In May 2024, Ireland was treated to a spectacular show of the Northern Lights. The strongest solar storm in over 20 years gave the opportunity to photograph some of my favourite locations in these unique conditions.

Ross Castle is one of my favourite castles in Ireland, and lies just within the Killarney National Park.

Made on 8x10" film, this image uses a lot of view camera movement to produce a shallow and somewhat distorted plane of focus - as tenuous as the winding path through the ranks of straight trees to the single wavy tree in the distance.

This image is an example of needing to work quickly in landscape photography. While photographing the lake with a workshop group, I noticed that the fog on the far bank was highlighting a lone tree. Without the fog behind it, the tree is virtually invisible as it blends seamlessly with the trees behind it.
It was a mesmerizing scene, particularly with the wisps of cloud on the hillside beyond.

Morning mist rises over the lake by Ballingeary, with mountains beyond.

A fern and bluebells in springtime.

Ladies' View is one of the iconic viewpoints in the Killarney area. Named for Queen Victoria's ladies-in-waiting, who were apparently much taken by the spot during her visit to the area.
I've always been taken by this tree, which is largely overlooked by the tourists who visit this place in droves during the summer months. I think it sets the view off very nicely, and this image made under starry skies gives the place an otherworldly feel. The lights of Killarney are visible in the bottom left of the frame between Torc Mountain on the right and the Eagle's Nest on the left.

I spent the first few days of May 2009 looking for an excellent image of a bluebell wood. These wonderful flowers appear in the spring and, when conditions are right, form a rich carpet on the floor of ancient woodlands.
I made many images which I was happy with, but nothing really stood out. I needed something different.
I'd seen images by one or two other photographers where they had achieved interesting results by intentionally moving the camera during the exposure. I tried this on my last visit to Courtmacsherry Woods, in Cork.
After quite a bit of experimentation, I got the hang of including the right elements in the frame and moving the camera so as to create a blur which complemented the forms in the image, rather than detract from them.
I'm pleased with the result. I hope you are too!

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.

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 is Illauncreeveen island in Glengarriff harbour. I'd been here on several other occasions and never really got an image I was 100% happy with. However, on this particular evening I was rewarded with some fantastic high-level cloud which caught the wonderful colours of the setting sun.
The Sugar Loaf mountain on the Beara peninsula is visible in the distance.

A path through the forest in Glendalough.

Moonrise over Croagh Patrick from Old Head with a tree in the foreground and red lights over the pier.

The sun attempts to burn through thick fog at Pontoon.

An infrared photograph, the approaching rainclouds set a wonderful mood as the stone wall beneath the tree leads you through the patchwork of fields towards Lough Corrib. Five minutes after making this image, I was soaking wet.

Most of my work features grand scenes, and certainly that's what draws me most as a photographer. However, it is often the easily overlooked small details in nature that make the most compelling images.
Walking through the woods in Cong, I was struck by the contrast of the lone fern growing form the bark of this tree. The soft light was creating some wonderful tones in the trunk, and I used the infrared camera to bring out the bright greens of the fern.

One of my favourite spots in the Gougane Barra Valley, and a view I'd had my eye on for a few weeks before all the pieces fell into place.
This image was made while teaching a workshop student on a foggy morning when the light was no good for the usual "grand scenic" landscapes. Mist and woodland are often a magical combination, as can be seen here!
This is one of my most popular images, and it's easy to see why. There's a very appealing graphic quality to the image, which combined with the soft mood makes it a satisfyingly peaceful print.

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.