A Touch of Nostalgia

John Eagle says he doesn't put 'modern things' in his oil paintings, "no cars, no concrete structures and the roads are usually unsurfaced." His perspective is driven by memories of growing up in West Cork in the 1960s. "Through my paintings I want you to absorb my love for the slow time that Ireland is famous for, when people stopped to chat," he declares on his website www.JohnEagleArt.com
Sea and Landscapes such as Ballycrovane feature in Eagle's exhibition at The Old Market Arts Centre in Dungarvan from Tuesday. The show Elements is inspired by conditions in which people have to work. It runs until August 27th.

The Irish Times Saturday Magazine
July 23rd 2005

A personally photographed collection of postcards
byA personally photographed collection of postcards
by
John Eagle
who lives in South West of Ireland
'The postcard collection is worth every penny' Lorna Siggins, Irish Times
'Eagle's photography is so precise you can almost hear the pounding surf' Jennifer Henderson, Postcard Collector magazine
'Eagle eye for picture perfect way to make an impression' Alannah Hopkin, Examiner (Cork)
'A HARSH beam of light that flooded into John Eagle's bedroom in the
middle of the night eleven years ago changed his life forever.' Brenda O'Neill, The Irish People
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EAGLE'S-EYE VIEW: photographer completes his collection of Irish lighthouses
by Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent of The Irish Times August 2nd 2004

Blackhead, Co. Antrim

(this picture and the one of the Fastnet below appeared with the article in the Irish Times magazine)

John Eagle
who lives in South West of Ireland
'The postcard collection is worth every penny' Lorna Siggins, Irish Times
'Eagle's photography is so precise you can almost hear the pounding surf' Jennifer Henderson, Postcard Collector magazine
'Eagle eye for picture perfect way to make an impression' Alannah Hopkin, Examiner (Cork)
'A HARSH beam of light that flooded into John Eagle's bedroom in the
middle of the night eleven years ago changed his life forever.' Brenda O'Neill, The Irish People
--------------
EAGLE'S-EYE VIEW: photographer completes his collection of Irish lighthouses
by Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent of The Irish Times August 2nd 2004

A West Cork based photographer has achieved his ambition of capturing all of Ireland's lighthouses on film. Shots taken by John Eagle of the Maidens lighthouse off the Antrim coast last week marked the conclusion of a project lasting over a decade. Weather and budgetary factors determined the length of time to capture all the lights and beacons around the 2,700 mile coastline, mostly from the air.

-----------

The following was in the Irish Times Saturday Magazine Feb 2004

Blackhead, Co. Antrim

(this picture and the one of the Fastnet below appeared with the article in the Irish Times magazine)

Last of the Lights
John Eagle set out to photograph everyone of Ireland's lighthouses,
and - 10 years on - has just six left to capture,

writes Lorna Siggins Irish Times Marine Correspondent.

Irish Times colour magazine Sat 7th Feb 2004

John Eagle would not call it an obsession it is more of a love affair. Fishguard Pier in Wales captured his heart, and the first time he saw Roche's Point marking Cork harbour, he knew that he was smitten. "The magic of the sweeping light," is how he describes it. "Coming from an inland town, there was so much excitement in the sea," he says, and lighthouses encapsulated all that...

