Postscript on Postcards
by John Eagle
I KNOW I SAID I had finished making postcards
of Irish lighthouses in 2004 after making card number 94, Old
Maidens, however I felt drawn back into the fold after reading an
article in Beam 2006. This was on the restoration of Mutton Island
by workers on a FÁS scheme, and I felt compelled to go and have a
look. A short while after reading the article my copy of the Marine
Times arrived with a shot of Dingle lighthouse on the cover shot by
Ted Creedon and I was shocked to the core that I had missed
it.
I chose to do Dingle first, with the assistance of Brian Farrell who is the Harbour Master there. He arranged for me to go through farm fields on the far side of the harbour, a nice walk in March on about the only day the sun came out. People familiar with the lighthouse will know there is a housing estate behind it. I took the liberty of removing it using Photoshop, simply because I wanted the lighthouse on its own as a focal point and anyway this is how it would have looked a few years ago before the housing boom. There was a boat in the harbour's mouth at the time, but I was unable to get the wave action on the rocks and the boat in line with the lighthouse all at the same time, so I took the shot of it where it was and moved it into the frame.
No 12A, Roches Point, came about purely by chance. I was taking aerial pictures of the Whitegate Oil Refinery for ConocoPhillips and asked if I would be allowed to take a few shots as the lighthouse is not very far away. I had recently acquired a Canon 200 2.8 mk2 lens and wanted to see how good it was from the air and this I feel is a really good example of how good that lens is.
No 96, Mutton Island, is thanks to the very kind help of Bill Scanlan, who arranged the visit for me. It was a typical week of bad weather and he spotted the one day he felt would be good for photography and he was right. I met up with him in Galway Docks and we went out to the lighthouse, just as sunlight was breaking out against a marvellous dark sky providing me with one of the most dramatic pictures for the Irish Lighthouse Series and a fitting finale. Bill gave me a tour of the lighthouse, telling me stories from the past when he lived there.
One in particular springs to mind. I asked what was the purpose of a stone ledge at the inside corner of a wall, maybe something for weary Keepers to sit on. No! This was something to stand on, at the perfect height to view the lights out in Galway Bay, and Bill told me how his father had pointed out a black line across the sea horizon, telling him that it was a very rare occurrence and something he might only see once in his lifetime. He told him there would be a very high tide, akin to a Tsunami, and there was.
The Mutton Island postcard really does mark the end of the series as it is 96 out of 96. So thank you to everyone who has helped me over the years and for those who want more please visit my website where I shall be adding things from time to time.
I chose to do Dingle first, with the assistance of Brian Farrell who is the Harbour Master there. He arranged for me to go through farm fields on the far side of the harbour, a nice walk in March on about the only day the sun came out. People familiar with the lighthouse will know there is a housing estate behind it. I took the liberty of removing it using Photoshop, simply because I wanted the lighthouse on its own as a focal point and anyway this is how it would have looked a few years ago before the housing boom. There was a boat in the harbour's mouth at the time, but I was unable to get the wave action on the rocks and the boat in line with the lighthouse all at the same time, so I took the shot of it where it was and moved it into the frame.
No 12A, Roches Point, came about purely by chance. I was taking aerial pictures of the Whitegate Oil Refinery for ConocoPhillips and asked if I would be allowed to take a few shots as the lighthouse is not very far away. I had recently acquired a Canon 200 2.8 mk2 lens and wanted to see how good it was from the air and this I feel is a really good example of how good that lens is.
No 96, Mutton Island, is thanks to the very kind help of Bill Scanlan, who arranged the visit for me. It was a typical week of bad weather and he spotted the one day he felt would be good for photography and he was right. I met up with him in Galway Docks and we went out to the lighthouse, just as sunlight was breaking out against a marvellous dark sky providing me with one of the most dramatic pictures for the Irish Lighthouse Series and a fitting finale. Bill gave me a tour of the lighthouse, telling me stories from the past when he lived there.
One in particular springs to mind. I asked what was the purpose of a stone ledge at the inside corner of a wall, maybe something for weary Keepers to sit on. No! This was something to stand on, at the perfect height to view the lights out in Galway Bay, and Bill told me how his father had pointed out a black line across the sea horizon, telling him that it was a very rare occurrence and something he might only see once in his lifetime. He told him there would be a very high tide, akin to a Tsunami, and there was.
The Mutton Island postcard really does mark the end of the series as it is 96 out of 96. So thank you to everyone who has helped me over the years and for those who want more please visit my website where I shall be adding things from time to time.