In Ruins: The Once Great Houses of Ireland

Left me wishing the book was twice as long.

A most interesting pictorial collection of forlorn sadness. I find the images both beautiful and emensly contemplative, images that conjure ghosts and spirits real or perhaps imagined, yet provacative none the less. One ponders how these phantoms shall apear in a thousand years, and rue the thought how long they may have lasted would they not been murdred by circumstances. The text that accompanies the images an important, interesting, and informative heuristic. This book ostensibly one any Artist, Architectae, or student of history should have in his Librarié.

A wonderful book full of haunting images of the castles and houses of Ireland that have now fallen into ruin and decay. Excellent subjects for infrared photography.The photographs are on the whole well composed and the overall effect can be quite disturbing. An explanation of the fate of the various buildings is included. A book which sits on the shelf ready to show visitors instantly the nature and feel of infrared photography.There is an excellent supporting article by Pete Schermerhorn in the Official Infrared FAQ describing his visits to the places photographed in the book together with map grid references.

For some reason neither the authors nor the publishers admit that the images in this book are photographed in infrared. This is a pity since the juxtaposition of buildings and foliage is one of the best subjects for this and overgrown ruins are an excellent subject. As an infrared specialist myself I have a small reservation about a few of the photographs from a technical standpoint but I can't fault the sense of composition and form that they show.

Simon Marsden is a master of the art of infrared photography. The pictures are haunting and project an eerie dreamlike quality. I highly recommend this book as an excellent example of the chilling effects of infrared photography