PHOTOGRAPHER EXTRAORDINAIRE

Click on any image for a larger version

The photo above is titled The Bull Wall, Clontarf and it was named as the photo of the decade at An Taisce's Love Your Coast Tenth Aniversary Awards this year.

The photographer is Pat Carey from the North Dublin Camera Club (formerly St. Benedict's Camera Group).

No surprise there then.

I met Pat through the Michael Edwards Photo Competition. In fact I think we both embarrassed each other at an early stage.

It happened like this. Each club had a month's display of the photos they had entered for the competition. Photos are anonymous so as not to influence the adjudicator.

I was doing a monthly blog post giving my favourite photos from each month. I picked what I thought best of Benedict's and only found out on the night of the final that they all happened to be Pat's. So you can take it I am an fan.

In thinking how to describe Pat's work the following thought came to mind.

Pat's never satisfied until he's looking at what he wants to see.

He has the eye and he's mastered the techniques. He's a perfectionist.

But that's only half the story. He won in the Wildlife and the Coast category of this year's competition with the picture above, titled simply Malahide Dublin.

And to put the seal on it, here's Pat (left) with Eoghan Murphy, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, on the night.