. On previous visits I noticed these small little structures dotted around the landscape which intrigued me. Too small to be houses, or boat sheds I finally discovered the locals call them ‘ Bothainín ‘. Bothain is Irish for a hut, and adding -ín on to the word usually denotes it as being , little, small or in a name, junior. It turns out they were little huts that bailiffs from the large estates would sit in and guard the running salmon on the rivers from local poachers. I spent a few days photographing them until finally found this one on the perfect morning with a brooding sky offset by the lovely warm colours of Autumn.

This image needed a lot of things to go right for it to succeed. A sustained dry period so that the lake level would drop, to allow me to stand in my position, was by no means a guarantee in an Irish summer ! A good clear sunrise and calm conditions all combined and made it a perfect morning to capture this majestic place.

This iconic location on the Beara Peninsula was one of the first places I visited with my camera many years ago when just starting out on my photographic journey. The waterfall is nestled at the very end of a dramatic valley with lakes, forests and megalithic sits to distract you on the way in to it. Filled from the lake above the flow reacts instantly to rainfall, so to see it at it's best you need to be there soon after a heavy rainfall as I did this day.

The main national route through the National Park in Killarney is bordered by wonderful Oak forests which in late April and early May spring back to life with new shoots of ferns and an abundance of Bluebells and Wild Garlic. I enjoyed many mornings wandering in and around these trees searching for compositions and this image was made just after some prolonged rain when everything just seemed to be springing into life again. The path draws you in perfectly to this lovely scene of fresh spring growth and lovely mid morning light in the background.

The Black Valley in Kerry is a place of great drama and extremes. Flanked by the highest mountains in Ireland, the McGillycuddy's Reeks, good light is a challenge in here any time of the year. Sometimes it's best when there's no light at all. On mornings where the fog lingers, the trees and winter colours can make for lovely compositions and something very different that what you normally see on other visits. Here , this line of trees is isolated perfectly from the chaotic drama of the craggy mountains rising behind them with the winter colour of the grass , softening the scene nicely.

Dromquinna Evening A beautiful scene as the sun sets over Kenmare Bay taken from the magical setting of Dromquinna Manor.

Cromwell's Bridge The remains of this bridge built c 1700 sits on the Finnihy River in Kenmare town.  Despite the name it has nothing to do with Cromwell, and surely looked a lot different when it was actually in use as I can't imagine either man or animal and cart being able to cross this easily!

I had wanted to photograph the first light flooding into the Black Valley for a long time and eventually got the opportunity during a fine spell of weather in June 2014. The hike up on a warm summer's evening with camping and photographic gear making for a very heavy pack was tough, but worth it. The conditions were a little too perfect and I rose early at 4am to clear skies with no chance of the mist or cloud I had hoped for. However the fleeting moment you have as the sun rises before everything is bathed in light was beautiful and I managed to make some very quick exposures as the sun rose behind Purple Mountain.

The main national route through the National Park in Killarney is bordered by wonderful Oak forests which in late April and early May spring back to life with new shoots of ferns and an abundance of Bluebells and Wild Garlic. I enjoyed many mornings wandering in and around these trees searching for compositions and this image was made just after some prolonged rain when everything just seemed to be springing into life again.

Most definitely one of the best drives you can do anywhere in Ireland. You drive through the heart of the Beara Peninsula, with it's distinctive mountainous landscape all around you as the road winds it's way around crags and passes, emerging to a dramatic view from the top which ever direction you travel in. I've spent many days, mornings and evenings up here but this image showing the rising sun was just the right balance of drama in the sky which I didn't want to overshadow the drama of the road itself.