A photo of Valentia Island, which I shot last spring, adorns the Cover of the brand new CD "Dark Island" of the Celtic Folk Band "Irish Wings".

"Dark Island" features traditionals from Ireland, Scottland and England as well as cover versiones of Loreena McKennitt or Mark Knopfler songs. Anyone who likes to listen at it can do so at the my online store.

The "irland journal" magazine released in its issue no 4 - 2011 an image of the 800 year old Hook Head Lighthouse in my photo column "Ireland Highlights".

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Last sunday I received a nomination for my image of Icelandic horses in the "Wildlife" category at the 2011 "Photography Masters Cup" - the leading international award honoring excellence in color photography. So today I'll publish some photos from Iceland including the successful competition entry "Icelandic Hoses".

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Icelandic Horses - nominated at the 5. Photography Masters Cup


Jökulsárlón glacial lagoon


Moss-covered lava field

Today I publish a few Black & White photos from Ireland that I've recently posted at Google+. Those images will be also presented in a new Black & White category in the website's "Gallery" section soon. Please see also my previous post with Black & White photos.

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Slea Head


Fisherman's Friend


Fanad Head Lighthouse

My Ireland 2012 calendar is available since several weeks now. Nevertheless I like to introduce it once again. The Ireland wall calendar features twelve Ireland photos in panoramic size (620 x 310 mm). You can take a look at each of it below. Just click on any of the preview pics to enlarge it.

The Ireland calendar can be ordered directly at my online store.

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Today the online magazine Gaelnet.de published an article about the new Ireland 2012 calendar. You find the complete article here (german version only):
www.gaelnet.de/2011/10/16/kalender/

  

I have recently updated the gallery section and added new images to the galleries "Irish Landscapes", "Magical Lights" and "Made Of Stone". Enjoy visiting and watching the photos.

Also the Ireland e-cards got updated. If you like to send an irish greeting to someone you should take a look at the e-cards.

By the way all the images from the galleries are available in my shop as photo print, poster and on as canvas print.

In the last part of the virtual tour to the north coast of Ireland I'll show impressions of Sacred Heart Church in Dunlewey and Kinbane Castle as well as the beautiful Whitepark Bay and Murlough Bay. The previous parts can be seen here: part 1 and part 2.

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Whitepark Bay
Whitepark Bay on the Antirm coast extends from the small fishing village Portbraddon to Ballintoy harbour. From time to time the dunes reveal findings that clarify, that man lived here since ancient time. The building on the photo shows a former Youth Hostel and I am very sure that none of its visitors ever complained about the location.


Sacred Heart Church Dunlewey
Compared to many other churches I photographed in Ireland the Dunlewey church is relatively young. The church was built in 1875 but it's belfry looks much like a medieval round tower. The church in the heart of Donegal is located in a unique mountain scenery, very close to Mount Errigal. When I took this photo one evening the sun stood low and a soft light spotted the tower.


Kinbane Castle
To reach Kinbane Castle you have to walk heavily - unless you have a boat. This is because of several steps that you have to climb down along the cliffs (and of course climb them up again later on). The white limestone cliffs itself would be spectacular. But the ruin tops it all. Its location on a magnific rock that reaches out to the sea is simply perfect.


Murlough Bay
Murlough Bay is a real insider tip. Under good visibility conditions you can see Rathlin Island or even Scotland from this beautiful beach. You'll find more information in an article I published at ireland-highlights.com. See more.

I will launch a new Black & White category in the website's "Gallery" section soon. Until then you'll find some new Black & White photos here in this blog.

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Eightercua Stone Row


Tacumshane Windmill


Proleek Dolmen

The virtual tour along the north coast of Ireland continues in the second part with impressions of Mount Errigal, White Rock Bay, the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and a ruin at Horn Head. The first part of the series can be found here, part 3 follows on October, 10th.

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White Rock Bay
It is obvious how this gorgeous beach has been given its name. Limestone rocks, shaped by wind and weather, dominates the landscape. This photograph was taken in April 2011.


Mount Errigal
It was raining all day when in the early evening the clouds suddenly disappeared and the sun shapes Mount Errigal in a golden light. Lucky Me! Before that the summit of Donegal's highest mountain was hidden behind clouds. This was also very special, as Mount Errigal looked like active volcano.


Carrick-a-Rede
Its one of the major attractions along the Causeway Coast: The 18 meters long rope bridge that connects the mainland with the small isle Carrick-a-Rede. The island offers great views of the limestone cliffs of the mainland and even Scotland can be seen depending on weather conditions.


Horn Head
The northern side of the Horn Head peninsula is dominated by steeply dropping cliffs. To get there you have to walk from the end of the road for about 20 minutes. The way is absolutely worth it as the scenery is amazing. The remains of a former watchtower tops the cliff edge out there. Some of its visitors misappropriate the ruin's stones to write their names or messages with it. This photograph was taken in September 2011.

Proleek Dolmen or "Giant's Load" is located near Dundalk. Legend says that a wish will be granted to anyone who can throw a stone on the dolmen's capstone so that it won't fall down from it again.

Two times this year I traveled Ireland's northern coast and had the opportunity to photograph some very interesting motives. I'll present some of them in a three-part series here in this blog. The second part will be published on September 30th.

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Giant's Causeway
When I walked down just before 6 AM on morning at the end of April the Giant's Causeway was still plunged into darkness. But that changed suddenly when the first sunbeams climbed over the hills and the basalt columns lay before me in a gentle morning light. But not only the light was perfect, also the fact that I stood all alone in front of one of Ireland's most popular visitor attractions was very impressive.


