July 2008

It’s 3.30 am and as one normally does on a Saturday morning I am crawling out of bed peeking out the window to see what the weather is doing. You see, myself and my good friend Pat Burns have an early morning appointment with a ruined abbey that we are looking to photograph.
He is the man responsible for starting me off on this photography malarkey, so I have little sympathy for him when he pulls up to my house complaining about how tired he is.
Regular readers of In the Field know that I am regularly frustrated by the repeated lack of co-operation from the weather. So, as we leave my house looking at the sky I have that all to familiar feeling that this may be a wasted journey.
However, despite this and the calling of our beds we hit the road in hope.
The focus of our journey is Bective Abbey in County Meath. Located in a quiet rural area, its imposing façade has acted like a magnet to many a photographer.
It is a place that we have both photographed before. This morning however, I am looking to get something that is dramatic and to freshen up my existing stock files.
On arrival it looked like fortune might favour the brave. A large gap has kindly appeared in the blanket of clouds. Sitting low on the horizon, I find myself talking to it, begging it to stick around long enough for the sun to rise through.
A few minutes later and all the begging has paid of.

Babbey08

Golden rays of light peer over the parted clouds illuminating the Abbey like a giant spotlight. Just before the sun begins to illuminate the foreground of the Abbey I make my exposure.
A 3stop Singh Ray ND grad is in place to darken the clouds above the abbey. The composition is simple but the light is simply stunning.
A perfect example of why early morning light is the best light.