Frozen in time: the brooding beauty of winter landscape
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PHOTOGRAPHER Enda Cavanagh has won numerous awards for his images of Irelandthat capture the landscape's timeless beauty.
Now his prints, in which he attempts to capture the "true essence" of Ireland, have been gathered in a new volume 'Exploring the Irish Landscape'.
"I wanted to produce a book that showed a side of Ireland that you don't see in most Irish landscape photography books," he told the Irish Independent.
"Many of them often contain just factual photos of places rather than something which really captures the heart and soul of our country.
"The Irish are quite melancholic at times. I find this is quite often reflected in the Irish countryside."
Taken mostly in winter, the 70 images featured in his book range from a ruined old car submerged in Lough Easkey in Co Sligo to 'Man and Dog at the Forty Foot' in Sandycove, captured at sunrise on a beautiful but chilly April morning.
"I was up at the Forty Foot early that morning and delighted it was empty but as I set up my tripod, a swimmer and his dog walked in front of me and stood mesmerised by the early morning sun.
"At first I was annoyed but quickly realised that it was they who would complete the shot," Cavanagh said.
After the photograph was exhibited, Dermot O'Reilly, who is a frequent bather at the Forty Foot, contacted the photographer and bought the picture.
Beauty
Along with the melancholy beauty of the Irish countryside, Cavanagh, an associate member of the Irish Professional Photographer's Association, said the other thing which strikes him about the landscape is how things fit in over time.
"The Poolbeg Generation station with its two tall chimneys must have looked awful on paper but the towers have become a part of the personality of Dublin over time," he said.
'Exploring the Irish Landscape' costs €34.95 from bookshops, or at www.endacavanagh.com.
- Ken Sweeney Entertainment Editor
Irish Independent
