This print is signed by Gavin Hardcastle and has a […]

This print is signed by Gavin Hardcastle and has a […]

This print is signed by Gavin Hardcastle and has a […]

This print is signed by Gavin Hardcastle and has a […]

This print is signed by Gavin Hardcastle and has a […]

Blue hour on the Donegal coast is a time of pure magic. Rather than quit after a nice sunset I stuck around as the clouds began to eat the sky, waves roiled up and birds went into a feeding frenzy. Sometimes all you have to do is just be there and wait.

This image was one of those ideas that presents itself entirely by accident. I'm not usually one for environmental portraits but as soon as I saw my wife Amanda holding out her hands to touch that lovely cascade I knew I'd found my shot.

Ricketts Glen is one of the most enchanting areas I've ever photographed. With so many waterfalls one after another I almost overlooked this final waterfall but something about the quality of light over the creek told me I was about to witness something special. As soon as I saw this scene unfolding before my eyes I knew I had just a couple of minutes to capture shot before the sun moved over the horizon. Luckily I found it just in time.

Donegal is a treasure trove of spectacular coastal scenery and this three hour hike to the sea stacks of the Atlantic was well worth the sweat equity. We braved fields of sheep cakes, death defying cliff edges and ankle breaking post holes to reach this majestic overlook just in time for the sun to go down over the ocean.

What do you do when a beautiful scene is crawling with humans? You wait of course.

Then you wait some more.

After waiting all afternoon I finally had my moment and managed to capture this image without a single human AND during gorgeous afternoon light.

Now if I hadn't told you this and you saw this photo you could almost call it false advertising but you've been warned.

These conditions are possible but you'll have to be patient and share the trail with several hundred other purveyors of majestic beauty.

Not many photographers are stupid enough to wade into a river at -15°C wearing just pants and hiking boots just to get a photo of an ice encrusted waterfall. Nobody ever said I wasn't stupid.