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I love the comedic nature of this image, but also the textures captured in the water by the very high shutter speed used as the gentoo penguin re-enters the water while porpoising.
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Rarely seen, the hermitage clings to the narrow South Peak of Skellig Michael with a 700 foot drop on either side. The main monastery can be seen on the North Peak in the middle distance, and the Small Skellig and the Kerry coast lie beyond.
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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.
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The three rocks off the tip of Dursey Island at the end of the Beara Peninsula line up just after sunrise on a clear summer's day. The Bull is the largest and sports its lighthouse and massive gannet colony. The smallest rock is the Calf which can be seen near the horizon to the right of the frame. The bump on it is the stump of a lighthosue that was broken in half by the sea in the late 1800s.
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This was one of the finest sunrises I've ever experienced. The combination of clear skies in the northeast and low cloud and fog on the mountain allowed this dramatic composition including the sun, filtered through layers of mist.
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This view of Skellig from an aircraft overhead reveals the entire island like a map. The eastern side is on the left. The boat landing can be made out as a pale area just above the eastern point, and you can follow the whole path from there to the monastery on the left peak.
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Lemon Rock is the third island in the trio including its much more famous sisters, the Great and Small Skelligs. The three form a straight line leading into the Atlantic from the Iveragh peninsula.
Standing 20 metres above the water, when viewed close-to it is dramatic. I photographed it at sunrise on a fine spring morning.
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The Macgillycuddy's Reeks are Irelands tallest mountains and form a jagged horseshoe ridge about the Hag's Glen. Seen here from the shore of Lough Callee, the eastern section of the Reeks is crowned by a rainbow at sunset.
The leftmost peak is Cruach Mhór, followed by Knocknapeasta, Maolán Buí and Cnoc an Chuillinn on the right hand side.
This was one of the best evenings I've seen in the Hag's Glen and to see a rainbow at sunset was a real treat.
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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.
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An Tiaracht, otherwise known as Inishtearaght, or Tearaght Island is the most westerly of the Blasket group in Kerry and that makes it the most westerly point of Ireland and also Europe.
I attempted a visit here in December 2009, but the helicopter couldn't land due to unfavourable winds. On this occasion we were able to land, and the visibility was better, to boot.
This image was made as we were leaving the island and shows the major features very well. Inishtearaght is really two islands connected by a natural arch - the lower peak is 106 meters high and has the lighthouse built on it. The lantern is at about 84 meters above high water. The higher peak is just about 200 meters high and thwarted my attempts to climb it - for more detail see my account on the blog.
This island is an inhospitable place. There was never any permanent habitation there that we know of before the lighthouse was completed in 1870, but I did hear recently that there's some evidence to suggest that the Skellig monks may have attempted to build something here. I have nothing to substantiate this, however - if anyone knows differently please contact me and let me know.
Also visible in this photograph is the inclined railway which was used to haul supplies up from the derrick landing lower on the slope to the lighthouse itself. When the light was made automatic in 1988, the railway was decommissioned, but until that point it was the westernmost railway in Europe.
On the horizon above the island is visible Inis Tuaisceart, the northernmost of the Blasket group. Part of the Great Blasket is visible to the right of frame.
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Dursey Island is seen here from the Bull Rock. The Cow and the Calf rocks are also visible as a gannet flies through the middle of the frame on a thundery day.
In a large print, the broken lighthouse on the Calf rock can be seen.