Death on the Blackwater

Today, I slipped into the waters of the River Blackwater beneath Lover’s Leap, downstream from Mallow, hoping to capture some of the local river life. What I saw instead distressed me. It made me angry. It made me sad. In less than 100 metres of river, I counted more than a hundred dead or dying … Read more

More Fun with Blennies

Many divers that are not into photography simply swim continuously through their environment expecting that this will give them then best chance to see everything there is to see. For things that do not swim away this makes perfect sense. If on the other hand you really want to see fish behaviour, the opposite is … Read more

Fun with Blennies

It’s wonderful to be surrounded by an abundance of fish life, all going about their business, oblivious to our diving intrusion. It’s quite something else when the wildlife wants to play. I first noticed the blennies as I nestled down amid the wreckage, one, then two, then three, then four, as the blennies came out … Read more

Spider on Board

The spider crab is Ireland’s largest crab and can be found pretty much everywhere. Here on the wreck of the SS Manchester Merchant, this guy was happy to pose for me amid the twisted metal, the starfish, the blennies, and the pollock. It all ended when I got a little too close, and he shuffled … Read more

Attack Lobster on the Manchester Merchant

This lobster, hiding in the debris of the SS Manchester Merchant, was not coming out to play, no matter how long I lay there and waited. The space was too confined to get any closer with the strobes attached to my camera, so I decided to fold them back, sacrificing light for access. As I … Read more