Fastnet lighthouse celebrating 100 years 1904 to 2004
available as a special limited edition print click here
It is ten years since the photographer and artist embarked on a mission to capture this coastline's principle "navigational aids" - as the Commissioners of Irish Lights describes the chain around this 2,700 mile coastline. Based in West Cork, Eagle is now within months of reaching his target, though much depends on fickle weather. "I have just six to do, all of them on the north-east or north coast," he confirms.
Among his collection of 90 recorded to date, and reproduced as postcards, are some smaller lights, whichare owned by local authorities, in particularly spectacular locations. But then they are all spectacular from a distance of several hundred feet, be it the Mizen, the dramatic Fastnet rock off the south-west, the Metal Man in Sligo bay, or Slyne Head, north of Galway.
Eagle's images on postcards and on prints sell all over the World. He has written one book, and his rolemodels are French maritime photographers Philip Plisson and Jean Guichard. His workhas appeared in international publications, with his stunning image of Baily lighthouse in Howth reproduced over two pages in Lighthouses Around the World: A Pictorial History.
Unlike his European colleagues, Eagle works on a minimal budget. "I often think that if I had been born rich, I would never have hadhalf the fun," Eagle says. "I would have just hired myself a helicopter and done the whole lot in a few weeks, weather permitting. Whereas this way, I had to rely on a lot of help, and I have met some wonderful people, including lightkeepers during their last days before automation."
Eagle has two partners in the project - pilots with Irish Helicopters - Capt. Mick Conneely and Capt. Mick Hennessy, who have spent years servicing lighthouses for the Commissioners of Irish Lights. Local boat owners have also helped out where shots were best taken at sea level. Gerry Donnelly of Shannon Estuary Ports helped him shoot Beeves Rock; the late Dr. Tom McCarrick, owner of a catamaran, Image, in Sligo, transported him to Blackrock lighthouse, and John Johnston, sea angling charter skipper on Achill, whose "skill steadied the boat" while Eagle focused on the elusive Achillbeg.
A commitment to perfection, and detail, is in his blood - his mother, Dorothy Eagle, was an editor for versions of The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary, The Oxford Companion to English Literature, The Oxford Literary Guide to Britain and Ireland.
Eagle was born and reared in Oxford, and studied photography. World series motorcars travelling at speeds of 200 miles per hour were his early subjects, but he "gave it all up" in the 1980s after a trip to Hawaii. "I put the camera down and didn't touch it for six years, and went to work as a forklift driver in a factory in Unipart in North Oxford. It gave me the money to travel, but I hated the work and I began writing during that time as a form of escapism."
His brother, Martin, was involved in a road accident, and circumstances led to his mother buying a house in Eyeries in West Cork. "I came over to stay with her, and liked it so much that I decided to live here in 1991, after I took redundancy from the factory. But then I found I was too happy to write novels, and so I began taking photosand writing articles for Sean Dunne at The West Cork News."
Eagle was forced to make a choice between photography and journalism, and chose the former. "I was on the dole, though, and someone suggested doing postcards." He soon discovered the was "no money in it", but by this stage, he had thought of doing lighthouses. A meeting in Causkey's Pub in Eyeries with Barney Whelan, then working with the ESB fish-farming subsidiary, Salmara, led to some sponsorship and the first lighthouse images.
"I produced 12 cards, each with the Salmara logo on it," Eagle said. He drew a blank when he tried to persuade shops in Bantry, Kinsale and Skibbereen to take them on, but found instant success in Baltimore and Crookhaven with his Fastnet image. "If it hadn't been for Barney Whelan, the project would never have taken off - literally."
Eagle has relied on two cameras, a Mamiya 7 and a Canon EOS 3, for his work. Precise about quality in reproduction, he has found at times that his costs exceed his income. However, the Commissioners of Irish Lights have proved to be very supportive, as has Sue Hill of Heron's Cove Guesthouse and Restaurant in Goleen, the initiator of the Mizen Head visitors' centre. The Irish Landmark Trust, which has acquired unused lighthouse buildings, also commissioned work from him. And the Internet gave him an international audience for his postcard collections.
Flying in helicopters has been part of the thrill, he admits. "I love it. I remember travelling from Fastnet to Bull Rock in one hit and thinking this is the life. then I remember my first flight with Mick Hennessy over Tuskar, and he told me I could open the door. 'What?' I roared, because I never opened the door with Mick Conneely. 'But you can't take pictures through those windows,' Hennessy said. We were only about 100 feet up, the waves were crashing over the rocks below, and I was never so scared in all my life!"
The only two titles in his Irish Lighthouse postcard series that sold consistently, he says, are the Fastnet, which has just marked its centenary, and the Mizen. He also too a picture of his dog, Quisha, on the hills of the Beara peninsula and it sold 11,000 copies.
Eagle also paints in oils, and finds it gives him freedom that photography does not. "I do seascapes and landscapes, and no lighthouses at all."
Three lighthouses on Rathlin Island off the north-east coast; Inishtrahull off Donegal; the Mew and Maidens off Blackhead, north Antrim; and Hawbouline on Carlingford Lough, Co. Louth, still elude him. "David Bedlow of Irish Lights has indicated that there is a possibility of flying in March, and I may be able to capture a few of them on that run, but you can never tell with the weather."
It is a salutary reminder of the hazardous nature of lighthouse relief and the fact that the helicopter pilots do one of the most hazardous flying jobs in Europe. "We flew out to Rathlin O'Birne, off Donegal, two years ago and it had been a lovely day before, and a lovely day after. But we ended up in thick mist and I think we may have been lucky to get back..."
John Eagle's Lighthouse collection of prints and postcards is available directly from:
John Eagle Photography, Eyeries, Beara, Co. Cork
027-74275
or at: www.JohnEaglephotography.com

