Episode 3 of the podcast on the business of photography that I host with Roger Overall is now live.

Have a listen over on the Circle of Confusion website, and be sure to leave a comment!

I've been quietly working on a new arm of my business, which is photographing golf courses. To that end, I've created a new site - Irish Golf Course Photography.

The idea is to combine superior technical image quality (using my 39 megapixel medium format system) with my artistic eye to create images of Irish golf courses that evoke a real emotional response from the viewer - to make them more likely to visit my clients' courses than anyone else.

If you're a member or staff at a golf course, and would like to improve its image and attract more visitors/members - then head on over to the new site and have a look - then give me a call.

The second episode of the photography business podcast that I co-host with Roger Overall is now live over on the Circle of Confusion site.

In this episode, we interview award-winning Irish wedding photographer Paul Callaghan and discuss how personal projects can lead to increased business.

Check it out!

Its been a whirlwind couple of days. I was at the second quarterly IPPA judging this year on Monday where I received 2 diamond, 4 gold and 3 silver crests.

As if that wasn't good enough, I also got word this weekend that my submission to obtain my QEP (Qualified European Photographer) was successful - so I can now put three more letters after my name. This year's judging saw only 35% of submissions making the grade, and I was the only successful Irish applicant. This makes me one of only 19 QEP photographers in Ireland, and one of just 2 in the Landscape discipline.

Click on the small image below to see a larger version of my panel:

Below you'll find my award winners from the IPPA.

First, the diamonds:
1 - Erupting, Eyjafjallajökull Volcano, Iceland

2 - Angry Gannet, Bull Rock, Co. Cork

Now the golds:
1 - Sunset, The Verdon Gorge, France

2 - Gannet in Flight, Bull Rock, Co. Cork

3 - Mère Eglise, le Gigon, Dévoluy Valley, Hautes-Alpes, France

4 - Illauncreeveen, Glengarriff, Co. Cork

And finally, the silvers:
1 - Dursey Island, the Cow & the Calf, Co. Cork

2 - View to the Skelligs, Bull Rock, Co. Cork

3 - Gannets in Flight, Bull Rock, Co. Cork

I feel honoured to have my work be judged so highly. Here's hoping I can keep the standard up for the rest of the year.

I recently had a film crew come down and record what happens on my workshops. They also interviewed me on what I love about photography and teaching. I just received the final cut of this film and am delighted to share it with you here.

Be sure and view it in HD (the little button that says '360p' at the bottom right - change that to '720p') if you have the bandwidth.

Related to this, my friend and colleague Roger Overall paid a visit on the same workshop and took some fantastic images of the workshop in progress.

I've just published an article/photo essay on my recent trip to the Bull Rock off the coast of Cork. You can read it here.

As always, your comments are welcome,

I was delighted to discover this morning that my image Dún Briste, Downpatrick Head, Co. Mayo won third place in the Nature category at the highly respected Prix de la Photographie Paris competition. Not only that, but it also received an Honourable Mention in the Fine Art/Landscape category.

Last year I received an honorable mention for my image Waiting for the Spring. Next year, it's time to win a category!

The PX3 competition is one of Europe's most highly respected photography awards, juried by many of the premier names in photography globally - including the curator of photography at the Library of Congress and the picture editor for Time Magazine. It's definitely an honour to place in such a competition, let alone two years in a row.

As most of you I'm sure are aware, I have a special place in my heart for Iceland. It's a great country with stunningly beautiful landscape and a fantastic people.

I was approached by the Icelandic tourist board to see if I would support their new 'Inspired by Iceland' initiative. I think it's an excellent cause - Iceland is a relative unknown to many people, so anything that puts the word out about how great a place it is to visit is good.

You can visit their website and see some cool videos as well as stories from other travelers. My own can be found here.

Be sure and check out The Circle of Confusion, a new podcast by myself and Roger Overall.

In it, we'll be discussing the business of photography in Ireland, along with photographer interviews, comment and opinion.

The first episode is now live, and new ones will be released every month on the last Wednesday.

Feel free to comment on the entries - we'd love your feedback!

I forgot to post this earlier, but the Irish Independent ran an article on my photographs of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. You can read it online here: Independent Article.

Also, you can catch my interview on the Tom Dunne show on Newstalk radio last week here: Radio Interview