An infra-red image of a copse of trees at winter's end.

One thing that's difficult for photographs to capture is the impression of height. I feel this image, made from the lower balcony of the Fastnet lighthouse, succeeds in conveying that sense of vertigo. Looking down 140 feet to the seething waters below gives a real sense of the accomplishment of the builders who finished this structure in 1904.

Since my first visit to Cork as a photographer some years ago, I've had it in mind to photograph Toe Head, an imposing headland to the west of Galley Head on the south coast of Cork.
I hadn't found a vantage point I was happy with on the few occasions I'd been around when good light was threatening. However, serendipity paid a visit when I was out with Roger Overall, a commercial photographer and friend of mine.
We met up, I stabbed my finger at a spot on the OS map that looked promising and we arrived at the location in this photograph.
Made looking to the west as the sun was getting low in the sky, it shows the headland's most imposing aspect with the rocks in the foreground leading the viewer up to it.
Made using a filter which forces a long exposure, the water and waves take on a misty character which adds to the character of the scene.

The moon peeks out from behind haze and cloud shortly after rising above Myross, Co. Cork

The steps leading down to the old landing at Dunlough Bay on the Mizen peninsula

This lone tree is a magnet for local photographers. and was particularly beautiful on this evening. The red light on the clouds is not sunrise, but streetlights from the nearby village.

This photograph was made in the evening after the lantern had come on in the lighthouse. The open door is very inviting - lighthouses were always very hospitable places. Unfortunately, since automation more often than not the doors are barred as there's no one present. When work is ongoing, for a brief time some of that old hospitality comes back to life.

Photographing the lighthouse from the rock itself can be challenging, both artistically and physically. High winds complicated my efforts, but as we were waiting for the helicopter to pick us up, the sun popped out from the clouds and I was able to frame this image.

A lonely tree stump protrudes above the water in the Gearagh, Co. Cork

Kilcatherine is one of the hidden jewels of the Beara, itself an under-appreciated gem of the south-west of Ireland. This photograph from Kilcatherine Point looking west to Inishfarnard shows the rugged beauty of this area. It was a day where the forecast was bad enough to make you want to curl up by the fire and forget the outside world exists, but I ventured out and was rewarded with this wonderful sunset.
You don't need good weather to make good photographs!

A tree root emerges from the submerged forest of the Gearagh, Co. Cork.

This image was made at the same time as my blurred image of "Bluebell Woods, Cork", and in fact this is a vertical composition of that same scene.
Here, I've used a lens with a very wide aperture of f/1.2 to create a very shallow depth-of-field. The two closest trees are sharp, but the bluebells in the foreground and the backround are out of focus - this creates a three-dimensional effect that draws the viewer into the frame.
This effect is further aided by the natural vignetting of the corners of the frame, drawing attention to the center.
I like both of these images. Both have an otherwordly quality to them, but for very different reasons.