Castlerosse Park Resort Cottage

Situated at the edge of the woods behind the Castlerosse Park Resort golf course is this small cottage. We walked by it a few weeks ago when we were in the area to photograph the rutting.

There was a car parked directly outside, so it’s occupied, but it’s so solitary and in a secluded area, it was like finding a magic cottage in the wood.


Apertureƒ/1.7
CameraGalaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length6.3mm
ISO40
Shutter speed1/100s

To be a stag in October

We went to Killarney National Park this morning to photograph the annual rutting. This is when stags come down from the mountain and look for romance and court any nearby female deer. And they’re quite vocal about it.

This particular guy was on one side of the tarmac path occupied by us human photographers, and it didn’t occur to us that he wanted to get to the other side, where a large group of younger stags and some does had gathered.

In frustration, he bellowed, pawed the ground, and ripped grass from the ground.

A stag walks across a tarmac path, previously occupied by this photographer. Other photographers are seen in the background.

When we finally realised what he wanted, we made a hasty exit to the side. We watched this huge, powerful creature walk over ground we recently vacated.

Unfortunately, the other deer, male and female, all ran from him. None stayed around to challenge him. If you look carefully, you’ll see his right eye is weeping and injured. He has lost the use of that eye, whether through infection or injury, but it hasn’t slowed him down.


Apertureƒ/6.3
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length473.2mm
ISO1600
Shutter speed1/1000s

Narrator: vehicles weren’t removed

An electronic sign at a beach saying,
"Remove
Vehicles
in GOOD TIME"

It’s good to see a warning for motorists who park on Inch Beach in Co. Kerry. High tide was at 5:15pm yesterday, and motorists were urged to remove their vehicles “in GOOD TIME”.

We parked in the car park and left at 5:42pm, but there were still a few hardy souls on the beach with their cars. Including one German registered Land Rover Defender that was parked right next to the “No cars beyond this point”. I guess they wanted to use their spotless, clean vehicle in “extreme terrain” like a “sandy beach” just once before going back to the urban jungle.

Luckily, high tide isn’t high enough to submerge vehicles.


Apertureƒ/4.9
CameraGalaxy S23 Ultra
Focal length27.2mm
ISO50
Shutter speed1/100s

Hussey’s Folly overlooking Dingle Harbour

Hussey’s Folly, a small two-storey castle overlooks Dingle Harbour. I couldn’t find much about it online, but I did see that it was built in 1845. It’s now in ruins, with the doorways blocked, but it’s a nice place to visit.

Before Fungie disappeared, we went up here to look out for him a few times.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length17mm
ISO125
Shutter speed1/400s

Shadows and Sun

We were walking out towards Hussey’s Folly outside Dingle when I looked across Dingle Harbour and saw the sunlight travel across the opposite headland as clouds moved away.

I love seeing light and shadow on a landscape so I grabbed a few quick shots.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length79mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/250s

The winds blows softly

On a lovely evening in August last year I was walking along a beach with my wife. The sun was getting low in the sky casting a faintly yellow glow over the world.

This long exposure shot captures the movement of cloud, and the wind blown grass. Even though there wasn’t much wind, it’s all relative when the photo is 13 seconds long.

Psst. Don’t tell anyone, but there’s a really nice beach around the corner from Wine Strand!


Apertureƒ/13
CameraILCE-7M3
Focal length37mm
ISO100
Shutter speed13s