A Storm Gathering Over Kerry’s Fear Marbh

Storm clouds gathered on an August evening on the Dingle Peninsula. I was hoping for a nice sunset, and the sun briefly appeared, but this was a few minutes later. Strong winds started to blow and I had to hold on to my tripod to stop the camera from shaking and potentially falling over!


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length112mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/1.3s

An Fear Marbh at Sunset

It looked like there wouldn’t be any sunset, but I was down at the bottom of Dunquin Pier when I saw an orange glow coming from behind the large rock blocking my view of the sun that had just set.

If you know how steep that path down to the pier is, I hope you’ll have some sympathy for me as I raced up again to capture what turned out to be a momentary break in the thick clouds. I was surprised I saw any colour in the sky!


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length42mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/8s

Sunset Fishing at Ballycotton Pier

Four fishermen silhouetted against golden sunset sky while angling from Ballycotton pier with layered clouds and reflected light on water, County Cork

A series of photos showing men fishing off the pier at Ballycotton, Co Cork a couple of weeks ago. It was a beautiful evening. Lovely time to be there.

Evening fishing scene showing silhouetted anglers on Ballycotton pier with dramatic storm clouds gathering overhead and village buildings visible in background, County Cork

Sunset fishing at Ballycotton pier with harbour crane silhouetted against dramatic sky, anglers casting lines as sun sets over the water, County Cork

Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/320s

Ballycotton’s Spectacular Sky

The golden hour at sunset is spectacular but I love the amazing colours you might be lucky to see after the sun has set. Such happened on Thursday night in Ballycotton. This is a panoramic photo of several photos stitched together to make one larger one. The dark, dramatic cloud was too wide for my lens, but even though it was dark, handheld panoramas are possible these days if you’re careful.

The phenomenon captured in this photograph occurs when the sun has set below the observer’s horizon but continues to illuminate high-altitude clouds from below, creating dramatic lighting effects known as “alpenglow” or “afterglow.” This effect is particularly pronounced in coastal areas like Ballycotton, where the unobstructed western horizon allows for clear sunset views, while high clouds moving in from the Atlantic provide the perfect canvas for these spectacular post-sunset displays. The pink and purple colours result from the way the atmosphere scatters different wavelengths of light, with longer wavelengths (reds and pinks) penetrating further through the atmosphere to reach the high clouds even after the sun has disappeared from view.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length24mm
ISO100
Shutter speed1/13s

A Storm Brewing

Cows waiting to be milked in a field near the Coachford Greenway. It’s a lovely walk along the River Lee, opposite Farran Woods.

I had an umbrella, and it was a good thing too, as it started raining about ten minutes later.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length240mm
ISO250
Shutter speed1/500s

Storm clouds over Spanish Point

A large and ominous storm cloud blew over Spanish Point in County Clare while we visited the beach there. Thankfully it only rained a tiny bit and didn’t spoil our time in the sand and on the rocks!

Aperture ƒ/9
Camera Canon EOS 40D
Focal length 18mm
ISO 100
Shutter speed 1/200s