Live Encounters Magazine Volume Two December 2020
Tina Claffey is an award winning nature photographer and author of ‘Tapestry of Light-Ireland’s bogs & wetlands as never seen before’ released in October 2017. For almost 10 years, she lived and worked in pristine wilderness areas in Botswana, and this experience awakened in her an appreciation of the natural world of Ireland. Her observations and unique perspective of the flora and fauna of the unspoilt raised bogs and wet woodlands of the Irish midlands are celebrated in her work. https://www.tinaclaffey.com/
I love to get ‘lost’ in the bogs, eskers and wetlands of Ireland with my macro lens.
The macro lens allows me to capture what cannot be seen by the naked eye, and capture scenes that defy our sense of reality, glimpses of other miniature worlds that co-exist with us.
Much of the flora and fauna are at ground level, so capturing my desired shot requires me to lie down, sometimes getting soaked in the process as I look for new perspectives and ways of seeing. I am transported to other worlds as I look through the lens.
Autumn is an especially magical season, as the bogs, wetlands and eskers exhibit a wonderful display, a final eruption of colour before Winter sets in. The heather blooms into a sea of purple, while tiny Autumnal blooms appear providing much needed nectar in this late season, and are a godsend for the butterflies, hoverflies, bees & moths. These include the Grass of Parnassus, Blue Fleabane, Loosestrife and the magical Autumn Gentian. Bog Asphodel transforms from its bright yellow florets to its deep orange fruiting form. Devil’s Bit Scabious bloom explodes like a firework of purple shades while otherworldly fungi peek from waterlogged branches. Sphagnum mosses display their wonderful colours and feathery limbs, the moody bog pools carry the falling leaves while reflecting the crisp Autumn sky above.
– Tina Claffey
© Tina Claffey