Originally from the beautiful Co. Clare, I moved to Co. Kerry in 2003 where I have since settled with my wife Carol.
Photography has always fascinated me, capturing that perfect light and composition, but it wasn’t until 2012 that I eventually took the plunge and purchased my first dslr camera!
Inspired by the stunning landscape around me, I continually strive to capture the beauty of our country, whether it be hiking through a dark forest in the early hours to get to that hidden lake for sunrise, or perched on a mountain top watching the day fade into night with a beautiful sunset.
However, many times it can mean sitting in the pouring rain, wishing the skies to clear for just a little while!! I would be delighted if you would take the time to visit my facebook page, where I hope my images and stories behind them take you on this journey with me.
Blennerville windmill
When all the elements come together, when they work in total harmony with each other, there is no better feeling than being there to witness and capture those moments.
Blennerville windmill has been on my agenda for a while now. Although I have posted images of it before, it has always been in the background and never the main focus, so I set out this evening to capture an image with the main focus being the windmill. I was very conscious of the enormous, almost storm like clouds, that seem to hover over us for most of the day, but pre-planning paid off. I could see that there was very little cloud cover nearer the horizon, and I also knew that the sun would set to the right of the windmill, so if everything went according to plan, the setting sun would glide under the cover of the clouds, illuminating the side of the windmill, while also casting its sunset colours on the underneath of the clouds.
I was there in plenty of time, which is very unusual for me, and set up my composition, and waited, and waited, and as I had hoped, all the elements started to work in harmony with each other, and I witnessed a spectacular sunset! This image was actually the first image I captured this evening, and quite a while before the main show! I was drawn to this image, even though it doesn’t convey the spectacular sunset.
Ballycarbery Castle, Co Kerry
After a long drive around the Ring of Kerry, diverting down many side roads, and exploring locations that I would never have even dreamed of checking out before, we got to Cahersiveen a bit before sun set. Approx 3km from Cahersiveen stands Ballycarbery Castle. The castle pictured here was built in the 16th century, but there are records of a previous dwelling on the site. In 1652 the castle suffered damage by canon fire from Cromwellian forces. There is still quite alot of the structure left, and very interesting to take a walk around it!
It was quite a windy day, and when we pulled up near the castle I could see that the clouds were moving quite fast and from the point where I was, they were moving directly behind the castle. The conditions for setting up a shot weren’t ideal, strong winds, spits of rain, quite cold, and a very mucky field!! I really wanted this to be a long exposure so that I could capture a very different type of sky, so having set up the tripod, I weighed it down with my camera bag, and with the greatest of difficulty, I shielded the camera with a big golf umbrella! The most difficult part of this whole shoot was holding the bloody umbrella!!
As the sun was setting to my right hand side, I waited for the sun to break through the clouds so that it would light up the side of the castle. I used a 3 minute exposure to capture this image, which turned the fast moving clouds into an almost silky “v” shape.
“Marina Waltz”, Fenit Harbour, Co Kerry
I have made many trips out to Fenit, and have always concentrated on capturing the lighthouse, or the pier, or the statue of St, Brendan. So, I decided to take a trip out, forget all these and try and capture the beauty of the marina. The evening turned out to be extremely dull, and the colours of the boats in the marina only came alive when there were brief encounters with the sun sneaking through the clouds. I literally captured 7 shots, and after that, no more sun… Completely smothered by thick grey skies. That left only one option… the pub!
Safe Passage, Fenit Lighthouse, Co Kerry
Although I have been out to Fenit on many occasions, it is a place that truly inspires me. It is such a peaceful and beautiful place, and definitely one of my favourite places in the world.
Unfortunately, I d not have a great zoom lens, so have shyed away from taking close-ups of the lighthouse, but this evening I went out there with that sole purpose in mind. I set myself up on the rocks under the statue of St. Brendan, and waited for my moment! Boy those rocks are sharp… lots of little nicks and cuts on my hands afterwards! The setting sun didnt fail to deliver, with a beautiful orange glowthat lasted for about 10 minutes. I decided to keep away from a long exposure due to the quality of the lens, but was happy enough with this quick-shutter capture.
For more on Keith McGlynn visit his Facebook page
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