Category Archives: Irish Landscapes

Sometimes you need to look up !

Posted on by

So as you may know at this stage if you have visited this blog before, I am rather obsessed with trees and pretty much everything to do with them.

On occasion I do love to simply look up when I am in the middle of a cluster of trees and see what the world looks like way up there.

I love the effect of a wide-angle lens on this kind of scene, everything seems to be falling in on top of me. It’s quite rare to see people wandering around looking up at the tree tops, I suppose it’s quite dangerous when you think about it. Personally it’s one of my favourite past-times, you just never know what you are going to spot up there. I love the massive tangle of branches, at times it’s hard to figure out which branches belong to which trees. I think this photo could make a great [and rather complex] game for kids, make them trace back each branch and work out which tree it leads back to. I know it would probably melt their brains but at least it would keep them quite for a while……….and before you ask, yes I do have kids.

This Deer Did Not Want Me Coming Too Close !

Posted on by

If only you could hear the noise this magnificent beast was making at the time of taking this photograph. I was first attracted by the guttural howls of  this animal from quite a distance away. I can’t claim to be any expert on the behaviour of deer but I am thinking there was some kind of mating ritual going on here. This male was just pouncing around the place howling and growling at almost anything that moved, that included me too. Obviously this was taking using a very long zoom lens, it’s one of the few occasions I have decided not to try to get too close to them.

These particular lads were going about their business in the large expanse in front of the Papal Cross, it’s quite a common area to find them and a lovely place to just sit for hours watching wild animals go about their daily routine. It’s normally a very placid affair, but not on this particular day, as you can see.

I love the sense of action in this photo, a very gentle reminder that these are genuinely wild animals and must be treated with great respect. On a light note I also love the animal in the background with half his antler missing, he almost seems to be saying “Relax my friend, what’s the point in all this activity”, perhaps he enjoys a quieter life and just can’t be bothered with all this running around and mating lark.

This photo was actually found whilst rummaging through my archives, it was taken way back in 2005 on one of my first excursions to the park with a digital camera, a beautiful shiny new Eos Digital Rebel, proof that you don’t have to spend thousands of Euro to take decent photographs.

Enjoy this one, there are lots more wild deer photos to come very very soon.

Please let me know what you think of the photo, I really do appreciate feedback and comments.

The Phoenix Park Bandstand

Posted on by

 

Two of my most recent shots featured in this blog so far, in fact they were only taken three days ago.

I have been meaning to visit the bandstand area of the park for quite some time now, in truth I have a tendency to avoid places like this, I can be quite a solitary individual when I am out with my camera so I shy away from places where lots of other people congregate. As you can see from the shots there are not many people around this area early on a Tuesday morning so I had it all to myself.

The bandstand is located in the middle of a truly beautiful hollow, surrounded by old trees and lots of handy white benches. It’s a stunning place on a sunny day, even in the winter, the hollow tends to block out any wind so if you are wandering around the park and feeling a bit cold then head straight down here and warm up a bit. You are also very close to the rather quaint Tea-Rooms so grab a coffee first and then simply enjoy one of the most peaceful places in the park. The entrance to the zoo is also very close so there is always a bit of activity going on around here, being a father of a young child myself I must admit I love the sounds of kids playing in the park, it just seems to make things seem more alive.

The bandstand itself was built around the end of the 19th century and is very well looked after, its in immaculate condition and is a credit to the staff of the park. The almost Tudor like design of the bandstand really lends itself to black and white photography.

I couldn’t really make up my mind about which photo I liked the best and somebody suggested I put both of them up, so here you go.

The close up shot of the bandstand was taken in infra-red whilst the more distant shot was taken using a very high iso giving it a lovely grainy almost dated like feel. I like the effect of the extra grain in the photo, it kind of suits the era the bandstand comes from.

If This Park Bench Could Talk !

Posted on by


I must say I have always loved the square shape of medium format photography and I try to replicate that from time to time when the scene suits. This one was just perfect in my opinion. It’s got to be said the majority of the park benches in the park are extremely well cared for and its rare to find one like this. I love the texture in the wood.

I often think about the different people who have used these benches over the years, they have obviously been in the park for quite a long time, if only they could talk eh !

This particular series of benches are up on a small hill and overlook one of the other favourite places in Dublin, The War Memorial Gardens in Kilmainham / Inchicore. It’s a really lovely calming place to sit and look out over a busy road below, so close but still the traffic seems so distant at the same time.

A Dreamlike Vision In The Trees

Posted on by

Anytime I look at this photo I always think how soft everything looks in it. It’s a wonderful side effect of infra-red, particularly on grassy areas, it almost makes it look like snow. Believe me it couldn’t be further from snow if I tried, this was in fact a beautiful summers day, this entire area just happened to be under the shade of the trees. I love stumbling upon this little used walkways through some of the thicker forested areas, I am sure there are plenty of other people who use them but I always get this feeling that I am the only one around, very pleasant indeed.

I wasn’t sure at first about the two main trees in the shot, both look like they are falling over but I find you tend to lean your head whilst looking at the picture and I love watching people doing exactly the same thing as me when they view it.

I find this quite a lonely almost cold feeling photograph but there is something about the trail of the pathway that always makes me wonder what is around that corner.

The Common Beech

Posted on by

Common BeechI think one of the reasons I like this photo so much is simply because I am in it myself.

