This is a location that I had been to on several occasions before I planned this particular photography trip. This sea arch is known as The Breeches and is located at Crohy Head on the north west coast of Ireland in County Donegal several miles outside the small town of Dungloe.

I had been thinking of this particular composition for many months and planned it so that it coincided when the sun would be going down just to the right of the sea arch. To find out when and where the sun would be going down at this particular time and location I used “The Photographers Ephemeris” which can be used for this purpose.

To get this composition, I had to climb down quite a dangerous ledge onto a very slippery rocky beach, make my way very carefully to this spot that I had checked out on a previous visit and then all I had to do was wait for the right light. To give the image some impact I connect a Lee Big Stopper Filter to give me some movement in the clouds and the water. There was quite a contrast in the exposure of the sky and the overcast sea and rocks in the foreground, so I also attached a Lee 0.9 ND Grad filter to reduce the differential.

At the end of the day I was very pleased with this image that I captured and it made all my planning worthwhile. This is a great location to visit at any time of the year. Because of its location on the Atlantic coast there is always a good chance of large wild Atlantic surf waves breaking onto the rocky beach. Well worth a visit.