Forty minutes before sunrise, and I am standing on a cold deserted beach near Mulranny County Mayo, at a time landscape photographers call "Blue Hour".
Blue hour, that time before sunrise and after sunset, when darkness has not quite departed or descended. A time for daylight white balance, tripods and lengthy exposures. Automatic white balance has a tendency to destroy the cool tones that are to be found at this time of day.
Peering through the viewfinder, the sound of unseen waves fill the air as the moon sits low over a distant Croagh Patrick.
During moments like this, it is easy to forget that landscape photography is more than F-stops and shutter speeds. In reality it's about the experience. The experience of watching, feeling, seeing the world at a time that most people don't see.