Photographer captures Beara's beauty in stunning book

The beauty of Beara has been immortalised in a stunning new coffee table book of photography.

Beara, the book by Irish landscape photographer Norman McCloskey, features unseen pictures taken over the past two years.

‘Beara sheds new light on one of Ireland’s best-kept secrets,’ said the Kenmare-based photographer.

‘The Beara Peninsula is a spectacular landscape of mountains, valleys, glacial lakes, bogland and of course the wild Atlantic ocean,’ said Norman, who made the Co Kerry town his home 26 years ago, after visiting it for a weekend as a 20-year-old.

Beara follows McCloskey’s first book, Parklight, published in 2013, featuring stunning images of Killarney National Park, which was the first photographic book on Ireland’s premier national park.‘This new book offers a more personal look at the landscape of a place only recently beginning to see its potential as a world-class destination,’ added Norman.

Norman’s photos focus on the raw elements of the Beara landscape and the epic light that transforms the mountainous terrain all year around.  

The book opens with a foreword by renowned film director and writer Neil Jordan, a part-time resident of Beara, who has used the evocative peninsula as a location for some of his film work.

‘ … What Norman McCloskey captures forever is that moment when the rain has stopped, and the familiar beauty emerges from the cloud. You had almost forgotten it was there,’ writes Jordan in the intro.

Designed by Beara native Eamonn O’Sullivan from Kenmare’s Anchor Studio, the 120-page hardcover book features 90 images and an iconic tactile foil-blocked cover which pays homage to Beara’s rich history with copper mining.

Norman runs his busy gallery in Kenmare with his wife Lorraine and his work has been published in magazines and newspapers worldwide, including National Geographic, earning him many awards for photography.

The book is available from www.normanmccloskey.com, at the Norman McCloskey gallery in Kenmare and will soon be available at other shops in the area.