A Photography Journey
Finding Connection in the Irish Landscape
A photography journey through Ireland's countryside
What does it mean to find a personal connection to a landscape? This journey through Ireland's countryside explores the abandoned ruins, the golden light, and the childhood memories that make a photograph mean more than just a picture. From the Northern Lights over Ireland to a waterfall just down the road from where I grew up — this is a search for connection.
I started to try and think about what it is that reminds me of Ireland. What invokes feelings of "Irishness" — if that makes any kind of sense to you.
That's ultimately what I've been trying to explore.
One of the things that always reminds me of being a kid, visiting the countryside here, is all the ruins and abandoned houses. And that's what I found here behind me — a ruin in the foreground with a beautiful mountain in the background, bathed in golden light.
This is the start of a journey to find a personal connection to the Irish landscape.
A ruin in the foreground, a mountain in the distance — the essence of rural Ireland.
The Ruin and the Mountain
There's something about this scene that just screams Ireland to me. The green. The ruin of the house. And then the mountain in the background, bathed in golden light.
I walked up onto the road to look back, framing the ruin in the foreground with the mountain behind it. The golden light that hammered the valley was such a wonderful thing to watch as it unfolded in front of me.
One car went past. It was so quiet. It's just so beautiful.
This is the connection I'm looking for — the kind of personal connection that draws me to the countryside each and every time.
The Northern Lights Over Ireland
That night, something incredible happened.
I had gone out to the beach to photograph the Plough — the Big Dipper — which for me is where my love for astrophotography began, camping under it years ago. And then my phone started buzzing. The Aurora was about to kick off.
I've seen the Northern Lights a handful of times, but never in Ireland. And it was incredible.
Purple pillars absolutely towered into the sky. And the Plough was still in the frame — a perfect reminder of where it all started. I composed the image with the Northern Lights, the Plough, and the reflection on the water. It was pure magic.
The Plough and the Northern Lights — a perfect connection to my astrophotography roots.
A stitched panoramic of the Northern Lights — capturing the full scale of the display.
That whole week had been so fantastic in terms of photography — meeting up with Thomas Heaton and Darren Spoonley — and to cap it all with this was just incredible. A rare and wonderful sight to behold.
The Sleeping Giant
This image jumped out at me while I was standing at the Tree Sisters — the beautiful cliff sides in Kerry. The vivid green leading down into the frame, the sleeping giant of a mountain in the background, and that beautiful pastel colour in the sky.
For me, this just screams Irish countryside. I really love how this one turned out.
The sleeping giant — a mountain shrouded in pastel light.
Dunquin Pier — A Distant Land Shrouded in Mist
This image was taken from Dunquin Pier in County Kerry. I'm so raging that I lost the footage — I had whole rambles recorded — but at least we can still enjoy the image.
For me, the connection I wanted to portray here is a sense of a faraway distant land shrouded in mist. As I sat looking at it while editing, the feeling I got from it was the draw to seek and find and explore. It almost draws me in.
That's what I really love about this image — the call to explore.
Dunquin Pier — a distant land shrouded in mist.
The Seascape — Contrast and the Wild Atlantic
This is why I love seascape photography. The connection I find with this image is the contrast between that blue and the absolutely gorgeous sky. The natural contrast that exists in nature is such a thrill to seek and chase.
The long exposure slowed down the wild Atlantic, making it glassy and ethereal. I might even turn this into a fine art image at some point.
The wild Atlantic slowed down — a seascape of contrast and colour.
The Waterfall — A Childhood Memory
You might remember this scene from a video I put out recently. For me, this place has such memory because it's like four or five minutes away from where I literally grew up.
As a kid, I used to be actually quite scared to come here. It was a bit sketchy — you know, *"Jasus, don't go down the wear"* — but now as an adult, I'm like, what the hell was I thinking?
It's so beautifully done up now. I wanted to include this place in this video because of that connection. I'm now looking at it through a whole different perspective.
This image is almost zen garden-y. It's not the craziest amazing image you're ever going to see, but it means way more than just a photograph. And that's what I've been chasing throughout this video — connection.
This waterfall is just down the road from where I grew up — a childhood memory through a new lens.
Dublin Overlook — A View of Home
I figured the best place to end this video would be overlooking the city that I grew up in — Dublin.
This view is something I grew up with. A place known as the Hellfire Club has a similar view, and growing up in the scouts, spending time in these mountains, I was constantly seeing the city change and evolve. It's always been something I've really enjoyed watching over the years.
As many times as I've seen this view, I completely forgot about the emptiness between where I was standing and the city. It didn't light up in the way I had hoped. But then it dawned on me — this video isn't about grand images. It's about the connection.
I love Poolbeg. I love to photograph it. Having this vantage point from up in the hills just serves to make the image even stronger for me.
Dublin city from the hills — a view of home.
What I Learned
This video was a long time in the making — months, actually. But I'm really glad it all came together.
Connection matters. The images that mean the most aren't always the most spectacular. They're the ones that carry memory and meaning.
Home changes how you see. Returning to familiar places with fresh eyes reveals things you never noticed before.
Nature rewards patience. The Northern Lights, the golden light, the stillness — they came to those who waited.
The Irish landscape is full of stories. Abandoned houses, childhood memories, distant mountains — every scene has a tale to tell.
Find Your Own Connection to Ireland
Ireland is full of stories waiting to be told — from the rugged coast to the quiet countryside. If you'd like to explore this landscape with a small group of like-minded photographers, I'd love to have you along.
Explore the Ireland Workshop →