Travel Images Photo Gallery, Ireland

Please scroll down for images taken on Travel Images trips by John Baker.
In most cases, links to client images from this destination are at the bottom of the page

Ireland isn't particularly noted for it's thatches in the manner that England is, but Adare in County
Limerick does boast a classic collection in the heart of the village. Thatched roofs generally last 80 years. The Irish love their coloured window frames, and the red flowers are Geraniums.

The simplicity of the British Bluebell enhanced by the yellow background of out-of-focus Gorse.

England's pub names lean towards names such as 'The King's Head' and the 'White Horse', but in Ireland they're often the owner's name. 'Matt Molloy's' can be found in Westport, County Mayo.

Fulmars on the cliffs in County Sligo. Catching birds in flight is a tricky business both in terms of exposure and sharpness. The background is changing all the time, so I suggest manual exposure for the bird in flight. However, using manual focus for the moving bird is almost impossible to catch just right, so the use of automatic focus in 'tracking' or 'servo' mode is recommended.

The first of a 'bicycle pair', and one really does get the idea that the locals leave out old bicycles just for us photographers sometimes!
This one was shot at Glencolumbkille in County Donegal.

County Kerry, Ireland: Strict copyright John Baker Phtographer LLC

A County Kerry still-life. These shots can be found just about anywhere, but you have to 'see' them first. As a photo-trip leader it is my job to find these shots and make it happen. You'll never hear me say "there is nowhere to stop"!

1 of 2: This unpretentious home had a thatched roof until recent times, but is still photogenic. Two of the 'odd-shaped' boats in the background sitting in Fahey Harbour are known as a 'Currach' boat.

Then back to Fahey Harbour at dawn where the Currachs and other boats are part of the stillness.

Serendipity in Mullaghmore, County Sligo.

A cluster of signs that suggest that
you're 'not in Kansas anymore!'

The coastal town of Ballycastle in County Antrim receives some dramatic light.

This flower grows along rugged coasts over most of the British Isles, and is a personal favourite. The Brits call it Sea Thrift, but it is also known as Sea Pink and California Thrift. The technique is a favourite of mine too, i.e. selective focus. It almost doesn't matter if your subject is moving in the wind as a wide aperture will give you a fast shutter speed.

Shock, horror it actually rains in Ireland . . . so one has to turn up the 'creativity level' to get round it. It's then I encourage my groups to look for color through the wet windows.
I find that manually focusing somewhere between the window and the subject works best.

While traversing the narrow and spectacular Torr Head road, again on the Antrim coast, we happened upon farmer Paul McCormick inoculating lambs. Such 'happenstance' is part of any trip, and the group took a series of pictures to record events and then Paul also afforded us some great portraits of himself.

Malahide Harbour, Ireland: Image copyright John T. Baker Photographer LLC
Dawn on the first full day of all my Irish trips finds my groups at Malahide Harbour north of Dublin. One never knows what the light might do, but in the British Isles one can count on clouds to make things interesting. Below, a similar effect in nearby Skerries harbour.

Back to Malahide harbour, but a different trip, for this Gray Heron.

My group had taken the healthy walk out
to the Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge under sunny skies, but then the clouds gathered as we returned.
A short, sharp shower was followed by this rainbow which we shot in earnest. The body of water is Rathlin Sound off the Antrim coast.

It can be really wild at Slea head on the Dingle peninsula, when even the gaps between showers yield wonderful light. On this occasion though the cloud fog added a little something.

1 of 3: The first of three Giant's Causeway shots on the coast of County Antrim.
It's a special place, but sometimes when one shows up at dawn the light is rather flat . . .

. . . . but at other times, once the sun has cleared the rocky ledge to the northeast, one can get some very nice side lighting.

The Giant's Causeway is a collection of 5-sided rock pillars tightly knit together in a mosaic of granite. There is a similar strata straight to the north at Fingal's Cave in the Scottish Hebridean islands, and legend has it that a giant, one Fionn mac Cumhaill [Fingal McCool], laid down the rock on the sea floor as a method of 'commuting' between Ireland and Scotland.
Photographically speaking, my method for close-ups on the ground that 'face up' is to use a tripod and 200mm lens to frame the subject tightly.

