Same spot, same perspective, yet another light show from Caha Mountains...
September, 2020
Bantry, Co. Cork, Ireland
2020-10-04
2020-09-30
Cuteness overload
If the World feels too big at times, think about how vast it must be for this little fellow. This tiny tiny little zebra spider is the size of a lentil (that is the corner of a swab container box for reference). Yet it can jump at almost one meter per second, making it a very fast and ferocious hunter, After getting fed up with my photo session, it went on running and jumping around, preying, and ended up feeding on an even smaller spiderling hiding in a nearby wall. Dangerously cute!
Zebra spider, salticus scenicus
Bandon, Co. Cork, Ireland
September, 2020
2020-09-20
The dune guardians
A long stretch of a well kept pine forest, with its roots holding the sand dunes together, is what stands between the might of the Ocean and all the flatland inland. Just trees...
Curracloe, Co. Wexford, Ireland
September, 2020
The Raven Forest Beach
A forest guarding an endless sandy strand covered in green algae, the contours of previous tides waiting for an ocean to replenish it, the wind and the chattering birds close and afar, and a maze of trails leading in and out of the shades…
Curracloe, Co. Wexford, Ireland
September, 2020
2020-09-05
Chasing butterflies
Chasing butterflies
A living painting! I find its scientific name quite appropriate, a daughter of a Greek river god.
Peacock butterfly, lepidoptera, aglaisio / inachisio
And this one is a little sunset by itself.
Painted Lady, Cynthia cardui
Glengarriff, Co. Cork, Ireland
August, 2020
2020-09-01
Nature is doing her best…
Let’s hope she doesn’t go for her worst.
Glengarriff, Co. Cork, Ireland
August, 2020
2020-08-16
Dingle Peninsula Northern face shortly after sunrise from Brandon Point.
Ireland, where you can have the four seasons in a single da… NOW! 
Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, Ireland
August, 2020
2020-08-09
Sauce Creek
When you come out of a trail, climbing up a mountain without a thing as a background, no visibility whatsoever to your destination, just to suddenly unfold into a 400m drop over the Ocean, and the Irish winds throw rain in front of you, while the Sun shines through the clouds, and Nature offers you two rainbows dancing over one of the most dramatic and overwhelming beautiful landscapes I've ever seen. At 430m altitude, these cliffs go from where I was to sea level in a stone's throw (quite literally)
Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, Ireland
August, 2020
Brandon Mountain
The view from Brandon Mountain Eastern face and its heavily eroded valley, right before the final ascent. Sometimes, I enjoy the harsh beauty of these more intimate perspectives than the gran splendor views from the top. The journey is far more interesting than the goal, whatever high it may be.
Dingle Peninsula, Co. Kerry, Ireland
August, 2020
2020-07-26
A short window of a night sky
Haunted by unfavorable weather, heavy clouds coming in from the West, yet still clinging to a chance fed from a forecast of a short window of clear skies in the opposite direction, I raced the clouds towards the closest mountains Northeast of Cork. In the dark, a short hike, all the way up to Knockmealdown Mountain’s Sugar Loaf, and smack right into a dense cloud. No visibility upwards or anywhere really, except the blurry whitish of my lamp reflecting upon the dense mist surrounding me. I dropped the gear, put up a stove and got my hot cacao going… At least, tonight, I could have that.
And once again, in this unforeseeable symphony of Irish landscapes, the winds came to play, along with a sudden drop in temperature, pushing all the moisture to the ground, dragging the mist to lower altitudes. On the horizon below me, the surrounding towns were now blurry strokes of reflected light. Above me? Above me was something else… an entire galaxy unfolded, with Jupiter and Saturn dancing in the foreground, and sporadic meteors fading into bright light. The sights were only scarred with already too many man-made communicating clunks of shiny metal and solar cells.
Knockmealdown Mountains, Co. Waterford
2020, July
2020-07-16
Comet Neowise plus some celestial firework…
A glimpse of a clear night sky in Ireland, with her winds toned down to a soft breeze. Above, a gibbous moon shining South, closest planets circling the hemisphere, some human amalgamations of metal shining in unnaturally slow trajectories, and an unexpected comet surging North… Wait, what? Comet?!
Had to get myself on top of a mountain, far, far West, away from man made lights and bound to seek only those that have been filling the darkness and myths, for ages beyond senses.
On a starry sky, emerging over the landscape, there it was, an unusual shape, a blemish of light in the dark sky, bright in its core, dragging a flamboyant tail. A rewarding sight and reason enough for the drive and experience, memory already in the making.
I set the camera, attached optics, pushed buttons in an exploratory sequence, capturing the scarce photons into bytes, a hope of digitizing the sight.
In the hour that followed, what happened goes beyond imagination. Emerging below the comet, behind the far mountains, a surge of noctilucent clouds rampaged across the entire landscape, exalting light, colors and tones worthy of a William Turner painting. The clouds cradled the comet, as if blessing its astronomical voyage. The beauty of this night landscape now deeply impressed my mind. I wasn’t expecting this. I would be happy just for the comet. There’s always light. Sometimes, we just need the darkness to see it.
Mount Gabriel, Mizen Head, West Cork, Ireland
July, 2020
2020-06-26
Summer bugs!
Summer time, bugs' time. Bugs, bugs everywhere, in all shapes and forms, crawlers and flyers alike, Nature's little living ephemeral jewels, battling the colours of seasonal wildflowers with the most diverse tints, tones and patterns of their own. Summer's fun and beautiful.
Garretstown Woods, Cork, Ireland
2020, June
2020-06-25
Mullinhassig Woods and Poulanassig Waterfall
A small water stream, with it's occasional moods, breached the landscape into a deep ravine. In this valley, a forest is kept safeguarded from the elements. Not so much from man... Mullinhassig Woods and the humble but attractive Poulanassig Waterfall were a nice find quite close to Cork.
By the way, some say a mermaid, in the form of a salmon, lives somewhere in this waterfall's pool. Couldn't find it…
Aghavrin, Cork, Ireland
2020, June
His favorite spot
Along the entire Bandon River, that's his favourite spot. Here one can observe time flowing with the waters, the river shaping its banks, finding ways around harder geologies, carving a winding valley throughout the ages. Here, there's no rush to things. The bird does not force itself upon the river, the bird does not pursue the hunt, the bird calmly waits for the catch, and opportunity layed right beneath him, a fisher at its highest mastery. And this was the closest I ever got to him.
Bandon, County Cork, Ireland
2020, May
Daffodils, a lot of them
A local field was massively planted with daffodils, meant to be harvested for spring time festivities. These were canceled, the daffodils were not... And here they stand, proud in their numbers, yet fragile in each stem, rendering their humble admiration to the glorious Sun. At night, even in the dark, I can notice them. If the wind favors, their perfume floods the surroundings and the entire town (it's really a lot of daffodils!). They are a festival by themselves!
Bandon, County Cork, Ireland
2020, April
2020, April
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