I was there too
We were lucky to spot this stag and a number of hinds as we entered Killarney National Park a few weeks ago. The light was terrible. It was just after sunrise and we were walking through a wood. I’m thrilled with this photo of a magnificent stag.
Here’s another photo of this stag.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 600mm |
| ISO | 12800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/60s |
One of the highlights of a recent trip to Killarney was discovering O’Sullivan’s Cascade. There’s a 1.7 km walk from your car to the falls, but it’s worth it as the area is lovely.
| Aperture | ƒ/11 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 54mm |
| ISO | 640 |
| Shutter speed | 1/25s |
Early Saturday morning a few weeks ago we gathered to photograph deer as the sun rose. Walking through the forest in Killarney National Park we spotted a group of deer. The light was terrible. I’m sure this was shot at ISO 12800 to get a crisp image and I’m really happy with it.
This group of deer stayed in the forest away from curious humans for the rest of the morning, though we could hear this stag bellowing several times off in the distance.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 600mm |
| ISO | 12800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/50s |
I travelled to Kerry this morning to photograph the rutting in Killarney National Park there. There weren’t many stags to be seen but this fellow was lying in the middle of a field I suspected would have a stag or two. After a few moments he stood up, digging his antlers in the grass and tossed his head from side to side with grass flying everywhere.
Despite the dramatic behaviour, he looked over at the human photographers again and lay down, chewing some grass and ignored us once more.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 387.6mm |
| ISO | 12800 |
| Shutter speed | 1/640s |
I visited the National Park in Killarney, Co Kerry, today to photograph the deer with other members of Blarney Photography Club, and a few friends.
There weren’t many stags or deer to be seen, apart from in a field up a hill beyond the Castlerosse Park Resort golf course. We found this stag near the Torc Waterfall side of Muckross House. No other stags nearby, they were all calm and relaxed. I think the stag was slightly worried about the silly humans pointing long lenses at him from some 300m away. He needn’t have worried.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7RM5 |
| Focal length | 600mm |
| ISO | 1000 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
A few photos of the deer in Killarney National Park a year ago when I visited there with Blarney Photography Club. These have been sitting in my “Unpublished” collection since then, so I might as well make them public.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 600mm |
| ISO | 3200 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
On a trip with Blarney Photography Club to the Lakes of Killarney a year ago, we photographed the water as the sun rose over the mountains in the distance.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 144mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/160s |
A stag buries his head in grass, to decorate his antlers and make himself more attractive to female deer.
Killarney National Park, October 2023.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 514.7mm |
| ISO | 1250 |
| Shutter speed | 1/500s |
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.
| Aperture | ƒ/1.7 |
| Camera | Galaxy S23 Ultra |
| Focal length | 6.3mm |
| ISO | 40 |
| Shutter speed | 1/100s |
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.
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.
| Aperture | ƒ/6.3 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 473.2mm |
| ISO | 1600 |
| Shutter speed | 1/1000s |
There’s something about a small boat on a calm lake that just begs to be photographed. And when you add in the backdrop of hills shrouded in clouds and the texture of the reeds in the foreground, it becomes a picture-perfect moment.
Capturing that moment, though, can be a challenge. You want to make sure you get just the right angle and lighting to do it justice. But when you finally get that shot and see the results, it’s all worth it.
| Aperture | ƒ/8 |
| Camera | ILCE-7M3 |
| Focal length | 77mm |
| ISO | 100 |
| Shutter speed | 1/80s |
