Green Mountain
The Comeragh Mountains, Tipperary, Ireland
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Green Mountain
– Li Po. Translated by: A. S. Kline’s
You ask me why I live on Green Mountain ?
I smile in silence and the quiet mind.
Peach petals blow on mountain streams
To earth and skies beyond Humankind.
.
You ask me why I dwell in the green mountain?
I smile and make no reply for my heart is free of care.
As the peach-blossom flows down stream
and is gone into the unknown,
I have a world apart that is not among men.
Mount Gabriel, County Cork
Mount Gabrial, county Cork
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Mount Gabriel, (Cnoc Osta in Irish) is a mountain on the Mizen Peninsula to the north of the town of Schull, in West Cork, Ireland.
The Mountain is some 407m high and is the highest in the region of west cork, you can use a roadway that services a air traffic control radar to walk or drive to the top.
From the peak of Mt. Gabriel, there are spectacular views South over Schull Harbour and Long Island Bay. To the east and southeast, the views take in Roaring Water Bay and its many islands, popularly known as Carbery’s Hundred Isles. North and West is a panoramic view of the mountains of the Beara Peninsula and South Kerry.
The day we visited it weather was warm and very clear and we got some great views, this is a wonderful walk to do if you are in West cork and one that you will not forget, on a clear day you can see the entire county and all the Peninsulas of west Cork and Kerry to the north.
Mount Gabriel, County Cork, A Gallery
Warmer days, down by the river.
The River Suir, May 2013
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Today could the the first day for weeks that we get no rain, the forecast is for a completely dry day, so in a effort to get my mind away from the bad weather I want to post some images from one of my best loved walks in the south east of Ireland.
These images are from May 2013 and show the River Suir in county Tipperary as she winds her way slowly towards the coast at Waterford Harbour, Myself and our Dog Molly do this walk many times but May just has to be one of the best Months. Life has returned to the river Banks with many birds and flowers returning. Molly just loves this walk as it offers her the chance to swim and walk along the river path for some miles.
These images show the views that will soon exist here and the recent floods will be a long forgotten part of this rivers annual cycle.
May on the River Suir, Gallery :
The woodlands of county Kilkenny after the storm
The woodlands of county Kilkenny after storm Darwin, February 2014
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
On Wednesday last week Ireland was hit by one of the biggest Storm’s for many years .
We have had a series of them over this winter and over 262mm of rain this year to date, I have posted over the last week or so about the flooded local rivers which I spend a lot of time walking along and the effects of all this rain is clear to see.
The other locations I do a lot of walking in however is county Kilkenny’s Forests and woodlands, the images below are taken in one of our local forests Castlemorris woodlands.
On this visit however I was in complete Awe of Nature and the power it holds, The forest has lost many of its great trees and I feel that the images can only get some of the sense across of just how bad this last storm was. I can only imagine the noise and the almost complete mayhem that these woods contained during the storm that powered its way through these trees.
Many of the trees have fallen and had their branches ripped from them, the visit was one of the most amazing I think I will ever have, it was silent apart from the sound of trees creaking in the wind , the sound of broken branches resting against other trees, survivors of the days storm. It was an amazing feeling, a real lesson in the power that nature holds.
You can see in the images that the path into the woods is completely blocked with fallen trees and it will take many days to clear these woodlands and return them to normal, many gaps with be visible and many trees missed.
I will let these images tell the rest of the story!!
Gallery
Following the light .
Following the suns light through the trees
Castlemorris Woodlands , County KIlkenny
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
During the Winter months the Suns is sitting low in the sky for most of the day, this is a feature that I personally like a lot when taking images. Long shadows form on the landscape from woodlands and trees , hedge rows form deep and dark areas in your images during the morning and long into the afternoon.
What about the Sun in the deepness of the forests, its light finds it hard to penetrate far into the woodlands and onto forest floors.
If you get as deep into the woods as you can and find an thinned area of old tall trees however the light that does get through can be used to wonderful effect, in the images below I did my best to capture the light that was getting through, making use of some moss covered rocked and the trunks of the trees themselves.
One thing I noticed was that if you position the sun right behind a tree , the light wraps its way around both sides of the trees in front of you, forming an outline of sun light.
