Having visited Donegal every year for the past 20 plus years on family holidays I had never visited the Bloody Foreland in the north west tip of Donegal, next stop Newfoundland. I had always assumed the name was derived from a battle or something more sinister however I learned just before visiting that its because the setting sun lights up the rocks a blood red colour. This gave my planned visit even more purpose. I arrived in plenty of time before sunset giving myself a good couple of hours to find a composition. Popular views of this area are taken from high up on the cliffs looking down to the sea stacks however I thought I’d wander along the coast as the land levels off down to sea level.

I had seen a few images of this little sea arch before but had no idea I would stumble upon it. I wanted to include some of the rocks I was standing on as a foreground, so I pitched the tripod back a little from the edge. Once the composition was set it was just a waiting game in hope the sun would duck below the clouds to light up the rocks. Waiting for over an hour my patience paid off as with light lasting around 10 minutes before the sun popped behind the very distant clouds. Taken on the solstice meant the sun was as far round as it was going to get, which thankfully enabled it to light up the rocks next to the little sea arch.