on landscape The online magazine for landscape photographers

Wicklow National Park

Wicklow National Park

Paul Kiernan

am a Computer/Electronic Engineer, Lecturer and self taught Photographer. I have a deep passion for photography and art. I started taking photographs some 20 years ago on a very solidly built Kiev 6C camera.


I started out at 6 am for the Wicklow Mountains National Park which is south of Dublin and can be reached by car in under an hour from Dublin city. This is the largest National park in Ireland spanning 200 square kilometres of mountains, valleys, streams and rather precarious mountain roads.

On the morning of my visit despite the initial clear morning air when I reached the uplands a veil of mist covered the mountains giving very poor visibility and light. I reluctantly abandoned the trip but determined to capture the beauty of the area I visited again a week later at dawn. The stillness and loneliness of the mountains were awe inspiring.

The only sound was the cry of the peregrine falcon. As the sun came up the mountains revealed their splendour and the patient wait was rewarded with the beautiful colours of forest and fauna. Some mist still hung in the distant air giving a slight mystic feeling. I hiked up to the top of one of the peaks beside the deep blue Lough Dan and placing the camera on the tripod and the shutter was released to capture the sacred beauty of this most ancient landscape.
