Photographing a film Icon

As my day on the Dingle Peninsula came to a close, I had to fit one last shoot in and the location I chose was not only a stunning spot with incredible views of the Wild Atlantic, but was also an icon from the film industry’s past. Situated right on the edge of the headland lies a structure that was built with one specific reason, to act as a central area for the film to work it. Ryans’ Daughter is a movie that was made in 1970 and heavily featured the stunning scenery that the Dingle Peninsula offers. Now I’ve said many times in the past that this entire area is simply stunning and the location that was chosen to build this structure offers uninterrupted views of the full panorama, so it is no surprise that spot was chosen by the film-makers, however here is one catch to that conundrum as it lives on in 2024.

A stone structure was built, complete with a yard to act as the schoolhouse for the movie, the level of craftsmanship was so good that it still stands today, over 50 years later, however, it is a pale shadow of its former self. The roof has gone, the windows have gone, the doors too and everything in between has been left at the mercy of the Wild Atlantic storms and weather to take their toll on its form. It’s interesting to experience the structure today, however, I cannot but imagine just how great this spot would be for a summer house, Summer only I think, as during the winter months you would feel the full force of the prevailing and relentless Atlantic Wind. The challenge with that idea is there are some complications regarding ownership and access. The council offered the space for filming, however since that council has long passed, there seems to be no way for any agreement to be made. I have heard of people over the years who wanted to buy it and restore it, but because of the ownership rights, this idea was put to bed. A shame I feel as it is a magnificent spot.

Now on to what I was there for, to photograph it with the setting sun sitting behind it and casting its glow over the Atlantic. The Islands that adorn this coast region are in full view here also, which makes for some incredible compositions. I was fortunate to meet up with two other photographers for this shoot. The highly talented and all-round great guy Jaro Fagan, whom I have mentioned a few times already on my adventures here over the years and the second was my first time meeting, Eddie Forde, A fellow Cork man who also enjoys the beauty Dingle Offers and also brings his audience along for the journey on his YouTube Channel. There is a difference however, he likes to go high up the mountains and hills and I like to go low to the cliffs and beaches. I featured Eddies channel on my Who to Watch on YouTube back in 2022, so it was great to finally meet up with him and shoot together.

We Parked at the Blasket Centre, a building built to showcase the life of the islanders who once called these islands their home, if you are ever there go take a look as it will give you a fascinating insight into just how hard life was back then. We took the quick but slippery walk over the headland to arrive at our shooting location and upon arrival, we could see that there was going to be another challenge to deal with for this shoot. That pesky bank of clouds that sits on the western horizon and always shows its face just at sunset, Damn you I screamed, but still we had some chances of light rising and catching the high atmosphere clouds that filled the sky.

Now to photograph this building it is best to go behind it and shoot towards the sun, you get the islands in the shot, the vista views are incredible and you have the best chance to catch light, mood and atmosphere in your shots. I would like to shoot it someday from the front, perhaps at sunrise as the facade from the front looks a lot more appealing than the rear, perhaps I will have to come back here some morning when I’m on a van trip overnight, but for now back to the task in hand.

I framed up my first shot to fit An Fear Marbh within the roof and chimney, well all that remains anyway, and while I thought I would need to bracket my shots as the sun was peaking out above that pesky cloud, I found that when I got to editing the shot, I had enough Dynamic Range to accomplish the shot in one. It is worth noting that it’s always good practice to take a shot for the sky and another for the foreground when you are shooting into the sun or any bright area for that matter when you have a darker area in front of you, it gives you the possibility of having the data should you need it when editing and you can blend the images together in post, best to have it than be looking for it.

The Old Schoolhouse also has some stunning examples of old stone walls, so these were my next compositions, firstly from the left with the sun sitting right above the structure and then I went to the right-hand side a looked back over towards An Blasket Mór, ( The great/big island)  as there was an incredible cloud forming right above it, which to our luck was starting to catch the light and began glowing orange. For this second comp, I was able to get closer to the walls and they acted as fantastic leading lines to bring the eye up to the schoolhouse. The only challenge I had here was that the view of the main island was partially blocked by the structure, so I would have to revise this comp I felt, which I would do later.

Next, I wanted to see what the view from the front of the schoolhouse would be, the yard that was built was made from flagstones, and the stone wall and gate would lend themselves well to helping frame the islands and the light that was now glowing in the distance, so I headed right down to bag that shot. I again bracketed my shots for here, but once again I didn’t need to, as the sun would be over to my right and not directly in my frame, meaning the dynamic range needed wasn’t as stark as I had first thought. This shot from the doorway I liked, even though it didn’t have the actual schoolhouse in the shot, I felt the vista more than made up for it and of course those clouds and light. I now needed to head back up to my last spot, to try and get a better version and it was then the idea dawned on me. Jaro, someone who had photographed this location countless times, would have a composition no doubt and I wasn’t afraid to admit that I would try and steal it, I knew he wouldn’t mind, after all, like I said he is an all-around great guy, so I grabbed my camera and took a short way back to him and guess what. Not only did he have a comp, but he was also perfectly ok with me “stealing it” Thanks Jaro www.kerryviews.com

So my final spot was set, I was high enough to see the islands in the distance, and the cloud was still above An Blasket Mór, albeit without as much colour at this point, I set about framing up the shot to ensure that the island was framed by the schoolhouse, the key here was to have separation between the elements, I didn’t want the chimney cutting into the island, nor did I want it to be too far left or right, it needed to be in reality in the Goldie Lock zone, just right. After carefully conposing my shot, Eddie was then on hand to take the Osmo and film some B-Roll of me, which was handy, not only as he knows his way around the camera, but also it meant I could finally have some shots of me in them with some dynamic movements. Thanks, Eddie.

Before we knew it the light was starting to fade, but not before we had one last blush of colour, this time in the upper atmosphere clouds I had mentioned before, and they lit up just enough to also cast a glow upon us on the cliff side. All in all another great shoot and a fitting end to what was another amazing day in this part of the world and to rub shoulders with icons of the film industry’s past was bittersweet for sure.

If you are ever in the area, I would highly recommend you check it out, it will amaze you, and the views aren’t half bad either.

You can see the shots I took in the Gallery below, and I’d love for you to join me on my YouTube Channel to get the full effect of this memorable shoot

Thanks for reading and your continued support

Darren