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 2,700 mile 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 72 lights, extending from Wicklow to Eeeragh, from Blacksod in Co Mayo to Fanad in Co Donegal, and including most of the lights in the Dublin area, is worth every penny at £20 a set.
Speaking at the launch, RTE'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 in paperback at £11.95 can be obtained from book shops, or direct from John Eagle Photography at (027) 74275, or on e-mail: eaglejr@indigo.ie