Visiting an Icon

If you have been following my adventures for a while you will know that I am a proud Irish man who takes every opportunity to showcase my country when I can, be that through my images or in my videos, I believe that Ireland is a special place not only for our scenery and locations but also for our culture. Above being a proud Irishman I am an even prouder Corkman, and I love to showcase my home county whenever possible. Today is going to be one such occasion as we adventure to West Cork, a location that offers so much to every visitor who heads in that direction.

Nestled in the green countryside and coast lies a place that is known by many for its hospitality, craic and sense of solitude and inclusion at the same time. This place is called Baltimore, a small quaint village packed full of culinary delights, pubs and cafes that are as welcoming as they are pretty. This village is also home to many a sailboat and ferry that takes visitors out exploring the stunning coastal regions that surround it. Whale watching is quite popular here plus island hopping over to Sherkin and Cape Clear, which promise to take you back in time to a land not influenced by the manic speed the rest of the world goes through. This area is simply stunning overall, and sitting right on the cliffs that shelter the bay, sits a structure erected to serve as a beacon to the West and a symbol to all of just how great this place is.

My decision to visit this place today was fuelled by my desire to relive my childhood as well as get away from the speed of the “real world” I used to visit here as a child with my parents and I have fond memories of the drive there plus walking around the headland and breathing in that fresh sea air. Today I had another motivation, I would be accompanied by my friend, whom we have been inseparable since the age of 4, he was going to accompany me on this trip and while we had hung out together through many other adventures, it was his first time coming with me for a photo and video adventure.

Driving the road out to the beacon, I sent the drone up to capture the journey from above and when looking at the screen I was already getting excited. The clouds were patchy the light was great and the wind was blowing, meaning that we would have fleeting light and a good chance of colour when it came to sunset. Taking the short walk from the van to the shooting location, I observed my friend take the harder route up, instead of taking the path, he wanted to climb up, so, of course, I had to record this calamity.

The Baltimore Beacon is a white-painted stone beacon located high above the channel between the mainland and Sherkin Island, near the entrance to Baltimore Harbour in County Cork, Ireland.

Standing approximately 50 feet (15 m) high and 15 feet (4.6 m) in diameter at the base, the beacon is perched atop a 160-foot (49 m) cliff. It is constructed of rubble stone in a tapered conical shape, capped with a red-painted spherical metal top. Part of a series of lighthouses and beacons around the Irish coast for marine navigation, it is locally known as "Lot's Wife," after the Biblical figure turned into a pillar of salt. The beacon is a well-known landmark in Baltimore, built in 1848 after an older warning beacon at the harbour entrance fell into disrepair.

At the base of the cliff lies the wreck of the 17th-century ship HMS Looe. In the 2010s, confusion arose over the ownership and maintenance responsibilities for the beacon, particularly regarding its repainting, after it was declassified as a navigational tool.

Upon arrival, it may seem difficult to see different compositions, as the star of the show here, the beacon, is very imposing and it may seem that it is the only thing to photograph. However, the placement of the beacon in the frame can offer lots of different opportunities for a shot. I placed it right in the centre of my first frame and then adjusted its position on the lateral plain to position it higher and lower, each offering its options for a shot. I found that this approach however wasn’t the optimum as the island behind it, Sherkin, was being cut off by the beacon and it wasn’t as clean a shot as it could be. I needed to find separation so headed over to the right-hand side to put the island off to the right and allow the beacon to stand alone and proud.

While composing this shot, my buddy felt it was a great time to stand right next to the beacon, Perhps not knowing that he was in my shot, or perhaps he had an intuition that his presence here would help with scale. Either way, I didn’t ask him to move as I liked having him in the shot, plus there were several seagulls who were now dive-bombing down to the right side of the cliff, and these also added to the shot. To cap it all off, the light was now gorgeous, the golden orange glow was streaming in, bouncing off the beacon and lighting up the undulations on the island in the distance. I felt like I had a good shot here with all of the components presented.

It was now time for me to send my drone up for a look around from the air, and while I watched it head off, I was excited to see how this area looked from the sky. It was at this moment that I also recalled a new feature built in called master shots, so I allowed it to do its thing and make the predetermined journey around the area, all the while keeping my star of the shot firmly in its sights. I also took some drone photos while in the air, this was something that I was most looking forward to as the Hasselblad sensor was supposedly designed for photo quality on this drone, and the previews on the controller, looked like they were indeed a step up.

As the sun began its journey behind the resident bank of clouds on the Western Horizon, I managed to scramble over to another viewpoint, just in time to catch a sun star to add that little bit extra to the shot. It was here I also found some interesting foregrounds to play with that I hadn’t seen before. I felt like this shoot was going well, I was in the right place at the right time, sharing it with my best friend, who now also doubled as a cameraman and was able to record some footage of me that I hadn’t had the luxury of having before. This added an extra bit of dynamics to my footage I felt.

As I watched the sun set behind the distant clouds and mountains, it was time to wait now for blue hour, this would help with my shots as the direct light would be gone, and I would be able to play around with exposure times and the ambient light that lingers. I took a shot there that I like, it is the thumbnail to the video and this article and is also the image I edited for my Behind The Raw for this adventure.

In summary, iconic locations are still great places to visit, they offer you the chance to get a version of a possibly well-known shot of your own, but moreover allow you to hone your skills and find compositions of your own, The light will always be different which will also allow you to have your unique take on places like this.

You can watch here video below and see the gallery of shots I took from this shoot also.

Thanks for reading and your continued support

Slán Go Fóill

Darren