Here are some photos I took this year. 2020 wasn’t a year for travel, so most of these shots were taken in or near the 5km zone around the house. Inevitably, I kept on returning to the same subjects: Ballycotton and Garryvoe in County Cork. This reduced range forced me to consider new ways of looking at the same things. It was also the year I got a 400 mm lens, giving me much more visibility of objects in the far distance.
Wishing you all a better year ahead. Stay safe.
Here’s a photo I just took a few minutes ago. Perfect light.
Click on the photo to enlarge.
I’m not sure if there is a bigger contrast between these photos from East Cork and Shanghai, but both have their charms.
Just click on any of these photos to enlarge.
Here is the scene that met me a few days ago as I was preparing to go to work. I jumped out of bed and ran down the road to take a few snaps before the ever changing weather stole the view from me.
Another photo, this time by Garryvoe beach. the island in the distance as a mother coaxed her child to keep pace with the rest of the family.
And this one I took yesterday, with my boys.
Three different days, three completely different weather conditions. That’s Ireland for you.
In this sometimes stressful year, I often let my eyes do the talking for me. Here are some of my favourite photos from 2014. I hope you like them. Click on any of them to get a better view.
January of 2014 was incredibly stormy, with high winds lashing the coast at least once a week. One compensation was the wonderful cloudscapes such as this one above, taken in Garryvoe, Co. Cork.
2014 was the Chinese New Year of the Horse. On my first ever trip to China in February I came across this wonderful display in the city of Shanghai.
The annual 19km Ballycotton Cliff Walk is one of my favourite hikes, as it marks the approach of spring and the end of winter. This photo was taken on March 16th.
The wonderful gardens of Garnish Island in West Cork are full of surprises. This photo, from April, was perhaps early in the year for full bloom, but the flowers of spring always have a special place in my heart.
John F. Kennedy Park in Co. Wexford holds plenty of surprises too. During our visit in April I came across this wonderful display as a rhododendron bush shed its flowers.
A quick walk up the hill gives me a wonderful view over south Munster, from the Celtic Sea all the way to the Knockmealdowns, the Comeraghs and even the Galtees in the far distance.
By July, we had finally accepted that this was going to be one of the great summers. That’s worth jumping around for.
Bumblebees were everywhere this year. They go about their business with no real interest in us – focused on one thing only: nectar. When they have too much, they fall asleep, putting up a leg if you come too close. Mad about them, I am.
Well, the Internet is all about cat photos, right? Right?
With the nights lengthening in October, I caught this morning sunrise in Glounthane, Co. Cork.
I took this during a day trip to Dublin in October. It captures many of its iconic structures quite well, I think.
I won’t forget the 26th of November too quickly. I had taken a few days off work and I rose early to discover a fog-shrouded landscape. What followed were some of my favourite photographs of the year. This one was taken from Belvelly Bridge near Fota Island.
After Cobh, I drove to Midleton, where I came across this scene. My parents had a painting at home that reminds me of this photo.
Then on to Castlemartyr Resort, where I took this photo as the sun was rising. Sometimes, you are just in the right place at the right time.
After buying a macro lens for my iPhone in late November, I came across this little fellow climbing around a dandelion clock.
This photo is from the 16th of December, taken during my morning commute. Though the sun had not yet risen, I just had to stop my car and start snapping.
I took this photo on Garryvoe beach just yesterday. It’s like the boys are running from a nuclear explosion.
Taken just this morning, this photo again saw me leaping out of my car. The sun was perfectly positioned over Ballycotton Island. Just glorious.
If any of you are interested, I post regularly to Instagram, and less often to Flickr. Maybe I’ll see you there.
We had a anxious time earlier this week. One of our cats hitched a lift in my car when I was heading to work on Monday morning. The cat made a run for it about 100 metres from the house, but did know how to get home. That evening, despite frantic searches all around the neighbourhood, the cat was still missing. 
The following day, we decided to concentrate the search in the area she went missing. Almost immediately we heard her calling out and within minutes she was safely back home.
While conducting the second search, I filmed this time-lapse. It was a beautiful evening, with a fog bank swirling close by Ballycotton island.
Yesterday, we had strong showers and hailstorms, so I set up another time-lapse as a fairly intense system passed us by in the distance. Luckily, our cat didn’t have to face that.
Instead of visiting the St. Patrick’s Day parades, we did the annual Ballycotton to Ballinrostig cliff walk. It’s the only occasion in the year when the coast is opened up to the public. In clement weather it’s one of the country’s most beautiful hikes, travelling over fields, cliffs and rolling hills with the sea to your left all the while. The walk takes in the beaches of Ballycroneen, Ballybrannigan and Inch. This 19km walk is one to be savoured every step of the way.
The conditions today were perfect. Plenty of sunshine, no winds and crystal clear visibility in all directions. As you can see from some of the shots below, the real winner were the skies: they were incredibly varied and detailed: a photographer’s dream.
The walk from Inch Beach to Ballinrostig is the most challenging part of the journey for the weary traveller. The soup and pint at the end make it all worthwhile.
I took a brief time-lapse movie at the end of the walk. This video details the slowly rolling clouds from Inch Beach. I hope you like it.
On Sunday I participated in an annual charity walk from Ballycotton to Ballinrostig in Co. Cork. It’s a pretty special occasion because it is the only time in the year that walkers are permitted by the local land-owners to hike the route. As the video below will testify, the scenery is quite stunning. It’s not the easiest of walks – you have to negotiate quite a few barbed-wire fences – but the end is definitely worth the effort. The weather on Sunday was unseasonably good, which helped greatly.
So here is the video. Enjoy!
What a day.. not too hot, not too cold, a refreshing breeze, good company and delightful scenery throughout. This was the charity cliff walk from the small village of Ballycotton to the even smaller village of Ballinrostig in East Cork.
The walk stretched 20 km (13 mi) along beaches, over cliffs, through dense bushes and across fields with the walkers never too far from the coastal margin. Over 360 people attended today, raising money for the local Chernobyl charity.
I am very familiar with the local coastline, although my walks tend to be along the rocks, where I constantly have to be alert to changes in the tide.
It was a long walk. We started at 11.30 am and didn’t finish until after 4.30. Many people (the serious types) managed it in much less time. At the end of the walk, there were sandwiches and soup waiting for us. They tasted utterly delicious.
Passive Impressions 
