When your focus, excuse the pun, is on photography you think in terms of sunrise and sunset. The blue hour and golden hour is that special time of day, the crepuscles, when landscape photography gives its best rewards.
At the end of this day, after visiting a few waterfalls, one in Co. Tyrone and the other, Glencar in Co. Leitrim I had just enough time to get to the coast for sunset. Actually, after walking around barefoot in a river I arrived after sunset, with full exposure to gale force westerly winds, a rocky coast and no shelter meant a difficult time for steadying the camera during a 10-20 second exposure.
On this evening, in this location the tripod was just not an option, the bubbles in my spirit level were impossible to keep still, no matter how low to the ground the tripod was set. Every so often the wind would just get stronger, out of nowhere and the force of the waves hitting the stony shore would increase. It was an exposed bay with various seaweeds thrown high on the foreshore.
Persevering I got the camera off the tripod and onto something more solid and sure footed, adjusted some of the settings and this is the image that best pleased me. Lovely and blue, just like it appeared to the eye.
Taken on the Wild Atlantic Way, a newly developed scenic drive that stretches from Donegal's border with Derry to Kinsale along the Atlantic coast of Ireland, and is divided into northwest, west and southwest sectors; in this case the Co. Sligo coast is on the Wild Atlantic Way Northwest. That's a lot of characters on Twitter! I think the hashtag #WAW would be better combined with the county name.
Returning to my base in Co. Armagh was quite the drive, heading back through Sligo, and the border counties of Leitrim, Cavan, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Monaghan before getting back to The Orchard County. With my cheeks gradually recovering from the beating they had taken on the Atlantic Coast, a journey that I have made dozens of times was enjoyable knowing that I had got what I wanted from that day.
You can see more of my Wild Atlantic Way experiences here.
Panoramic Ireland organise private photography experiences and tours throughout Ireland.
