A lone figure lights the way to the monastery on the peak of Skellig Michael on a calm night.

Made during my trip to visit the Bull Rock Lighthouse in early Summer, 2010. This image was made on the way down from the old fog signal station and shows the illuminated lighthouse against the empty sea beyond.
As this is a night image, the exposure was long and thus the waves and clouds are completely smoothed out, creating a timeless look.

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.

In early March 2013, comet PANSTARRS made its first appearance in the northern hemisphere. On two nights, it appeared in conjunction with the very slender crescent moon. The first night, the clouds didn't cooperate with me, but on the second one I was able to get this image.
The comet can be seen behind the thin band of cloud near the middle of the frame. The crescent moon appears very bright, but the area in shadow is illuminated by Earthshine - the reflected light from the Earth itself. To finish it all off, the lighthouse on Skellig Michael makes an appearance, winking its light at us.

Being mainly famous for its 6th century monastery, the dramatic island of Skellig Michael also boasts two lighthouses built in 1830. This image was made of the lower lighthouse from the road to the upper (which was discontinued and abandoned in 1870).
Made shortly after moonrise, the image shows the light in its new guise. Just a couple of weeks before this image was made, the old fresnel lantern was decommissioned and a modern LED lantern mounted on the balcony. In a large print, this new light can be seen illuminated. It has great advantages in cost of operation, but unfortunately means that the rest of the lighthouse complex is surplus to requirements and will be closed up. The end of an era, but on this trip I was fortunate enough to enjoy the hospitality of the lighthouse for possibly the last time ever.
This is one of my favourite images of recent times. I love the line of the road leading down to the light, and even more the evidence of nature's relentless assault in the cracked and damaged walls, and the overgrown road itself.

Being mainly famous for its 6th century monastery, the dramatic island of Skellig Michael also boasts two lighthouses built in 1830. This image was made of the lower lighthouse from the road to the upper (which was discontinued and abandoned in 1870).
Made shortly after moonrise, the image shows the light in its new guise. Just a couple of weeks before this image was made, the old fresnel lantern was decommissioned and a modern LED lantern mounted on the balcony. In a large print, this new light can be seen illuminated. It has great advantages in cost of operation, but unfortunately means that the rest of the lighthouse complex is surplus to requirements and will be closed up. The end of an era, but on this trip I was fortunate enough to enjoy the hospitality of the lighthouse for possibly the last time ever.
This is one of my favourite images of recent times. I love the line of the road leading down to the light, and even more the evidence of nature's relentless assault in the cracked and damaged walls, and the overgrown road itself.

One of the advantages of living in a remote area is that often you don't need to go much further than your front door to get some wonderful images.
I was working on some projects in my home office when I looked out the window as the sun was setting. A beautiful crescent moon was low in the western sky, so I grabbed my tripod and camera and went outside.
The wonderfully subtle tones in the sky and the gradual transition from bright to dark, combined with the fact that the dark side of the moon is visible (due to earthshine) make this an image I'm very happy with.

Night photography is one of my favourite pursuits. This image, made about thirty minutes after sunset looks out over the Glantrasna Valley on the Kerry side of the Beara peninsula.
I made a couple of photographs here, but something was missing. So I waited until a car was about to come into view and then started this two minute exposure. The resulting light trail of its headlights follows the curve of the road and links the left and right sides of this image.

In the wee hours of July 14th, 2020, Comet NEOWISE streaks through the skies over the Gap of Dunloe in Kerry, Ireland.

Made on the evening of March 7th, 2011, this image shows the International Space Station and the shuttle Discovery flying over the hills of Gougane Barra.
Just a couple of hours before, Discovery had undocked from the ISS to return to Earth for the last time. Discovery was leading the ISS in its orbit, so both took the same path across the sky and appear as a single trail. However, at the left side of the image, you can see the fainter trail that is the shuttle by itself - the ISS ended its track in this photograph where the line brightens again.
The orange-red light in the bottom center of the picture are the lights in the Gougane Barra valley.

This view of Tory Island Lighthouse was made late in the evening, some time after sunset.
It was a hazy evening and I noticed that the beam of light from the lantern was very well defined as it swept across the island. I put on my headlamp, grabbed the camera and tripod and walked out halfway to the lighthouse, where I could get an uninterrupted view of it.
This is the composition I decided upon, a relatively wide view of the scene, and a long exposure to show the beam on both sides of the tower as it swept around its arc.
To prevent the lantern itself from becoming overexposed, I had to cover the lens with my hand every time the light passed over my position.

The moon rises above the flooded Gearagh near Macroom in Cork.