I also very much like placing the sun on the very edge of the image or just outside it and using lens flare to bring a beam of light on to some of the rocks and plants.
Following the suns light through the trees: Gallery
A morning walk on the hill
Carrigmaclear hill, County Tipperary
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
This Morning the weather here was a welcome break from the days of rain we have been having since Christmas. Parts of the south of Ireland has been getting the
worst floods for over a hundred years.
This Morning however we had clear blue sky’s and a frost, I just had to get out early and take a walk. Carrigmaclear is a local hill near the mountain of SLievenamon , County Tipperary, the following images are taken on this mornings walk in the first light of the day.
Gallery
When I Am Among the Trees, Poem by : Mary Oliver
Castlemorris Woodlands , County KIlkenny
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
When I Am Among the Trees
by Mary Oliver
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
Getting close in the landscape
Following the fence
Irish Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
Way back in 1986 I purchased a Tamron SP500 f8 Mirror (Telephoto) lens from a camera shop in London, it was second hand and cost around £150 back then.
The lens is reviewed very well here : Photozone review
I came across this lens again while sorting out some equipment last week and could not resist taking some images with it, so I put it onto my Sigma x3 camera and took a walk with both through some local fields.
I am not going to reviews the lens as such here as this is done so well in the above review, what I would say however is that this is a manual focus lens that is able and very capable of producing some very detailed and delicate images.
I really enjoyed using it again, if you are looking for a lens that is quick to use then this lens is not for you. If you take your time while creating your images however then this lens offers some very different and interesting results. I very much liked the shallow depth of field, there is something about the design in a mirror lens that produces a very find focus area in the image results.
I also felt that the combination of this lens alongside the sigma x3 sensor, produced some of the closest results to using film that I have noticed while using a digital camera.
The lens is very sharp, it produces wonderful colour and contrast, focuses down to 1.7 meters from the nearest subject and has a very shallow depth of field through out its focus range. Photographers spend a lifetime looking for lenses that have these features along with very distinctive results, if you can give this lens the time to learn how best to use it, I feel you will love it !
These lenses are often for sale on Ebay, if you want to purchases one and try one out !
Gallery
Moor Abbey , County Tipperary
Moor Abbey, Co. Tipperary
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Located in the beautiful Glen of Aherlow, looking out to the stunning Galtee Mountains are the ruins of Moor Abbey.
This Franciscan friary was founded in the 13th century by Donnchad Móir Ó Briain, King of Thomond (1210-1242). Historical evidence suggests that in 1471 a new church was constructed at the site, but that the following year it was destroyed by fire. The buildings that survive today date from this period.
The church consists of a nave and chancel, separated by a tall bell-tower. In the chancel is a double piscina for washing liturgical vessels. Beside the doorway in the north wall of the chancel is a stoup which contained holy water that would have served the friars entering the church from the sacristy which formerly stood to the north.
In 1541 the friary was dissolved and later became the property of John Fitzgerald, brother of the Earl of Desmond. In 1569, during a rebellion led by the Earl of Desmond, the abbey was burned by government soldiers led by Sir Humphrey Gilbert, originally from Devon and a half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. The following year Fr. Dermot O’Mulrooney and two other friars returned to the friary, but were murdered by government forces.
The south east of Ireland has many Abbey’s such as this one, Moor Abbey however is top of my personal list. I love a visit here , the Abbey is well kept and the location is just wonderful to spend some time in.
Moor Abbey a Gallery
When the river is high , A black and white image Gallery
When the River is high, the river Suir, County Tipperary
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
The river Suir in county Tipperary is one place I just love to spend sometime, in the winter it floods and bursts its bands many times. During these times it wonderful to get very close to the river , to walk along its banks and see the fields along side flooded with river water.
These Images are from a walk taken yesterday afternoon, the weather this week is predicted to give even more rain, I may get time to return and see the effect that this will have on the river bank.
When The river is high, Black and white Gallery
Following the river over the waterfall
River Pollanassa, Waterfall, Mullinavat, County Kilkenny
Irish landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
County Kilkenny has many rivers both small and large, flowing through its lands. The River Pollanassa, however would not be the best known or the most spectacular of them but for the waterfall it has created as the river flows towards the town of Mullinavat.