Normally when I start processing a photo like this I would instantly dismiss it because of my own shadow, photographers can be fussy people when it comes to something like this. A lot of people would deem this to be a mistake on behalf of the photographer, you will very rarely see a photographers shadow in a picture. On this occasion I tried to include myself as I like the contrast between the shadow from the trees and my extra long looking legs, trust me, I am not that tall in real life.

This photo was taken on a bitterly cold winters morning, it’s hard to believe that from the gorgeous sunshine but trust me, this was one of those mornings when you don’t stand still for too long.

I am guessing this area of the park features some of the oldest trees, judging by the amount of old stones placed in the ground anyway.

I could do some research on the origins of the headstone like markers in the ground but unfortunately I am a photographer and not a historian.

Fagus sylvatica is better known to us as the European Beech or Common Beech, normally quite a tall straight tree, hence the beautiful long shadows they cast.

I love this area of the park in the winter, it is a bit of a trek to get there but oh so wonderful to just ramble around in the crisp leaves, the only other company being the odd squirrel. The trees are all beautifully spread out, you almost get the feeling that this is some kind of peaceful retirement home for some of the older trees, there is very little new growth going on around here and I think that is exactly the way these old boys want it. They don’t want to be disturbed by young upstarts making their life difficult by encroaching on their space or even engaging in conversation with them.

The Magazine Fort Death Mask

Posted on by

Probably one of my favourite places to photograph in the Phoenix Park.
This is an old derelict magazine fort situated quite near the football pitches, for those who never veer off the main road in the park, you need to turn left at the first roundabout after coming in through the main gates. Then you follow the road around until you see a right hand turn, just look up from there and you can’t miss it. Maybe I shouldn’t be giving away all my favourite secret locations, but sure it’s all about sharing isn’t it.
I love this shot because it kind of looks like the building is actually looking at me in the photo, it looks like some medieval battle mask, you can almost sense the dark eyes hidden behind the rectangular slot.
The ivy and moss growing on the wall showed up really well under infra-red light and the sky was just amazing on this particular day. I have to say I just love the anticipation with infra-red photography, you sometimes have no idea what a photo is going to look like until the shutter has been pressed. I love the darkness of the sky too, it just makes the shot that extra bit haunting (or evil).
I find something very haunting about this particular place, I have found lots of shots from inside the building but somehow I prefer not to know what it looks like inside, it kind of adds a certain mystique to the place. I love walking around the perimeter of the building up on the hill and making up all manner of scenarios as to what life was like inside when it was inhabited.
I have an entire series of photos from this area posted up on my Flickr page and you can click here to check them out if you want.

You can purchase prints or postcards of his photo from as little as €2.50 by clicking this link.

The First Ever Deer-Bird.

Posted on by

What do you get when you cross a deer with a blackbird ?
Can’t say I know the answer to that but these two lads are definitely working on it for me.
Animal researchers of the world take note, there could very easily be some flying deer hovering around the Phoenix Park in the next couple of years.
Every time the blackbird sat on the deers back I would obviously have the camera pointing in the wrong direction. There were literally hundreds of deer sitting around this area at the time, I spent at least an hour sitting patiently for something interesting to happen. The deer are very much happy with a bit of human attention, so long as you don’t go running and shouting at them, they will sit perfectly still and allow you to get quite close to them. Sometimes I like to simply sit and watch them go about their business in the park, leave the camera in the bag and just enjoy this amazing piece of nature so close to the city centre. It’s hard to believe you are literally only a couple of miles away from a busy metropolis.
For anyone unfamiliar with the Phoenix Park these lads just wander around freely in large herds, along with the trees, they pretty much own the place. They are never that hard to find, just drive up through the main road and keep your eyes peeled for them.
So now you know, it’s not only trees that catch my attention !

You can now purchase this print by clicking here

This Wee Bridge Saved My Life

Posted on by

I spent ages trying to decide if I actually liked this photo or did it just look too unreal not to be faked.
Basically, the sky is exactly as it came out in the camera, I did slightly adjust the contrast but apart from that it’s simply down to pure luck and a very large dose of patience.
I think I spent over an hour hovering over the camera waiting on some kind of decent cloud cover to appear, at the same time as the sun. They say you need patience to photograph animals in the wild, well let me tell you, just because trees don’t move around you still have to do a lot of waiting / stalking.
I have always loved this particular collection of trees, I have visited them many many times during the course of many different seasons and lighting situations. I have never really been happy with the photos I have taken and it was on this cold september day that I finally approached them from a different angle and found this cute little bridge just begging me to include it in the shot. I duly obliged and I should really go back to that wee bridge and thank it for all the help.
Well worth a walk through some very soggy ground.
I love this particular spot during the summer, it’s just a perfect place to hide away from the world.

I spent ages trying to decide if I actually liked this photo or did it just look to unreal not to be faked.
Basically, the sky is exactly as it came out in the camera, I did slightly adjust the contrast but apart from that it’s simply down to pure luck and a very 

large dose of patience.
I think I spent over an hour hovering over the camera waiting on some kind of decent cloud cover to appear, at the same time as the sun. They say you need

patience to photograph animals in the wild, well let me tell you, just because trees don’t move around you still have to do a lot of waiting / stalking.
I have always loved this particular collection of trees, I have visited them many many times during the course of many different seasons and lighting

situations. I have never really been happy with the photos I have taken and it was on this cold september day that I finally approached them from a different

angle and found this cute little bridge just begging me to include it in the shot. I duly obliged and I should really go back to that wee bridge and thank

her for all the help.
Well worth a walk through some very soggy ground.
I love this particular spot during the summer, it’s just a perfect place to hide away from the world.