Special Mornings with Daragh Muldowney

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Special Mornings with Daragh Muldowney

There are no shortage of early mornings when you’re a landscape photographer. Early rises, sometimes a drive and a walk in….dedication is required. Sometimes we are rewarded and sometimes not but it is always worth it to be up early watching the day come into life. A truly magical time and I am always grateful for the experiences no matter what the conditions.
 
Having said that, we do try to read the prevailing light and weather conditions and when planning a sunrise shoot we try to bring our experience of reading these conditions with our knowledge of the locations to make good decisions to help land all our Explorelight lambs into a very special morning.
 
We get up extra early to make the coffee to make those mornings extra special.
 
Here are a few from the past wee while that proved to be very special indeed….
 

Gare du Nord, near Avignon, Provence Tour, France

I was hoping for some overcast conditions and we really lucked out…so much so we had a torrential downpour as we arrived. We had a 20 minute walk and I felt it could be some great light so I got the group to start walking in the rain … .maybe a few grumblings were heard….Not long after we started walking the rain stopped and the light started…wonderful cloud cover with subtle orange coming through the arch.

 

 

Loch Fada, Isle of Skye Tour, Scotland

We had our fair share of rain and wind on this tour but we kept at it and we were rewarded with a still morning and great sky on the last day. Old man of Storr in the distance. A short distance from the hotel and a shorter walk made it an easy morning.

 

 
 
Carrelet Reflective, Brittany Tour, France
 
The wonderful little fishing huts that are dotted just off the coast near St. Nazaire. Great structure and I love those overcast mornings to help draw the eye into their wonderful structures. This one was shot near the end of the shoot when the tide was lower leaving the sand wet and reflecting.The long exposure helps soften the water in the background.
 

 
 
Falling Silk, Merzouga, Morocco
 
I hiked to the top of the highest dune (150m) for sunrise and used my long lens to capture the detail of the other dunes below me.
 

 

Gouganebarra, Kerry Tour, Ireland

For years we stayed in Killarney when running this tour which made sunrise at Gouganebarra too far to travel. Last year we changed it and stayed in Kenmare…at last…we could try and get a still sunrise at this iconic location. We didn’t get mist but we got some wonderful light and I was able to get down low to capture the reflected church and the wonderful colours to the right.

 

 

Harmony, Valensole, Provence Tour, France

There is nothing quite like the purple assault on the senses that lavender is when in bloom … .a truly multi sensory experience. The scent, the sound of the bees and those glorious purple lines leading to a lone tree all at that magical time of sunrise.

 

 

Snake Lake, Montenegro Tour

This lake is unique for its kaleidoscope patterns that its early stillness offers up. It’s a place that I have a strong reverence for and I like to start the shoot with a few moments of silence to help me drop into the zone and help immerse me in that astounding beauty! So many abstract options.

 

 

Dyrholaey, Iceland South Coast

Another iconic location…on this occasion we had snow, black sand, white water and an overcast sky … This all helped to make the image more monochromatic without desaturating much. I used the radial mask to help draw the eye to those famous stacks and the headland.

 

 

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