KINGDOM

Norman McCloskey

Norman McCloskey has been photographing the landscape of Ireland, in particular, the south-west since 1992. Although he has travelled all over the world, it is the Irish landscape that he has a deep-rooted connection to and a passion for working in. Having studied photography and worked in the editorial side of the industry for 18 years, he opened his gallery in Kenmare in 2015 which has been a great success.  His work now forms part of private collections all over the world and has a growing list of commercial and private commissioning clients.

normanmccloskey.com

Charlotte Parkin

Head of Marketing & Sub Editor for On Landscape. Dabble in digital photography, open water swimmer, cooking buff & yogi.

There are places we have visited when we were younger that leave a lasting impression on our souls. Whether that is a yearning to go back to those places, to move and live immersed in their beauty or just a love of being out in the the vast landscapes.

For Norman, he spent holidays as a child around County Kerry, and it wasn't until he started photography that he realised the impact those memories had on him. Norman has devoted the past thirty years to making images around the area. His love and passion has not diminished, in fact, his connection to the sense of place has deepened and evolved.  I caught up with Norman earlier in 2023 to hear about his new book Kingdom and to hear more about his connection to this rugged and dramatic landscape.

We spoke to you last in 2019 was, when you had launched your book 'Beara' bring us up to date with your work since then.

It's been a hectic four years since BEARA came out, including the two weird years of Covid! However, that book led to many things, such as talks, presentations, and a lot of newly commissioned work. It also helped visitors to the gallery, and despite the pandemic, the last two years were our busiest ever. I began working on the new book KINGDOM almost immediately after BEARA was released. The success of that book and how it was received gave me the confidence to continue to work with a more personal approach to the landscape and continue to make the type of images I’m really enjoying.

Division

Hawthorn

Paul Wakefield has written the foreword for the book. How did that come about? Is Paul someone who’s inspired you over the years?

I first met Paul at the Meeting of Minds conference in Rheged in 2014. We had been in touch before as my book came runner-up to his book The Landscape in the International Photography Awards, and I sent him a congratulatory email. As he is such a gent, he clocked my name tag in a coffee queue, introduced himself, and we had a few good chats over the weekend. As the central theme of my work is 'connection,' I thought of people who had a connection to Kerry in some way for the foreword. I asked Paul, as he has worked in Kerry before and has photographed some of my favourite remote locations that others still rarely visit. So he had a connection to Kerry, and of course, his work is inspirational, not just to me but to many landscape photographers out there. Working with him on it was a pleasure, and he writes as eloquently as he photographs!