'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.