Bloody Foreland
This photograph was taken about 2 weeks ago at the Donegal coast minutes before sunset. I already waited for about 30 minutes as I supposed the the sun would look out from behind the clouds one last time that day. And that's how it was. For a short moment the heavy clouds were lighted from below by the sun and a soft light touched the countryside.


Ballintoy
The coastline at Ballintoy features some unique rock formations. For example the so-called "Elephant Rock" right of the center of this image. Next to it stands an impressive arch in the surf. This photograph was taken in Aprill 2011.


Bád Eddie = Eddies Boot
A certain guy called Eddie set his boat in the early seventies on sand at Bunbeg, Co. Donegal and gave the area involuntarily a new attraction. When I took this picture the mostly well-attended beach was absolutely deserted.

The german magazine "irland journal" released in its issue no 3 - 2011 an image of Valentia Island in my photo column called "Ireland Highlights". Also the making of two of my photographs from the IRELAND 2012 calendar was presented in an article. Both pictures were taken at Lough Derg in the heart of Ireland.

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For the first time the german magazin "Irland Journal" released in its issue no 2 - 2011 my new photo column called "Ireland Highlights". In this column I'll show my photographs of irish sights and the beautiful irish scenery. The first release featured Murlough Bay in Northern Ireland.

More pictures and further informations about Murlough Bay can be found here:
Murlough Bay at www.ireland-highlights.com

The new Ireland 2012 calendar is now released and available at the Online Store.

The calendar shows Ireland's unique landscapes, the rugged Atlantic coastline and ancient ceremonial sites. If you like to picture it yourself you can preview it here:
View Ireland 2012 calendar

The german magazin "Irland Journal" released in its issue no 2 - 2011 a coverage about my brand new "Ireland 2012" calendar. The magazine's cover shows an image of Abbey Island taken from the Ireland 2012 calendar.

More pictures and further informations about Abbey Island can be found here:
Abbey Island at www.ireland-highlights.com

On April 30th to May 1st this year's Festival of the Fires was held at the Hill of Uisneach in County Westmeath. The festival continues the tradition of ancient celtic Bealtaine celebration. In this starry night on the Hill of Uisneach it could be well seen how deeply rooted this celtic fire ceremony still is in Ireland's tradition as some other bonfires lit up on the surrounding hills.

The festival mixed ancient traditions with a modern music festival - fascinating for the young and old. Different bands played on several stages throughout the day. On a guided tour you could learn about the history of the Hill of Uisneach and many opportunities were offered to experience celtic customs and spirituality. The festivals highlight started around 9:30 PM when the Fire Parade went up to the highest point of the Hill of Uisneach to spark off a huge bonfire.

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At the end of february the price for the "Ireland 2011" got halved to a price of 14,95 EUR*. You can order the calendar directly at my online store:

"Ireland 2011" calendar



* incl. Vat plus shipping

The german magazin "Irland Journal" released in its issue no 4 - 2010 a coverage about my photographs of the Poulnabrone Dolmen for the "Ireland 2011" calendar.

Starting today until the 12th of December 2010 the book fair "Stuttgarter Buchwochen" invites to visit the "Haus der Wirtschaft" in Stuttgart. Besides novelties of the german book market Ireland, as guest of honour, presents its literature in three special exhibitions: "Irish authors in german translation", "Books from Ireland" and "Ireland in books".

Yesterday the book fair was officially opened with a panel discussion attended by the Ambassador of Ireland Dan Mulhall. Afterwards the "Stuttgarter Buchwochen" opened its gates, this year for the 60th anniversary. Visitors can look forward to a wide range of irish literature at the special exhibition about Ireland. Also many german titles, including my calendars, are on display.


Special exhibition about Ireland: "Wonderfull" says Ambassador Dan Mulhall while examining my Ireland calendar.

An article from the "Stuttgarter Nachrichten" about the "Stuttgarter Buchwochen":

In his Ireland blog the journalist and walker Markus Bäuchle presents in his new series avowing Ireland fans. With this Markus published an interview with me and presents also my Ireland calendars.

You can read the complete article here (german):
Go to the Ireland blog

The german magazine "Irland Journal" released in its issue no 3 – 2010 a huge coverage about my Ireland calendar and the making of them. Its cover features my picture of the Killarey National Park (the June 2011 motif of the calendar).



All pages to click through:

It's unbelievable that some travel guides don't even mention the Mizen Peninsula. In my opinion Mizen is one of the finest spots in Ireland where you can find a bit of everything the irish countryside has to offer. The photographs below were taken early in September 2010 on the Mizen Peninsula, West Cork.

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Yesterday the second "Irish Day" was held in the Neuland-Park in Leverkusen. There was a first-class stage show with irish dance and irish music. Ireland fans received numerous tourist informations, magazines and books. Also traditional Irish food and drinks were offered such as Irish stew, grilled lamb, Whiskytasting, Irish coffee and more.

I was part of the events with my photographs and calendars and many visitors took the opportunity to watch my work. After the last band "Seisiun" had finished their performance my photographs were presented on the stage to the harp sounds of Jochen Vogel to conclude the evening.

The new panoramic wall calendar "IRELAND 2011" and the everlasting "Irland" week-by-week calendar with quotations from great irish writers are available now. You can order them directly in my online shop.

You can find further informations in the "Publication" section where you can also flip through the calendars.