On a recent visit home to Clare Island after a long stretch away, I finally got some time to put together new Astrophotography landscapes. Below, you can see the road to the north of the island facing towards Achill Sound with the bright light being the lighthouse on the most northern point on the island. The second faces out towards Croagh Patrick worth the lights of Westport and Louisburgh shining either side of this famous mountain.
I'm very lucky to be from a place with little to no light pollution, so getting the opportunity to photograph the stars comes only as often as the Irish weather allows!
I had been out photographing some of the landscape in the late afternoon but decided to stay out once the sun had set. After a beautiful mild Saturday, the evening stayed the same and with a clear night ahead with a new moon, it was the perfect chance to capture the stars.
The image above shows the lighthouse on the island beneath crystal clear skies. These few images below manage to capture both Knockmore (the island's locally known, big hill) and Orion's belt. It's strange to see the transition of colour even after the sun had set, from the blue hues of the lighthouse skies to the shades of indigo as the night sky darkens even further. We can be really lucky in the west of Ireland to see the stars so clearly, you've just got to pray to the weather God's to capture those beautiful sights!
If you liked these, you can find more images throughout my site featuring other landscape work.