It can refer to land, sea, urban, rural and natural landscapes. 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.For some photographers, landscape photography refers strictly to images of natural landscapes that are uncluttered with human development, but the term can generally be used more broadly. This is one of my favourite images of recent times. 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. 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. In a large print, this new light can be seen illuminated. ![]() 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. ![]() Made shortly after moonrise, the image shows the light in its new guise. This image was made of the lower lighthouse from the road to the upper (which was discontinued and abandoned in 1870). My own copy hanging on my wall at home brings me a lot of joy and I know yours will too!īeing mainly famous for its 6th century monastery, the dramatic island of Skellig Michael also boasts two lighthouses built in 1830. However, as we got closer to the Small Skellig, the fog began to thin out, and sure enough it ended up being exactly what I hoped - not so clear that the island was just set against a gray background, but exactly thick enough to show the layers of rock receding into the distance, and emphasise the drama and ruggedness of this incredible rock.Ĭapturing the image on a small boat while it was pitching and rolling was difficult - especially as I'm prone to sea sickness (despite spending a lot of time on the water for my coastal work)! It's made all the worse when the camera decides to have a tantrum and refuses to work properly at the critical moment! However, between my friend's expert boat handling and my loud curses at the camera, and suppression of my rebellious stomach while I carefully framed and exposed the image, I was able to achieve my goal and I couldn't be happier with this image. I convinced him to go out, and for most of the journey you couldn't see more than 30 yards in any direction. There's rarely a middle ground on those days. So much in photography depends on going out in marginal conditions - you'll either come back with something spectacular or you'll come back empty handed. ![]() If it didn't, then the trip would be a wasted one! If one of those coincided with the Small Skellig, I knew it would look incredible. However, on the satellite imagery for the area I saw there were one or two thinner spots of fog scattered about. My friend was hesitant to go out - he wanted to save me the charter money as he was certain I wouldn't get anything worthwhile out of it. On this day, the fog was thick along the coast and the waves were high enough to make the trip an unpleasant one. The only way to get the angle I wanted was from a boat, so I needed a willing skipper to take me out on a suitable day - one where most people would be happy to stay home on dry land! I'd long wanted to produce a photograph giving some hint of that drama, and found the opportunity on a late summer's day a few years ago. During winter storms, the entire island has been known to be overtopped by huge waves. The smaller sibling to Skellig Michael, featured in the recent Star Wars movies, it's every bit as dramatic, if not more so. ![]() The Small Skellig is a dramatic rock thrust out of the Atlantic off the coast of Kerry. This photograph is the triumph of perseverance and optimism in the face of pessimism and the Irish weather!
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