That time of the year again where I look back on my year in photography, reviewing all the images I captured on my travels, and making plans for where I intend to travel in 2021!!! Small problem, COVID 19, a virus that circled the globe, and put the brakes on all travel, and turned us all into mini epidemiologist, a profession I had never heard of before COVID kicked in.
To combat the spread of the virus, the Irish government like many others implemented restrictions on movement. The result has been that most of my photographic year was restricted to within 5KM of home, forcing me to cancel workshops and open my eyes to the beauty that resides on my own doorstep including my back garden.
Back in January 2020, before Ireland entered lockdown in March 2020, I managed to make a trip to Arranmore Island. Located off the coast of Donegal it is an Island that has been on my must-visit list for some time, and thankfully it didn’t disappoint. To say the Islands coastline is stunning, would be an understatement. During my brief visit, I captured several images, and made copious notes, earmarking other locations that I need to revisit. An article I penned appeared in PhotoPXL, while a YouTube video I made appears on my YouTube channel.
My base on the Island was a warm welcoming glamping pod, which was very welcome after getting soaked by the Atlantic. It also helped, that it was just around the corner from a pub, for a few late-night scoops. Pubs, remember them!!
Lockdown happened, and thankfully the woodland that sits on my doorstep went some way to helping me scratch my creative itch. Early mornings were spent under the spring canopy, listening to a cacophony of bird song, watching the early morning light paint the woodland, resulting in me capturing one of my favourite images of the year.
Colpe Woods
With travel restrictions lifted briefly I travelled to rural County Cavan, to a location called Tullydermott Falls, a place I had never been to before. It’s a real, gem and on this particular day, I spent a few hours capturing the beauty of the falls with no one else around.
The vlogs from this trip to Cavan can be viewed on the following YouTube urls Cavan Waterfalls & Cavan Landscapes
One of the new pieces of photographic hardware I acquired this years was a DJI Mavic Air 2 drone. A drone is something that has long been on acquisition list, and after discovering how easy they are to fly, I was kicking myself I hadn’t purchased one years ago.
My second flight of the drone was out over Dundalk Bay one early morning in August. The drone footage I captured I was delighted with and can be viewed on the YouTube video I made. Daybreak over Dundalk Bay
August brought me back to the Rosguill peninsula in County Donegal, where on one particular magical misty morning I made use of the drone to capture some boats sailing through a Misty dawn. I also managed to capture one or two images that I was quite pleased with. One, in particular, is a portfolio worthy image (see below ). You can see the drone footage and story of that trip on the video that appeared on my YouTube channel
Most recently, with restrictions back in place again I have been restricted to locations close to home. Which has meant I have been back out revisiting some old locations, trying to capture images. So when a rare icy misty descend long the mouth of the River Boyne, I trained my camera on the navigation beacons that mark the safe passage of the ships that sail up the river to the port of Drogheda. The images I captured are minimalistic, and not to everyone’s taste, but they are ones I am happy with, and that after all is what photography is all about, making images that appeal to you, and not the social media family.
Those images I captured can be viewed below and the behind the scenes footage on the making of these images can be viewed on the YouTube video below.
So as the page turns to 2021, I wish you peace, good fortune, good light and most importantly good health. Take care and hopefully I will see you In the Field.
