I drove from Dublin to Clonbur, Co. Galway on Saturday afternoon with no real photography plan. I started with the evening sunset on Lough Mask which didn’t yield great sunset sky, but I managed to try and make the most of what I found.
On Sunday morning I decided a hot day sitting in a boat not catching fish was not for me, so I fancied trying to capture Toormakeady waterfall which I had last visited back in 2010. There was not as much water flowing as I hoped so I ended up spending more time on detail shots, but if you haven’t been, I recommend a visit which includes a pleasant short hike through beautiful woodlands too.
Decision time, and I really wanted to spend some time by the ocean, so my logical choice was Silver Strand, via a round about route through Westport and Louisburgh, two very busy tourist traps in this weather. I was very pleased to find parking beside the beach a couple of hours later and headed straight for the seashore of this expansive white sandy beach.
Digging out my Photographer’s Ephemeris, it was clear I needed to be on the cliffs south of the beach facing north west for sunset. However, the land that side was private and I wasn’t sure how high the tide would reach to block my exit. So instead I chose to head north on foot across the headland to the small outcrop about 2km north west of the car park.
I had a lot of onlookers as I trekked across the hills.
In hindsight I should have brought my camping gear, but instead left it in the car:-( I was a few hours early for sunset, and the high tide was at sunset, so even though I found lovely compositions it was hard to visualise the best location for sunset given the rise of the tide still to come and the action of the ocean swell.
After settling on the above shot, I quickly scrambled back to a tiny beach beside the headland to capture the last of the sun.
I headed back to Silver Strand and being so warn, could not resist a quick swim before my nights sleep in the car for a 4:30am dawn shoot. When I awoke (for the last time of the night!) the sky was grey with thick fog which showed no signs of lifting, so I decided to drive back towards Leanaun to find better light. I stopped a couple of times, but really liked the images I got near Delphi Lodge.
The mist and fog really helped shape the light for this last set, so I was very pleased with my decision to leave the beach before dawn. Next time, I’m going to be much better prepared for camping or sleeping in my car. Practice makes perfect!