Hedge Fun
The first rays of sunrise hit the twisted overgrown row of beech trees lining the Bregagh road in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This is a spectacular tree lined road, known as the "Dark Hedges", but sadly it won't last forever as the trees are said to have lasted longer than their usual lifespan and are now in decay and under threat from traffic and weather events. In 2016, a storm destroyed or damaged 3 of them. There are about 90 remaining of the 150 originally planted in 1775 by the owner of the estate to which the road leads. The location was made famous in an episode of the TV series Game of Thrones, and now dozens of tour buses visit every day. Reading about these trees was a Stark (GoT pun there for any fans) reminder to me that a surprising number of the great landscape features I photograph are vulnerable and may not exist in their current form for so much longer. Sometimes it's because of the pressure mankind puts on our fragile ecosystems, but quite often it's just the ever-changing nature of this incredible planet, we bear witness to those changes even in our short lifetimes.
I was happy to have another visit to Ireland during a recent trip to Europe and I arranged an extra evening and morning to drive from Dublin up to the Antrim coast. It was my first time braving the mysteries of right hand drive cars, and I am happy to report that I managed it without "pranging" my rental car. I found the Dark Hedges first in the late afternoon, but the road was mobbed with people, there were even a number of vehicles parked visibly within the frame which is a shame, and I could see that it would set up better for an early morning picture where hopefully there wouldn't be so many tourists around. I drove from there to the Giants Causeway (an amazing feature I've posted before) but sunset was a bust. Coming back to the Dark Hedges in the early morning was the right thing to do, there was only one small group of photographers there and so I was able to squeeze my tripod in among them and wait for the sun to come up. The road is a treat to photograph at any time, in any season. It would of course be beautifully enhanced by a little Irish mist but no matter, I was really surprised and pleased to see the orange/red glow effect of the morning sun as the rim of the sun peeked over the nearest ridge. It lasts only a precious minute or two before the glow fades to a nice warm yellow light among the beeches. Happy Hedging!
Hedge Fun
The first rays of sunrise hit the twisted overgrown row of beech trees lining the Bregagh road in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This is a spectacular tree lined road, known as the "Dark Hedges", but sadly it won't last forever as the trees are said to have lasted longer than their usual lifespan and are now in decay and under threat from traffic and weather events. In 2016, a storm destroyed or damaged 3 of them. There are about 90 remaining of the 150 originally planted in 1775 by the owner of the estate to which the road leads. The location was made famous in an episode of the TV series Game of Thrones, and now dozens of tour buses visit every day. Reading about these trees was a Stark (GoT pun there for any fans) reminder to me that a surprising number of the great landscape features I photograph are vulnerable and may not exist in their current form for so much longer. Sometimes it's because of the pressure mankind puts on our fragile ecosystems, but quite often it's just the ever-changing nature of this incredible planet, we bear witness to those changes even in our short lifetimes.
I was happy to have another visit to Ireland during a recent trip to Europe and I arranged an extra evening and morning to drive from Dublin up to the Antrim coast. It was my first time braving the mysteries of right hand drive cars, and I am happy to report that I managed it without "pranging" my rental car. I found the Dark Hedges first in the late afternoon, but the road was mobbed with people, there were even a number of vehicles parked visibly within the frame which is a shame, and I could see that it would set up better for an early morning picture where hopefully there wouldn't be so many tourists around. I drove from there to the Giants Causeway (an amazing feature I've posted before) but sunset was a bust. Coming back to the Dark Hedges in the early morning was the right thing to do, there was only one small group of photographers there and so I was able to squeeze my tripod in among them and wait for the sun to come up. The road is a treat to photograph at any time, in any season. It would of course be beautifully enhanced by a little Irish mist but no matter, I was really surprised and pleased to see the orange/red glow effect of the morning sun as the rim of the sun peeked over the nearest ridge. It lasts only a precious minute or two before the glow fades to a nice warm yellow light among the beeches. Happy Hedging!