Picture Story
While my wife and I were visiting friends who live in the UK, we were treated by them to a driving tour of Wales and Northern Ireland. when we arrived in Portrush, one of the top golf courses in the world, the weather in late June on the coast of Northern Ireland was unusually windy and cold. As Terry, one of our companions, who grew up in Northern Ireland, confirmed, it was "blowin' a hoolie." It couldn't have been any more stormy with such bright sunshine. Of course, this was the coastline made famous by Irish legends surrounding the giant, Finn McCool, and more currently by the series "Game of Thrones." By chance, the conditions for this image could not have been scripted any better.
The powerful gusts and the sharp, bright sunlight created perfect conditions for this shot. The waves of the incoming tide were smashing upon the rocks everywhere. Normally, I would have used a tripod, but the wind was so strong that I felt it would be vibrating too much, plus I needed to see the waves through the eye piece in order to time the shot 'perfectly.' For that reason, I decided to hand hold the camera, but anchor it upon one of the rocks. With so much bright sun that early afternoon, I was able to shoot at a low ISO (64) and still have the ability to raise the aperture to f14 in order to get the greatest depth of field. Once I established a firm position on a boulder near the water's edge, I had to take several quick series of bracketed shots to capture the waves at their most explosive point. My goal was to capture the best composition of the water as it cascaded through the rocks and to get all the elements of the scene in clear focus with highlights and dark tones not blown out.
I think this was the best of the many that I took that day, but it will never fully capture the intensity of this magical place.
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Dimitri Vasileiou • Editor