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What's in the Mail
The first of many written by Jennifer Henderson
Jennifer Henderson writing for Postcard Collector magazine October 1995
Dramatic Irish lighthouse postcards are available for $18.00 USD (airmail postage paid) from photographer John Eagle. This 25-card series features such lighthouses as Loop Head, Calf Rock, Fastnet, and the Baily. Shown here is an aerial of the Bull Rock light in County Cork; Eagle's photography is so precise that you can almost hear the pounding surf. He offers other cards, too, such as Mare's Tail (the highest waterfall in Ireland), Dursey Island, the North Engine copper mines, and his Beara Stones series. To order the lighthouse cards or request his sales sheet write: John Eagle Photography, Derryvore, Eyeries, Beara, Co. Cork, Ireland
(Note: since the above article was written the number of cards in the series has increased to 86 and the postcard list is available on this site at: Irish Lighthouse Cards ) I wish to express my gratitude to Jennifer Henderson for her continued support in writing me up almost every year in Postcard Collector since the above article was published. The card of the Bull Rock that was featured in her piece was of no:8.
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Eagle's eye view of
Irish lighthouses
by Lorna Siggins of The Irish Times November 1999

John Eagle used to photograph world series motorcars, travelling at an average speed of 200 miles an hour. When he switched, he did so in style - focusing his lens on immobile pieces of architecture along Ireland's 2,700mile coastline.
Tarbert on the Shannon estuary, Beeves rock near Foynes, and Eeragh, near Kilronan on the Aran islands, are some of the 50 structures captured by him with the help of two helicopter pilots over the last few years.
"That's the beauty of lighthouses. They don't move, and you can come back again and again and again," John said last week, when he spoke at a function in the National Maritime Museum to mark publication of his illustrated record.
The 50-odd were selected by him from a chain of 87, and many of them were built in the most inaccessible locations.
Thanks to Capt. Mick Conneely and Capt. Mick Hennessy of Irish Helicopters, he was able to go where many photographers had not gone before - barring those employed by the Commissioners of Irish Lights. Some can be reached by foot and he includes these details in his guide.
John's journey dates back to 1994, when he received support from Barney Whelan of Salmara, the former ESB fish farming division, to publish his images as postcards. The postcard collection of some 77 lights, extending from Rockabill to Slyne Head, most from Blacksod in Co Mayo to Fanad in Co Donegal, is worth every penny at £27 a set which includes postage.
Speaking at the launch, RTÉ's marine correspondent, Tom MacSweeney, expressed regret that the interest and dedication shown by John Eagle had not been reciprocated in terms of a continuing commitment to a human presence on our lighthouses. An Eagle's View of Irish Lighthouses, is published by Peter Williams Associates, the Welsh based company which produces the bi-monthly for lighthouse devotees, Leading Lights.
Copies at £11.95 paperback in bookshops, or direct from John Eagle Photography at £13 to include postage. 2 copies for £25. He will sign the books if asked.
John Eagle Photography, Eyeries, Beara, Co. Cork, Ireland.
(027) 74275 www.JohnEaglePhotography.com

