This article is from page 6 of the 2006-08-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
A NEW book featuring photographs of the Burren landscape entitled “The Fertile Rock – Seasons in the Burren”, by German photographer Carsten Krieger was launched last month.
The photographic book, which includes images of wild flowers and craggy landscapes, has been published by Collins Press and had its launch at Quinn’s Craftshop and Gallery in Ballyvaughan.
An exhibition of many of Carsten Krieger’s photographs that feature in the book are on display in Quinn’s and will run until mid-August.
“While photographs play a key part in expressing the visual impact of the Burren, this is more than another photographic book,” said George Quinn, the proprietor of the gallery.
“It is a celebration of the place. For almost three years, Carsten Krieger spent an average of three days per week on this project. It became a central part of his life: waiting for the perfect light, for the wind to die down, for the creatures of the Burren to come into the open, discovering the most beautiful and mystical places, drinking tea with the locals. The result – he delivers the essence of his subject in a manner sympathetic to the ever-changing panorama of weather, tone and light found in that rich landscape.”
Carsten Krieger grew up in southern Germany and, from a very early age, became passionate about photography. In the early 1990s, he chose to participate in a social care programme and became an oncology nurse in a paediatric ward, encountering daily the fragility of life.
In 2001, Carsten, with his fellow nurse and wife Ina, moved to County Clare. Carsten uses one word to describe the photographs he has captured since his move to Clare – “magical”. Now specialising in outdoor photography, he regularly exhibits in Ireland and abroad. He supports environmental activities and is staff photographer for the Irish Peatland Conservation Council.
“The Fertile Rock – Seasons in the Burren”, which is available in hardcover, can be purchased at the Quinn Gallery, which also stocks many publications on the Burren region. The book is also available online at www.quinncrafts.ie and is priced at €25. Prints featured in the book can also be purchased from the website.