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 Sentinel at Sunset

A groyne standing upright by the seashore near Youghal.

The wooden post in this photograph is part of Youghal’s coastal defence system called groynes. They are structures built perpendicular to the shore to prevent beach erosion by trapping sand moved by longshore drift. These timber groynes at Youghal are regularly maintained and replaced as part of ongoing coastal management efforts by Cork County Council. The long exposure technique used in this photograph typically requires exposure times of 30 seconds to several minutes, using neutral density filters to reduce the amount of light entering the camera, which creates the smooth, ethereal water effect by averaging out the motion of waves over time.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length39mm
ISO100
Shutter speed13s

Pastel Skies Over Edinburgh

I wasn’t expecting much of a sunset this evening because the sky at the horizon was filled with clouds, but I was proved wrong. The clouds were lit up in a lovely glow by the setting sun.


Apertureƒ/8
CameraILCE-7RM5
Focal length166mm
ISO400
Shutter speed1/40s