THE WEATHER LATELY has been typical for February: a bit cold, a bit rainy, a bit crap.
So you’d be forgiven for forgetting just how dramatic the country can look when the temperature drops.
Photographer Norm McCloskey took advantage of the recent cold snap to climb hills around Kerry and Cork.
The resulting photographs are striking: no-one can be seen as people – understandably – avoided going outside in the freezing cold weather. Instead, the focus is on the Irish landscape looking both still and imposing.
“The landscape – and in particular the mountains – change dramatically with a covering of snow, and capturing them from good positions in early and late light was a difficult but rewarding challenge,” McCloskey told TheJournal.ie
Some of the photographs were easier than others.
“Some were capture from relatively easy positions as I drove around the ice-covered mountain roads, but generally I would hike up on an opposite mountain to gain as much height as possible for a straight on view at the right angle for the light,” he explained.
“At this time of year, this often means setting out in the dark and in the evenings descending in the dark too”.
Norman said he avoid the “obvious draw” of climbing summits such as Carrauntoohil, “as I wasn’t after the whole ‘view from the top’ feel. Instead, I wanted to show these magnificent mountains in the context of their position in the landscape around us.”
He wasn’t alone, though.
“Most days I could make out people climbing on the Reeks, some of the busiest I’ve seen the mountains in a long time, which goes to show the universal lure of the white stuff”.
Norman McCloskey is a photographer based in Kenmare, Co. Kerry, specialising in lanscape work for over 20 years. To follow this series and see more of his work check out Norman’s Facebook page facebook.com/NormanMcCloskeyPhotography and website www.normanmccloskey.com
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