Nothing unusual about this sight in the British Isles as a farmer in County Down wanders about checking on the well-being of his flock. Consequently when my groups stop to take pictures the sheep don't stampede away from us as they do in some other countries.

Hidden among the deciduous forests of western County Galway is Kylemore Abbey which is Tudor-Gothic in style and dating to a 'young' 130 years old. The building has been occupied by Benedictine Nuns since 1920 who operate an international girls school there. Wide-angle, about f11-f16 and then wait for the light to hit just where you'd like it to hit.

Irish wool at a mill in County Donegal.

Another dawn shot at Fahey Harbour in Connemara, and this one has the moon reflected in the water.

Out on County Clare's rock-scape known as the Burren one can find the Poulnabrone Dolmen. It is a portal tomb sitting upon a limestone plateau and
dates to around 2,000 years BC. It is now exposed after the earth in and around the tomb was washed away over a period of many centuries. I love nothing more than getting down low and shooting such subjects with some kind of foreground interest.

1 of 2: Northern Ireland's Mourne Mountains in County Down were immortalized in song, and in this image the dark peak of Slieve Muck dominates at 2,700'.
The mountain slopes are a patchwork of dry-stone walls, whitewashed farmhouses and yellow Gorse. There was no foreground included here so it's a simple matter to use a fast shutter speed and a 'wide' aperture of around f.5.6. to f.8.

More mood in the magnificent Mourne mountain range, and ideal light for the white-washed farmhouse sat under the dark Slieve Donard peak.

Serendipity in County Clare. If I anticipate a shot like this I'll get the van either ahead or behind the subject so that you have time to get out and catch the moment. It helps to know your camera settings well, and be able able to change to an 'action' mode at a moments notice.

1 of 2: Somewhat in the middle of nowhere in County Sligo one can find post boxes such as this built into barn walls. Rural life in the British Isles has resisted many of the changes that have afflicted many other cultures in recent decades.

2 of 2: Another variation on the postal theme with this one being spotted in a remote village in County Donegal.
Get a 'square on' as you can with these type of shots.

Unspectacular perhaps, but very typical of some regions in Ireland. This spot is in County Donegal.

A Celtic design on a cape worn by a young Irish dancer. The 'C' in Celtic is 'hard' and pronounced 'Keltic'.

The Connemara town of Clifden on the west coast in County Galway. When there are no cranes on the skyline it's well worth the short uphill amble when the late light is at it's best.

1 of 2: The daylight view of Dunluce castle, County Antrim. It has a fascinating history, and you can read about it here.

One of the many sunset views of Dunluce that have been amassed over the years.

Celtic artifacts dot the Irish countryside, and this gravestone is to be found, or maybe not, in a remote spot out on the The Burren in County Clare.

The juxtaposition of a Celtic standing stone, and village church in Glencolumbkille, County Donegal. The name derives from St. Columba whose influence stretched from Ireland to the Isle of Iona in the Scottish Hebrides.

The town of Galway has long been a center of Irish grass-roots culture but in recent years a new Galway icon has developed. It is the myriad of Mute Swans that linger in Galway harbour year-round, and provide many photo opportunities for my groups.

Late light drama in the peaks of Connemara, County Galway.

To the west of Killarney, County Kerry, is the old multi-spanned Beaufort Bridge over the River Laune.

1 of 2: The view that everyone comes to see at the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare, Ireland. It does help however to stay late and hope that you're blessed with light and shade for image above the ordinary.

The setting sun out on Galway Bay makes a stark silhouette of O'Brien's Tower that sits atop the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. The tower was constructed in 1835 as a viewing point for Victorian tourists.

Another image from the Cliffs of Moher as a Gannet banks left in search of a roosting spot for the night.
I personally find such shots quite striking and have an awful lot of appreciation both for the sunset and the Gannet that 'performed' so well for this shot!

Ireland by Bill Richardson | Ireland by Michael Carlucci
Ireland by Jane Ashley | Ireland by Carmen Sewell
Ireland by Kara Stallings . . . PhotoDex plug-in required
Ireland by Margot Gendre

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