An Eagle Eye (July, 1998)
by Alannah Hopkin
Eagle eye for picture perfect way to make an impression
John Eagle used to make cars in Oxford but Alannah Hopkin found him flying high with a business that stretches from West Cork around the world
When John Eagle left his job in a car factory in Oxford in 1992 and sold
his house to move to a remote farmhouse near Eyeries on the Beara peninsula, he bought a modest PC 486 because he thought he was going to write. The writing never took off, but the computer - in particular the Internet - is now central to Eagle's postcard business.
Having made the big move from city to country, Eagle started looking
around for work. He has been taking photographs for about thirty years, and he began by selling pictures to the West Cork News when the late Sean Dunne was its editor: 'It's thanks to Sean that I got off the ground at all as a photographer. He encouraged me to take pictures into him, and that's how I started.'
It was a start, but not a real living. There were no local postcards
available, so Eagle did a series of standing stones, but they did not
sell well. He continues: 'I was out on a FAS scheme for Beara Tourism, and I kept watching the helicopter taking off and landing. I really fancied going up in a helicopter, and so I wondered if people would be interested if I took pictures of lighthouses from the sky.'
So how do you hitch a ride on a helicopter? Eagle quite simply wrote to
the Commissioners for Irish Lights, who were subcontracting Irish
Helicopters, and asked for permission to go out whenever there was an empty seat. Irish Lights sent back a letter, and a waiver form to sign saying that Eagle was travelling at his own risk: 'I went over to the helipad and showed it to the pilot and he said, okay, I'm going down to the Fastnet tomorrow, do you want to come? I did a picture of the Fastnet on that first flight, that went out as a post card, but it wasn't until the next flight that I took one that turned into a blinding success. Now I go whenever there is a spare seat, and I really have to say thank you to Captain Mick Conneely, the pilot.
He's been wonderful to me.'
By now John Eagle has photographed many but not all of the light houses around our coast from the air: 'I've done all the ones on the south coast Hook, Youghal, Ballycotton, Galley Head, Fastnet, Mizen, Crookhaven, Sheep's Head, Skellig Michael and Inishtearaght on the Blasket Islands which is my favourite. I've flown from Mayo and from Donegal. The only bit I haven't done is the coast of Northern Ireland because I'm a bit nervous of going up there.'
John Eagle got involved in the Internet because it offered an economic
way of marketing his postcards: 'In the postcard business you are up against three giants - Real Ireland, John Hinde and Insight. As a small-time operator living out in the sticks, 90 miles from Cork, the Internet is a boon.
As well as supplying craft shops and newsagents, Eagle sells world-wide to collectors. He advertises in specialist magazines like Picture Postcard Monthly, selling cards by the set, 62 cards for £20, for example, rather than individually.
His two web sites were set up voluntarily for him by lighthouse
enthusiasts: 'A guy over in Tennessee by the name of Bill Britten asked
me if he could scan some of my pictures on to his web site, and then he put up a web site for my pictures. He did half of them, and another light house enthusiast in Michigan, Linda Andersen, did the rest. So I got two web sites free of charge, and a load of publicity world-wide. Once people have seen the web-sites they e-mail me for more information. Then if they want to order a set, they have to use normal post. It's not massive, but it makes a difference, especially in the winter.'
John Eagle now has regular e-mail contact with collectors in Australia,
New Zealand, Japan, South Africa and all over the US: 'They tell me about their kids and their animals, and what's going on over there. I don't surf the net an awful lot, I just don't seem to find much on it, but I do enjoy getting e-mails regularly form all parts of the world.
'The other thing that has kept me going was a brilliant idea that came
from Sue Hill who runs Heron's Cove Restaurant in Goleen, and is involved in the Mizen Vision. Last year I thought I was going to go under, I just could not make a profit. She said you can't stop now, and she went ahead and sponsored 1000 cards in return for an ad for Heron's Cove on the back. Now all my cards are sponsored, and at last I'm starting to pay off a loan that I got from my brother nearly three years ago.'
To see John Eagle's work go to:
http://www.JohnEaglePhoto.com
http://www.JohnEaglePhotography.com
http://zuma.lib.utk.edu/lights/eagle/eagle.html

