Stephen - Sports Photography Cork / March 24, 2026 by Jan

I’ve been taking photos pretty much my whole life, but it really started in 2010. That’s when I started working in the film industry. At first I was documenting my life on set, behind the scenes with a trusty analogue camera and a couple of rolls of film bouncing around in my sling bag.

After 5 years in the film industry, I wanted to move away from moving images and I became fascinated with stills. I explored every facet of the photography industry, trying to find my niche and what suited me.

I just followed what I enjoyed doing at the time. And that turned out to be a lot of sports photography around 2016-2018. I photographed it all, from boxing and MMA, to car racing to hurling matches and more.

That time taught me so much about photography and how to capture the perfect moment. I then slowly settled on what I really wanted to do and you can see that reflected on my website now.

So when Stephen got in touch with me, it took me right back to that 2017 period. It was such a fun throw back! Stephen is a para-athlete from Canada, who was visiting Cork for an extended period for several endurance races on his hand bike and also some duathlons.

He needed/wanted some training photos and portraits in Cork for his online presence, as well as for his sponsors; L’Hippopotame Athlétique, who make his performance wear.

Sponsor

His sponsor L’Hippopotame Athlétiquemake his performance wear.

My aim with this shoot was to give Stephen a large variety of photos that could be used for many different applications. So we did some photos with the flash, some without, some with special effect filters, some really wide shots, some extreme close ups, mostly horizontal but also some vertical photos.

There are photos that really focus in on him, where as some are beautiful landscape shots, showing off the beauty of Cork.

Using the flash was a really cool addition to this shoot that I enjoyed using a lot. I wanted to really convey the speed that Stephen was able to hit. It also really draws the focus more onto him, and his sponsor’s white top.

This mix of photos then became a really well rounded gallery that I hope will serve him for a long time! It was also fun to dip my toes into this action photography again. I always enjoy mixing things up as I feel like it improves my overall ability as a photographer.

If you would like to find out more about Stephen and his journey, you can check out his Instagram here and if you’d like to book me for your sport, say hi to me here or go to my contact form here!

Sigma 35mm f1.2 DG II Review and Wedding Sample Photos / February 6, 2026 by Jan

Sigma 35mm f1.2 DG II Review and sample portrait photos from family photo shoots and wedding couple shoots.

I’ve left the county a handful of times for a photo shoot. I did some sports photography many years back which allowed me to travel a bit, and I’ve photographed this lovely wedding in Kilkenny but I’ve never left County Cork for a posed family or couple shoot before.

So in 2026, I have decided to officially offer my first shooting location in a different county. And which county is that? My second favourite one, the Kingdom of Kerry of course!

Soft Launch for now

I often go with my wife to the Killarney National Park and its surroundings for day trips and hikes. So we know Killarney well, but it’s an area that I am still exploring as a photographer. So for now, this is more of a soft launch with limited availability for now. But I have specific spots in mind already that I’d love to explore together with you! I’ll be mainly doing couple shoots here and a few family shoots.

The two exact spots that I am able to show off here, and which worked really well, are:

The Gap of Dunloe
Muckross House

The Gap of Dunloe Couple Shoot

The Gap of Dunloe is one of my favourite spots in Ireland. While County Cork has hills, County Kerry has mountains! They’re strikingly beautiful. And a little bit like with Gougane Barra, even if it’s absolutely storming and awful weather, it still translates to beautiful images! I always find it fun to stare at a barren cliff face, and slowly finding one tiny white dot after the other in the most impossible spots. These Kerry sheep are just something else!

Ashley and Michael booked me for an adventure couple shoot. I love splitting up these shoots into two chapters, one of them spectacular, natural and wild, with the other chapter being cleaner and more posed. This gives two contrasting sets of photos, especially when some couples opt to do an outfit change.

Muckross House Couple Shoot

We then headed off to Muckross House, after hours when all the visitors were gone and ended up having the whole spot for ourselves. I first used the house itself as a background, before then heading down to the water to feature the glossy Muckross Lake, which is right next to the bigger Lough Leane.

The light was so soft, I feel like everything was just glowing a little bit. I really liked both of these locations, and I think this was a very successful shoot.

5-star Google Review

Ashley and Michael were so happy with their adventure couple shoot that they left me this lovely 5-star review:

“My fiancé and I had the pleasure of having both Jannik and his wife on the day of our shoot. Jannik is incredibly talented as a photographer and his wife provided amazing suggestions and help while we took photos.

Both were professional, fun, and put us at ease! We booked an adventure session with him and would do it again. Highly recommend!!”

— Ashley

So what does the future look like?

I’d love to do more shoots at the Gap of Dunloe, no doubt! At Muckross, there’s also a forest that I’d love to explore more, and there are quite a few more scenic spots around Lough Leane that I have my eye on.

So if you’d like to explore these areas with me, I’d be delighted to go on an adventure shoot with you! Especially if you’re happy to do a bit of a walk with me to get to the best spots.

I hope this gives a nice insight into Killarney and its surrounding areas.