Bantry ‘blipper’ captures jellies on camera

THEY strike fear into swimmers and bathers but the beauty of jellyfish has been captured in a West Cork photo journal.

Amanda Clarke from Bantry uses the online photo journal Blipfoto, where she saves one photograph a day, every day, on to the website. 

Last week, she captured the beauty of the compass jellyfish, the brown creature which gets its names from the markings along its body which resemble a compass, and whose tentacles can give unsuspecting swimmers a nasty sting. 

In a second shot, Amanda captured a compass at Kitchen Cove, Ahakista, sitting between four non-toxic moon jellyfish, a largely translucent jellyfish common in Irish waters.

Originally from the UK, Amanda is learning Irish and noted ‘they go under the magnificent name of smugairle roín which means seal snot!’ 

Amanda uses Blipfoto daily, and admits that keeping the social media photo diary and sending out her pictures to the online world has become an important part of her day in West Cork. 

‘Blipfoto has become a huge part of my life. It has literally opened my eyes and made me much more aware of the beauty around me and how precious this is. Having blipped for 13 years, my journal is now a priceless record of my family, friends, adventures and simple everyday living.’