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Brenda O'Neill's article on me in The Irish People January 26th 2003

A HARSH beam of light that flooded into John Eagle's bedroom in the
middle of the night eleven years ago changed his life forever. It wasn't a UFO or even a burglar. It was the beam from Co Cork's Bull Rock lighthouse eight miles away reaching into him.

And now this extraordinary Englishman will fulfill a dream and a lifetime's
passion when he completes his collection of photographs of Irish lighthouses in a new book.

The 49-year-old photographer was even quoted in the (Irish)Government's
Millenium Book summing up his fascination alongside some of his
photographs.

There is something magical about the lone lantern lighting up the
furthest reaches; just when you thought you had reached the last
place on earth and there is a beam of light.

He was also responsible for the postage stamp of Tarbert lighthouse that was released by An Post.

John dismisses any thoughts of danger and high risk while indulging in his craft as many of Ireland's lighthouses are located in some of the most
hostile and inaccessible locations.

His image of the Fastnet Lighthouse, known as the teardrop of Ireland, is compelling. It sticks up out of the Atlantic like a finger and marks Ireland's most southerly point. It was the last piece of the country emigrants saw as they sailed for a new life in America.

It was taking photographs of racing cars that first drew John to
photography but that soon changed.

He said: I took up photography in the early 70s as a hobby, and kept it
as such until I moved over here. I sold a small number of pictures of
racing cars and things, but only as a bit on the side.
The thing about lighthouses is that they stand still, instead of
racing cars doing 200 miles an hour. Seriously though, everything
around them moves, and the colour in the sea is always changing,
so they make for a great subject if you get the weather and light
right.

Against a dark mysterious sky a lighthouse can look terrific,
whereas many things would look mundane. I am not really sure
why I like or liked motor racing, I suppose it was fun to watch,
there was risk involved.

When you are out in rough weather, with waves exploding on rocks
and a light flashing, there is a mighty roar going on and you feel
nature doing its thing, and there's this man made thing doing its
best to warn the sailors.

Born in Oxford, John first came to Ireland with his family at an early age for a holiday but his mother loved the country so much she bought a house near Eyeries where John's brother now lives.

We sailed from Fishguard to Cork, I used to love seeing Roche's Point
lighthouse at the mouth of Cork Harbour for it meant I was nearly home,
the fog horn always boomed as we sailed by, making such a lovely sound, it would make you jump if you weren't prepared for it. I hated England, mainly for the boarding schools I went to.

I think it is fair to say that had I been a wealthy man this venture of
mine would never have happened. My love of lighthouses is deep rooted, the magic of the sweeping light. Coming from an inland town there was so much excitement in the sea, and lighthouses meant sea!

Beara is now John's home where he lives with his two collies Quisha and Shara and a cat called Whiskey (because she's black and white).

His second book is due for publication later this year and for the first
time his collection of lighthouse photographs and his series of lighthouse postcards will be complete.

John is making the trip up north for the first time to take shots of the
six northern lighthouses by helicopter and is indebted to pilots Captains
Mick Hennessy and Mick Conneely for bringing him to these far-flung and hostile locations.

The most powerful shots are when the sea is rough and the waves are
crashing against the lighthouse, typically in winter. It is also the time when there is more risk.
His next series of postcards and photographs could be Irish castles but he hasn't quite decided.

I think when I have done them all then I fear anti-climax. I have
thought of doing other things, maybe castles, as that is another
passion of mine. The trouble is finding space to store these
postcards while waiting for people to order them.

