2014 – Michael Stephen Wills Photography

Discover Cushendun: A Coastal Gem in Northern Ireland

June 21, 2025June 21, 2025 MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

Cushendun (from Irish: Cois Abhann Doinne, meaning “foot of the River Dun”) is a small coastal village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits off the A2 coast road between Cushendall and Ballycastle.

It has a sheltered harbor and lies at the mouth of the River Dun and Glendun, one of the nine Glens of Antrim. The Mull of Kintyre in Scotland is only about 15 miles away across the North Channel and can be seen easily on clear days.

In the 2001 Census it had a population of 138 people. Cushendun is part of Causeway Coast and Glens district.

Here are several of the information placards near the harbor explaining some local history.

Ballyteerin townland, where Shane O’Neill was killed, is on the road to Torr Head.

Reference: Wikipedia, “Cushendun.”

Enter your email to receive notification of future postings. I will not sell or share your email address.

Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

224 Steps

Each wall is support for the next flight of stairs

May 3, 2024May 2, 2024 MichaelStephenWills1 Comment

The stairs are cut into a cliff, using switchbacks with landings and strategically placed benches.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

This work was accomplished by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930’s, during the Great Depression.

These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.

Robert H. Treman New York State Park.

Click for macro slideshow.

Lower Lucifer Falls, early spring evening

Lucifer Falls with Hemlock Curtain — Lower Lucifer Falls, early spring evening

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

So Like A Christmas Tree

Icicles Catch The Light

May 2, 2024 MichaelStephenWills6 Comments

Approaching the Cliff Stair after a sudden April frost.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Lucifer Falls in spring flood is a constant roar.

These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.

Robert H. Treman New York State Park.

Click for macro slideshow.

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

April Freeze Slideshow

April 21, 2024April 13, 2024 MichaelStephenWills15 Comments

Here is a recapitulation of my latest posts in the form of a slideshow.

Click photograph to start show. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Robert H. Treman New York State Park.

Lower Lucifer Falls, early spring evening

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Through a Veil

A Hemlock Curtain

April 20, 2024April 12, 2024 MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

Early April the Gorge Trail along Lucifer Falls is closed, here we look up to the falls in flood from a safe distance.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

The Rim Trail gate to the Cliff Stairs is open. We are headed that way.

These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.

Robert H. Treman New York State Park.

Click for macro slideshow.

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Ascent

Andrew Wyeth effect

April 18, 2024April 12, 2024 MichaelStephenWills1 Comment

Here the Rim Trail climbs out of the flats beneath the Cliff Stairs, away from Enfield Creek, onto the upper slopes of the gorge.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Early spring snow highlights the path, threading between hemlocks. The American realistic painter Andrew Wyeth comes to mind with I see the mottled texture of this light snow. He captured some of this in landscape paintings such as “Snow Flurries.”

Here is more of this effect……

These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.

Robert H. Treman New York State Park.

Click for a slideshow of this Fertile Flats sequence.

Beneath the Cliff Stairs II — Beneath the Cliff Stairs I

Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved Michael Stephen Wills

Periwinkle

Source of life-saving drug

April 17, 2024April 12, 2024 MichaelStephenWills10 Comments

A broad, fertile flat between gorge walls supports a dense growth of invasive creeping myrtle. Springtime there is a sprinkling of small blue flowers, this may be the source of another name, periwinkle, or lesser periwinkle.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Periwinkle is an evergreen and in early times vinca vine (another name we call it, from the scientific name Vinca Minor) was planted in graveyards and cemeteries. The isolated growth of vinca vine in this section of the gorge maybe from such a planting on a lost grave.

Today, the park practices leaving fallen trees in place, here they are covered in years of moss, a memory of headstones. Lesser Perriwinkle is significant for the living as the source of vincamine, from the leaves. A synthetic form of this compound is a potent vasodilator, a therapeutic treatment for stroke and other brain disorders.

These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.

Robert H. Treman New York State Park.

Source: Wikipedia, “Vinca Minor.”

Click for a slideshow of this Fertile Flats sequence.

Ephemeral

Amphibian haven, breeding place

April 16, 2024April 12, 2024 MichaelStephenWills8 Comments

Melting snow, spring rains, gather in hollows of the forest floor to form ephemeral pools important for the development of amphibian life.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Also named vernal pools, from the Latin word for spring or the time of the equinox. The pools are ephemeral in the sense of being temporary, disappearing in the warmer, dryer late spring and summer months, a characteristic important for amphibian live in being devoid of predatory fish.

Here the pool forms on a flat beneath the walls of Enfield Gorge. Here is another photograph featuring the ephemeral winter theme, “The Cave.”

These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.

Robert H. Treman New York State Park.

Sources: Wikipedia, “Vernal Pool” and Merriam Webster online.

Click for a slideshow of a few photographs published recently.

Gully vs. Ravine

I love the early spring light filtering through the hemlocks.

April 15, 2024April 12, 2024 MichaelStephenWills7 Comments

Rim trail traverses gullies. These creases in the gorge walls were formed by small streams flowing to Enfield Creek.

Click photograph for a larger view. To do this from WordPress Reader, you need to first click the title of this post to open a new page.

Some passages require a wade, others have elaborate walkways with bridges. I initially wanted to call these ravines. Upon researching the term discovered while ravines are formed by erosion, the scale here is much smaller. I could rename Enfield Gorge, to Enfield Ravine.

These shots were hand held. I used a Sony Alpha 700 dslr with a variable “zoom” lens, great for framing compositions.

Robert H. Treman New York State Park.

Click for a slideshow of this Waterfall of the Old Mill sequence

On the Road to Killen

In the early dawn, I walked the path to Killen, drawn by the legacy of my mother’s Irish youth. An abandoned hay wagon stood, a relic amidst the whispers of history and myth. Join me in uncovering the roots that intertwine family and the enduring Irish land.

February 10, 2024December 8, 2023 MichaelStephenWills12 Comments

Continue reading “On the Road to Killen” →