The following images show the river as it flows towards, over and past the Waterfall.
The Waterfall at Mullinavat
Early in the Spring
County Kilkenny, woodland landscape
Irish Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
Early in the Spring
By : James Kent
Early in the spring
Not a leaf has struck the ground
The swallow has yet to sing
And the plowmen are no where to be found
Early in the spring
The forest stands still
And no creature dare come out
Before the sun rises o’er the hill
Early in the spring
The valley holds the morning dew
And its serenity may be captured
By only a certain few
.
Early in the spring
The trees turn, brown to green
Many changes occur
But few can be seen
Early in the spring
Or in the latter of fall
No matter the change of season
The evergreen stands tall
The Old Dead Tree, By David Harris
An old dead tree, Kilkenny woodlands
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
The Old Dead Tree
By : David Harris
The old dead tree stood
gnarled weather torn;
its limbs were now brittle.
What stories could it tell
of the centuries it had lived,
the passing lives it had seen,
and the storms it had weathered
when it was young and strong.
When its foliage was green
and gave shelter from the rain.
Now it stands bare and broken,
a sorry sight to be seen.
It must have been beautiful
when it was young
with its canopy of green,
and a nesting place for little birds
among its evergreen.
Now they only used it
as a resting place whenever they pass by.
The old dead tree,
which had seen so much life.
The Unnamed Lake, Poem by : Frederick George Scott (1861-1944)
The Unnamed Lake,Comeragh Mountains,Co.Waterford
Irish Landscape Photography
The Unnamed Lake
By : Frederick George Scott (1861-1944)
IT sleeps among the thousand hills
Where no man ever trod,
And only nature’s music fills
The silences of God.
Great mountains tower above its shore,
Green rushes fringe its brim,
And o’er its breast for evermore
The wanton breezes skim.
Dark clouds that intercept the sun
Go there in Spring to weep,
And there, when Autumn days are done,
White mists lie down to sleep.
Sunrise and sunset crown with gold
The peaks of ageless stone,
Where winds have thundered from of old
And storms have set their throne.
.
No echoes of the world afar
Disturb it night or day,
The sun and shadow, moon and star
Pass and repass for aye.
‘Twas in the grey of early dawn,
When first the lake we spied,
And fragments of a cloud were drawn
Half down the mountain side.
Along the shore a heron flew,
And from a speck on high,
That hovered in the deepening blue,
We heard the fish-hawk’s cry.
Among the cloud-capt solitudes,
No sound the silence broke,
Save when, in whispers down the woods,
The guardian mountains spoke.
.
Through tangled brush and dewy brake,
Returning whence we came,
We passed in silence, and the lake
We left without a name.
Rivers flow, Image Gallery
A Rivers flow
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Just standing and watching the flow of a river when I am out walking I find an amazing thing to do , I love the challenge of capturing it even more. Placing a camera on a tripod and using a slow shutter speed about one second or so, it is not a technically difficult thing to do but getting a good composition is a little harder. I love the processing of searching out the best location in the river to place the camera and its usually well worth the time and effort.
I really enjoyed getting the images in this post and its a pleasure to share them.
Gallery
Images of a rivers flow, Flow a Poem by : Noel McGinnis
As Rivers flow
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
FLOW
By : Noel McGinnis
Be as water is without friction. Flow around the edges of those
within your path. Surround
within your ever-moving
depths those who come to rest
there – enfold them, while never
for a moment holding on. Accept whatever distance others
are moved, within your flow.
Be with them gently, as far as
they allow your strength to take them, and fill with your own being
the remaining space when they are left behind.
When dropping down life’s rapids, froth and bubble into
fragments if you must,
knowing the one of you-now many
will just as many times be one again. And when
you’ve gone as far as you can go,
quietly await your next beginning.
Images of Ireland from the Air.
Images of the south east of Ireland from the air.
Irish Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
One of the most exciting ways you can see County Kilkenny and its surrounding counties is from the air, the images posted here are taken during a flight in a light aircraft.
You can fly from Kilkenny air field on a sight seeing visit to any location you would like, on this trip we travelled south of Kilkenny and followed the river Suir towards Waterford city, returning to the airfield about 2 hours later.