I think I will concentrate more on making prints for people, but I
shall keep doing shots of lighthouses because you can't just stop and switch off from them. I find them fascinating, the way they are built and all.

The skill of the workers that put them together, you only need to look
at the Bull Rock and then you start to wonder how on earth did they put the lighthouse up there. Look at the Fastnet, Rockabill, whichever one you like, they are all very well designed and have stood the test of time.

The Fastnet lighthouse will be 100 years old in June 2004 and John has
produced a special poster to mark the event.

Just look at the structure and wonder, it is being pounded nearly every
day of the year, right now in January the waves are going over the top of it, and yet it remains in one piece flashing its beam to warn seafarers of the dangerous rocks.

And think of the men who have tended the light, putting up with
such storms, its a wonderful story.

John Eagle can be contacted at
www.JohnEaglePhotography.com
also www.johneaglephoto.com
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Irish Lighthouse Postcards by Ellamena Gregori
The postcards, which are made in Ireland, each have researched histories on the backs. Eagle has assured accuracy of the historical information collecting information from The Commissioners of Irish Lighthouses and retired light keepers. He has repeatedly refused offers from larger postcard producers to sell his product to them. Eagle insures that print runs are small thereby limiting print edition as well as keeping personal inspection on chroma quality. John Eagle Photography remains a family business, with the postcards produced in the manner John Eagle wants. He says. 'So often a big company will only produce the best selling postcards, its a bit like when the government sell off the national bus company, the bidders want the money making routes and leave the not so used ones alone to crumble. I have produced postcards of the lesser known lighthouses, because I want my series to give a good comprehensive coverage. Take no: 66 for instance, 'Wheat Rock Buoy', I think it is a really nice picture but it would never sell to the main body of postcard buyers. If I was to sell out to a major company that would be one of the first postcards to disappear and yet it is one of the most important. No:42 is another, the South Rock Lightship (lightfloat to some) it is a great picture, and it sells nicely to collectors but the not to the general public. When people study my collection of lighthouse postcards I want them to see and learn, not just look at the famous ones they have already heard of like the Fastnet and Skellig Michael.'
The postcard collection takes up 6 shelves in his store, with (lucky) 13 piles of cards on each shelf. 'There's a couple more shelves below them to take the rest.' he adds.
I suggested he had alot of postcards in stock, would he ever sell them all? 'I suppose I won't, but if I did I'd only have to buy in more stock. Holding them here will go on and on, whoever inherits it from me, who knows. Part of the trouble is when I sell out of one title I have to buy in a minimum of 1000 more. Often I want to bring out a totally new postcard and I have to buy in more of a current one instead, which is frustrating. There isn't much money to play with, maybe it'll be my turn to win some soon. The sensible thing would be to throw in the towel, but then I would only miss making them. If I didn't enjoy making postcards I would stop doing it.'
Many of the postcards have been photographed from helicopters, using high quality film and camera equipment. Of late he has been using a medium format camera. 'Its a Mamiya 7, the slides I shoot can be made into huge high quality prints.'
John Eagle takes a pride in his postcards and it shows.
Ellamena Gregori, lighthouse correspondant, email: Ellamena Gregori


The postcard collection numbers 99 individual postcards and costs €75 which includes shipping all over the World. Credit card orders are accepted. (Visa and Mastercard) Please fax your details to:
00 353 27 70455
On your fax please include the expiry date of your card, your address and your order.
Or email me your phone number.
Eagle has also produced a book on how to reach Ireland's lighthouses
'An Eagle's View of Irish Lighthouses' $24 (include shipping costs)
is produced by Peter Williams Associates of Wales who publishes Leading Lights, the lighthouse enthusiasts magazine. email peter.williams@leadinglights.co.uk for your copy. One of Eagle's aerial shots of the Fastnet is on the front of the March 2001 issue

Why not ask John to personally sign a copy of his book to you
He also produces fine prints for framing, only to order and to a very high standard.
You can also reach him by phoning 00 353 27 74275