'Eternally confusing' West Cork coastline makes for iconic scenes 

Based in Kenmare on the rugged southwest coast of Ireland, Norman McCloskey has been photographing the landscape here since 1992 — these images are featured in his latest book, Headlands

Mizen Cliffs — as featured in HEADLANDS – Images of West Cork by landscape photographer Norman McCloskey

In the very early days of my photography journey, West Cork was the first place I took my camera to outside of Kerry. Just as I was beginning to get a handle on how much there was to discover and photograph in the Kingdom, a whole new and quite different landscape opened up to me, which apparently would take another 30 years to discover properly.

My initial thought was that this was an eternally confusing place, with at least five different ways to get anywhere, and none of them made much sense. The numerous inlets, coves, harbours, and estuaries, overlooked by low-rolling hills, make finding your bearings difficult at first.

Until that is, you stand on the coast, out on one of the many headlands. Then you are presented with an array of visual references to spoil any sea-faring navigator, with islands, lighthouses, castles, tower houses, signal towers, beacons, and of course, the headlands themselves.

I have called this book Headlands because these features of the landscape became the main focus of my exploration of this part of southwest Ireland.

Galley Head boat

At first, I could only name Galley Head, with its easily identifiable lighthouse perched on the edge, the area with which I first became acquainted back in 1992. As the project progressed, I would find myself standing at the edge of a new headland, looking east and west, marking the next one I would explore and figuring out how to get there. Soon, I had some of that reassuring familiarity with the landscape that I have in Kerry, where I began to know them by name, knew what the views were like from the edge, and whether or not I was planning another visit back there.

Initially, my attention was drawn to all these prominent natural features, along with the man-made additions, but as I spent more time here, I began to connect more deeply with the unmistakable feeling of being in this part of the world. There is definitely something special here, and it is very different than what I experience in Kerry and other parts of the west coast.

Owenahincha 

West Cork is renowned for its coastline, but its backdrop is one of lush, fertile farmland, and its history of wealth and strategic importance is evident everywhere. Cork, known as the rebel county, is so much so that all those in its western reaches regard themselves even more rebelliously, and it’s a place apart from the rest of the county. If you’re from Skibbereen or Schull, you say you’re from West Cork, not Cork, and this all makes more sense to me the more time I spend here.

Barleycove 

Once again, I have chosen to represent the landscape in its truest form, as I encountered it. As a landscape photographer, I accept all facets of the landscape I’m working with. The beauty of Ireland is hard to depict honestly without showing the hand of man, but in many ways, that is what makes it beautiful.

This isn’t a book of bangers! Nor is it an A-Z of West Cork, and there are many obvious, well-known, and much-photographed locations not featured here. And those iconic scenes that are photographed, I have tried to find a new and different light to show them in.

Barleycove 

Book projects are an opportunity for me to delve a bit deeper into working in the landscape, and while I will always strive to create the best images possible, I’m often not looking for eye-catching, spectacular conditions when visiting locations. My aim is to represent my experience working here, depict a response to what I found, and show a connection. Most shoots were unplanned, with decisions to visit made at the last minute or the night before, and with no real preconceived ideas in mind. I find that this responsive approach to photographing the landscape represents my experience honestly and lends simplicity and authenticity to the images I create.

HEADLANDS is the fourth book from renowned Irish landscape photographer Norman McCloskey

• The majority of images were made with a Hasselblad X2D 100C, and additional images were shot on Canon DSLRs.

Norman McCloskey

• Based in Kenmare on the rugged southwest coast of Ireland, Norman has been photographing the landscape here since 1992.
  Originally from Limerick City, he made Kerry his home at the age of 20 and soon connected with the landscape through photography. In 1994, he studied photography at IADT and subsequently worked in the industry for 18 years.
  In 2015, he opened the Norman McCloskey Gallery in Kenmare.