Its a great way to see Ireland and wonderful on a sunny clear day.
Gallery of the flight
Irish Landscape Photography
A sunset over the lower lakes of Killarney national park.
Irish Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
One evening on a visit to Killarney, National park, I was just returning from a long walk after watching the Stag’s in the mountains above the lakes and getting some photographs. I then noticed that the Sun-set was just wonderful over the far hills in the west.
I had about 20 shots left on the card I had, so captured a few images from the grounds of the Hotel.
I have shared some of them before but still enjoy looking at them and remembering this wonderful moment, so here is another one that I wanted to share and post.
Irish Forestry
Irish Forestry images
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
The Local Landscape around County Kilkenny and the south east of Ireland contains many Woodlands and Forests, the following gallery contains just some of the many images I have very much enjoyed capturing over the last couple of years or so.
Irish Forestry: image Gallery
January Sky. A poem by : Dorothy (Alves) Holmes
Landscape view of south county Kilkenny
Irish Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
January Sky
Dorothy (Alves) Holmes
January chill freezes sky –
Early morning silhouette of pines
Are lifeless…
I close the blinds to this pale sky and go to
The east window where the sunrise
Throws kisses to awaken the day,
With promises to make me smile and
Bring the trees to life.
Her promise glows!
Kells Priory
Kells priory, county Kilkenny
Canon G1 x
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Kells Priory is located at Kells in county Kilkenny and is a great place to visit if you are in the county.
While most of America and Canada are dealing with snow storms and sub zero temperatures this winter , Ireland has been very mild with well over 40mm of rain during the Christmas period. I visited the Priory yesterday and most of the grounds are under water from flooding. The water however added a new feeling to the priory grounds and I took the following images to capture the atmosphere of an Irish winter here.
Kells Priory, Winters Gallary
Down in the deep water, Image and Poem
Castlecomer lakes and river Dinin, county KIlkenny
Infra-red image
Irish Landscape photography : Nigel Borrington
Down in the deep water..
Down in the deep water
By the edge of the river
Where I ponder my life
Just how did I get to this
Down in the deep water
By the edge of the river
Where the waterfall of dreams
Sweeps away what’s left to the abyss
Down in the deep water
By the edge of the river
Where time stands still
just only forever.
Down in the deep water
By the edge of the river
Where I buried all
That was ever my childhood
Where I let it go,
Where it bends and meanders,
Twisting along as the years went past.
Seemingly calm, but screaming beneath the surface
Were its hidden whirlpools, a sweeping current
Down in the deep water,
I left the edge of the river,
As I looked down
For my soul at the bottom.
Deep in the deep water
Swept away by the river
I drowned in life,
Sinking forever.
2013, a year on the Mountain .
Images of slievenamon 2013
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
During 2013 my post have covered many different locations and landscapes around Ireland and Europe, yet selecting the location for one of my final post of the year was very simple for me.
The landscape around the mountain of Slievenamon, County Tipperary is one of the most scenic in the south east of Ireland, it is very local to myself and I have taken many images during 2013 here.
So for my final Gallery I want to share some images of this wonderful location and I look forward to sharing much more in 2014.
Happy new year to everyone !!!
Slievenamon 2013 – Gallery
Nigel Borrington 
Monday mornings in the Mist
Mist on a Monday Morning
Irish Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Misty Monday Mornings.
Some Monday Mornings start full of purpose, the weekend has revived your spirits and you have a clear focus of what your aims are for the week. Other Monday mornings you just don’t know what your doing, you have aims but they just are not in focus sitting in a misty haze and you just cannot reach out to grab them.
This Monday morning, well ?
It was a wonderful Morning for a walk to clear my mind and try to find some direction, the mist was down on the local fields again and a blue and very peaceful haze just floated about the trees.
After Lunch time I hope the mist will lift ….. ?
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February 10, 2014 | Categories: Comment, Gallery, Kilkenny Landscape images, kilkenny photography, Landscape | Tags: focus, fog, Irish landscape photography, Mist on a Monday Morning Irish Landscape Photography, Misty fields, Monday mornings, Nigel Borrington, Nikon D7000, starting the week | 27 Comments