Bertra Strand Again

I was back in Westport only a week after we finished the filming of episode 2 of Dynamic Range but this time with the family. It was the usual normal weather i.e. mixed. On the day we arrived a went out to Bertra Strand as it’s only 15 mins away from the hotel to try get a few images before sunset. I was hoping for the sun to shine on the side of Croagh Patrick Mountain.

Croagh Patrick Mt and Bretra Strand Grass blowing in the wind

It kind of worked for the lower slops of the mountain which now I think adds a bit more drama to the image. Also the strong wind blowing the grass on the sand dunes in the foreground was the key to this composition and the way the tips of the tall grass is lit up by the setting sun in contrast to the dark clouds over the top of Croagh Patrick.

I knew there was a reason why I always return to Westport and Bretra. You will never come away with the same image and I have being coming here for the passed 10 years now.

Looking forward to the next 10 years.

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Buncrana Coastline 3

Not technically correct as this is from Fahan, which is just south of Buncrana. The location for my early morning per-sunrise shoot. However it was a very overcast start to the day and I was not able to get the image I was after.

However I spotted this structure which looks like what’s left of a old pier.

Pier, Fahan, Buncrana, Co Donegal

I’m very happy with the above image. I like the composition and detail of the wooden beams and compare this to the soft mellow water and sky. The tide was in and it might make for an interesting image to shoot from under the  beams.

I left Fahan and moved to Ned’s Point. I have a couple more images to show before we move onto some images from my latest trip to Co Clare.

 

 

Buncrana Coastline No.2

This is the second in a series of images from my recent trip to Buncrana, Co Donegal and again it’s from Ned’s Point this time looking south towards Buncrana.

Buncrana Coastline from Ned’s Point, Co Donegal.

 

It was taken on the same morning, about 20 mins after, the first Buncrana post.  The sun had risen and starting to break up the clouds and they formed this wonderful pattern. I have two more to show you from this very productive morning shoot, luckily as it was the only time the weather behaved. The last one if from a beach just north of Ned’s Point along the coast path.

 

Buncrana Coastline

I’m back a few weeks now from my Trip to Co Donegal. I was using Buncrana as my base. There is some great coastline around Buncrana to shoot.

Ned’s Point, Buncrana, Co. Donegal

 

I had some interesting cloud formations during one of the morning shoots. It didn’t look good for the planned sunrise shoot , but I moved location and was rewarded with a series of 5 images all taken around Ned’s Point. The rest of the trip was a bit of a washout due to low clouds and fine mist rain. I did manage to get to Malin Head, the most northerly point of Ireland, during a brief  dry spell but the resulting images are nothing to right home about. However I will post them so you can make your own minds up.

The wonderful bit of light I did get is put to good use in the above image. This light makes rocks in the foreground stand out against the dark cloudy sky. There was some very interesting cloud formations which you can start to see in this image and I will post the next image in this series during the week.

Old Head, Co.Mayo

Westport was the location for filming of Episode 2 of Dynamic Range video series. The first day’s filming was from Old Head, Westport, Co Mayo. Using the famous Croagh Patrick Mountain as our bacground.

Old Head, Sunset, Co Mayo

During the filming of the introduction it started to rain and the clouds started to roll in thus putting an end to the planned sunset image. However, all was not lost and the clouds did break and the resulting image above was taken. Using the clouds to aid the composition and draw the viewer into the image is what makes this image.  The long shutter speed has added drama to the waves.

You can find out more about the resulting image on the video which can be purchased from Dynamic Range Website

Neil’s Waterfall

We are in the stages of editing the footage for Episode 2 of Dynamic Range. Part of this, Peter and myself have to process our images so we can put them in the film and explain who we got them.

 

 

The image above was taken from the location shown in the previous post of the tripods in the river.

I had to stand in the water for close to a hour at a time while we were filming and I was glad I had me wellies on.

It was one of the rare times that the sun shined and the clouds parted to show a blue sky. The rest of the crew still don’t know how I managed to captured this event. Luck or good timing. I ran over to the camera while they were looking at footage but don’t tell them.

This final image is a blend of two images. A first for me. It’s not exposure blending or HDR  of the images. I did not see the small rain drops on the front filter until after I took the shot. After I cleaned the filter I took another image but the clouds had moved and the blue sky gone. I used this image and only the small section to mask out  the rain drop to produce the final colour image before it went on to the Mononeil Process.

I will be posting more of the image over the coming weeks and Episode 2 of Dynamic Range will be available on 20th April. You can pre-order and receive Episode 0 The Pilot  free. Go to Dynamic Range.com

Episode 2 filming of Dynamic Range

Back a week now form filming Episode 2 of Dynamic Range with Peter Cox and Roger Overall, and only catching up with email and all the other social media networks. If you are following me on Twitter (@mononeil) you will know the weather didn’t play ball compared to the pre-production trip we made.

Here are  a couple of iPhone images from behind the scenes:

The boot of my Car

 

The Sound Guy Prayer

 

A rear view.

 

Peter's and my camera positions

 

We were up at 5 every day to get a sunrise or even a moon set image. However all we could do was sit and wait in the car for hours with nothing to show for it. On the up side we did manage to get an image of the moon on the first day shooting the sunset from Oldhead. Not planned but what a great bonus.

We got back to the B&B every evening around 7:30. Dump the camera gear and head out for dinner. Back to the B&B to review the days footage and more importantly to backup all the CF cards to four separate locations ( to be sure to be sure ).

Between the wind and the rain we did manage to get some interesting images, maybe not the ones we planned but we did what we had to do and change focus. What we ended up with will make for a very interesting episode.

You can find out more about the filming and what we got up to over on the Circle of Confusion Blog