Images from the Blackwater river
Sigma sd15,15-30mm f3.5-4.6 lens, iso50
Images of the Blackwater river, Munster, Ireland
Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
The Blackwater river
One of my favourite river’s in Ireland is the Blackwater, it flows from Co.Kerry all the way to Youghal Harbour, on the south coast.
“The Blackwater or Munster Blackwater (Irish: An Uisce Dubh, The Black Water) is a river which flows through counties Kerry, Cork, and Waterford in Ireland. It rises in the Mullaghareirk Mountains in County Kerry and then flows in an easterly direction through County Cork, through Mallow and Fermoy. It then enters County Waterford where it flows through Lismore, before abruptly turning south at Cappoquin, and finally draining into the Celtic Sea at Youghal Harbour. In total, the Blackwater is 169 kilometres long.
The Blackwater is notable for being one of the best salmon fishing rivers in the country. Like many Irish and British rivers, salmon stocks declined in recent years, but the Irish Government banned commercial netting of salmon off the coast of Ireland in November, 2006.”
Lisomre
Sigma sd15,15-30mm f3.5-4.6 lens, iso50
Images of the Blackwater river, Lismore, Munster, Ireland
Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
As it passes just below Lismore Castle ( Which I will do another full post on ), it has carved out one of the most Beautiful river valley’s in the south of the country. I have many images from this area and visit regularly so will come back many time to post some more images.
Sigma sd15,15-30mm f3.5-4.6 lens, iso50
Images of the Blackwater river, Munster, Ireland
Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Sigma sd15,15-30mm f3.5-4.6 lens, iso50
Images of the Blackwater river, Munster, Ireland
Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
Kilkenny Slate Quarries
All images using a Sigma SD15, 15-30mm f3.5-4.5 lens, iso 100
Victorian Slate quarries, County Kilkenny
Landscape Photography : Nigel Borrington
I can remember the first time I came across the Slate quarries near Windgap, County Kilkenny, there are about four or five of these sites in the area all of the now disused and flooded, How long they have existed varies but all of them go back to the Victorian period.
The quarry in these images is located near Ahenny, Co.Kilkenny and the reason I find it more interesting than the others is that it still has remains of some cottages that the workers would have lived in during the period that the quarry was in operation.
Quarry lake
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I don’t know how deep the lake is, I have been swimming in it many times and it feels deep very deep, the miners would have had to blast most of the slate out and the sides of the lake go strait down below the water. If you swim underneath the water and down the sides a little you still cannot see the bottom of the quarry, many would feel a little unhappy swimming here.
Workers Cottage’s
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There are some ten cottages in this row, its just around the corner from the lake, which when the quarry was in operation would have been a very dangerous location, with blasting and all the machinery in very close proximity to the cottages it cannot have been great living condition. This as-well the fact that the location is miles away from any village, the conditions for the worker must have been very poor.
The Quarries Today
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Today these quarries have become a wildlife and natural reserve, slate lies everywhere but this has provided a haven for plant life and wildlife, Herons hunt in the rive below the quarry and the lake is full of fish. The area covers about 2 square miles.
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When some of the local streams run dry in the summer you can see jut how much slate was left in the area after the mining finished, it covers the entire area.
I will come back to these quarries over the next weeks as they are wonderful places to post about and I love being around these quarries very much.
Trees on the river bank
Sigma SD15, 18-50mm lens, iso 50
Trees moving in the river breeze, River Barrow, Co Kilkenny
Landscape photography by : Nigel Borrington
Walking along a river bank at this time of year offers many great views but one of the most powerful for myself is the sight of a bank of tall and majestic trees in full leaf and at the hight of their summer growth.
I took these two image in black and white because I was more interested in the different tones, levels of brightness that they offered sitting in the midday sun.
Sigma SD15, 18-50mm lens, iso 50
Trees moving in the river breeze, River Barrow, Co Kilkenny
Landscape photography by : Nigel Borrington
Nigel Borrington 
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