Photographs from "The Irish Light"

The Black Valley is not a million miles from the bustling town of Killarney. However, due to the geography of the area, it's one of the more remote parts of Ireland, surrounded by craggy mountains on all sides.
This house is located at the very heart of the valley and couldn't present a more Irish scene if it tried. A classic view of the valley, it epitomises wild Ireland for me.

This imposing view is located near the town of Armoy in Antrim. Known as the 'Dark Hedges', these beech trees were planted in 1750 and have over time grown into this beautiful, surreal tunnel.
Over time, various trees in the row have died and fallen, and recently several were removed as they were in danger of collapse. A local trust has been set up to replant the missing trees, so that this remarkable place will continue to exist in its current form.
Shot with a long lens, the natural perspective compression serves to amplify the dark and brooding nature of the tunnel.

Inch Beach is beloved of anyone who's holidayed there - and indeed many families return year after year.
I've long wanted a photograph of it, but it had always eluded me until this one. I chose an elevated viewpoint so you can see the shape of the beach itself and the matching shapes of the waves as they advance in from Dingle Bay.
In a large print, you can see individual surfers in the water, as well as people enjoying their time on the beach on this early Spring day.

The finest lighthouse on the Irish coast, the Fastnet stands proud on an unusually calm fine Summer's evening.
A granite tower constructed of interlocking blocks, it's a virtual monolith which presents itself like the bow of a ship to the incoming Atlantic swells, dissipating their energy before they reach peak force.
So effective is the design and construction that it has survived the worst the Atlantic can throw at it for over a century with nary a scratch. In 1985, it was struck by a 48m rogue wave (the same height as the focal plane of the lantern). This stove in the glass of the lantern room and overturned the vat of mercury on which the lantern turns, but the structure took no other damage.

Skellig Michael (Sceilig Mhichíl) is one of the jewels of Ireland's landscape and heritage. Seen here from a helicopter, the Small Skellig and Lemon Rock are also visible. Puffin Island, Valentia and Portmagee are all visible in the distance.
A double-pyramid of rock soaring up from the surface of the Atlantic, it houses two lighthouses (one decommissioned), a 6th century monastery and a hermitage from the same era.

The Fastnet is certainly Ireland’s finest lighthouse. Difficult to land on, and all but impossible to step from a boat for most of the year, this aerial view shows the typical angry sea that surrounds it.
Cape Clear Island is visible on the horizon, the closest point of land to the rock, often called the ‘Teardrop of Ireland’ as it was the last thing emigrants saw of their home country when sailing to America and Australia.

The Old Head of Kinsale is home to one of the world's most spectacular golf courses. Covering the end of the peninsula itself, bounded by cliffs on all sides with only a narrow isthmus connecting it to the rest of the peninsula, it's a strange mixture of wilderness and manicured beauty.
There has been a lighthouse at the Old Head since 1665. The original building is still present and was a cottage type with an open fire on its roof. The current 40-foot tower was built in 1853.
This photograph was made near sunset on a late summer's evening. The view is to the north with the golf course and lighthouse in the foreground and Kinsale town on the main coast to the right of frame. The low angle of the sun creates dramatic shadows which show the beautiful sculpting of the golf course very clearly.
Made with an ultra-high resolution digital sensor, in a large print golfers can be clearly seen on the course.