I have led photographic tours and workshops to Ireland’s West Coast for many years, and on this last one we had a simply spectacular trip with greatly variable weather. We were based for several days in the town of Westport, where day trips in many directions led to many wonderfully photographic opportunities.
Whenever I am here, I always visit this ancient forest that is simply a fantasyland. It occupies a steep hillside at the base of a mountain, so rain causes a constant runoff through it. It can be a difficult and often wet hike up into it, but those conditions are what give this forest its magical qualities. There is moss everywhere, and the ground seems to always be boggy, so wellies are the footwear of choice.
It is a difficult place to photograph on a sunny day, so I always pick overcast days and even light rain as good times to visit. But the best conditions are fog. On this day, we had light fog and mist, and in a distant part of the forest I found a grove of exceptionally large old trees. Among them was this old leaning giant, partially covering a pile of moss-covered boulders. I spent a good bit of time with the group here, exploring various compositions of all the different features concentrated in this small part of the forest.
