Cloudy Day Photography.

Photography Date: 09-02-24

So, I decided to go somewhere new today, I went on a trip up to Clougherhead in Louth on the east coast of Ireland (less than an hour drive from Dublin). It was very cloudy (hence the imaginative title) and wet, but I needed to get out to see could I get some fresh shots, plus I wanted to try and make a new video with my latest toy, the DJI OSMO pocket 3. Please check out my video below (and Subscribe!) and read on for some more wonderful insights into my day :)

I arrived at Clougherhead beach carpark, a small enough spot, I would imagine it would be difficult to get parking there during the summer or on a pleasant day. There is a cafe and public toilets located beside the car park. Sitting in the car I was greeted by the sight of large waves rolling onto the beach. There were 3 or 4 brave ladies swimming in the waves (fair dues to them!). Luckily today I came armed with my secret weapons. a pair of wellington boots! I always plod around in my hiking boots when taking photos, never thought to bring my wellies, until today. Good call, as it meant I could wade into the water (obviously!).

Clougherhead Location

Anyway, I wondered south along the shoreline. It had just passed high tide and the waves were pushing me up onto the sand dunes in parts. After about 15 minutes of walking I came upon an area with a number of interesting rock formations. I thought that these might be perfect for some long exposure shots.

I put my wide 16-35mm lens on the camera along with a polarised filter and ND64 filter (to allow me to slow down the shutter for a few seconds). These are the magnetic KASE filters, which makes it possible to stack them, only drawback being that when fully wide (at 16-18mm) there is some vignetting in the image, so I can really only shoot at 18mm with that setup. This was more than wide enough as it turned out. I set my Tripod fairly low and ran in and out of the waves for about half an hour taking numerous photos at different settings. I managed to get some images that I really like. The long exposure of the water flowing and crashing over the rocks make some really nice effects. I also think the cloudy skies in the background added to the moody look. Anyway the four images below are from the same location.

ISO 50 f/9 4sec 24mm

ISO 50 f/9 2.5sec 25mm

ISO 50 f/9 2sec 18mm

ISO 50 f/9 2sec 21mm

Let me know in the comments below which of these four you think is the best, I would be interested to know, as I am having a hard time deciding which is my favourite.

After this I turned around and headed back up the beach towards the car park. The waves were still great and I walked past the car park and over a little concrete slipway. Using just the polarising filter I got the image below, showing the choppy waves and general grey conditions of the scene.

ISO 50 f22 0.5sec 19mm

I grabbed a coffee and caramel slice in the beach hut and made my way in the car up to Port Oriel, about a 5 minute drive away. I had seen a landmark on google maps, of an old coastal watch station and that had been my planned destination.  There is no parking allowed on the port itself, but there is a very large carpark just beside it. I hopped out of the car and headed towards the cliff walk and watch station. I soon discovered that I had no idea how to get to the watch station, as I could see no clear path, just some fields with what looked like electric fence, that I was not interested in testing, so I headed to the cliffs instead.

I was not disappointed as it turned out. The waves crashing into the rocks were really great, and I spent a long time exploring the cliffs (and I could have spent a lot longer!). Anyway, this is my favourite crashing wave shot that I got. I always find it difficult to get a photo like this with which I am really happy. I think they need something like a person in the frame to give them a sense of scale.

ISO 320 f8 1/250sec 50mm

On my way back to the Port, I took the picture below, which I quite like, showing the waves crashing onto the sea wall. I like the fore ground colours and textures as well as the movement of the waves onto the seawall. I moved closer to the seawall and got a nice closeup shot of the concrete boulders. I like the geometric and abstract nature of it. I hung around this area for a while, as I was trying to get a long exposure shot of the waves crashing onto the seawall and then flowing off, but I never got one I liked. I do like the idea of that shot, I think it might look cool, so I will try again in the future.

ISO 320 f8 1/125sec 52mm

ISO 320 f8 1/160sec 400mm

I was delighted to find a food truck parked up in the Port selling fresh Fish and Chips, made for a nice late lunch. After my grub, I had a wander round the small but busy Port. There were quite a few boats moored up and a few of them were out of the water for repairs. I liked the look of the 'Boyne Harvester' below, and felt it deserved a Portrait!

ISO 200 f6.3 1/160sec 161mm

There was a lot of wildlife in and around the port. The water was full of seals looking for some treats from the local fishermen. There was also 3 or 4 Cormorant sitting on the rocks around the port. I was delighted that they let me get close enough to get a few nice shots of them with my 400mm lens. The shot below is my favourite. 

ISO 250 f6.3 1/125sec 400mm

It was approaching evening time and I have a shot in mind that I might be able to get on the drive home. I said goodbye to Port Oriel and a great day in Clougherhead and jumped into the car and started the drive back to Dublin. When I got to Drogheda, I parked the car up near the roundabout for the M1 ramp and made my way to the flyover to try and get a shot, that I had thought about for a while. I wanted to photograph the Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge.

Once on the overpass, I set the camera and long lenses up in portrait on the tripod. It was sunset when I arrived and still a bit bright so I decided to wait for the lights on the motorway bridge to light up (as I thought it would make a nicer shot). After waiting for about 45min on the bridge well into the dark I finally called it quits. I took a number of shots at different long exposure settings and the one below would be my favourite. I had to remove some power lines across the frame using the remove tool on photoshop, but that is allowed. Anyway, the shot turned out ok, not exactly the image I had in my mind. The suspension cables from the bridge do not really stand out in the image, as a result of the angle I took the shot. Would be better if I had been down on motor way level, but that is a tad risky, I think!

Anyway, that was it for the day. Hope you enjoyed my blog, don’t be afraid to drop a comment below, and please check out my video for some other shots I took this day. 

ISO 200 f10 5sec 291mm