Almost two years ago to the day, two friends and myself went down to Dublin for a little day trip to shoot some photos.  For no other reason than to have somewhere different to photograph.

Of course, no trip to Dublin would be complete without a visit to at least one iconic landmark, so when darkness fell, we jumped in the car and drove the short distance out of the City Centre to the Guinness Brewery, and the famous St James Gate.

I have to say that this photo has lain untouched on my hard drive ever since, so this morning I brought it out and did some editing to it, just to see how it would turn out.  And this is the result!

I'm not going to ramble on about it too much (this time!!) but I'd love to know what you think of it.  Does it work?  Is it realistic? Do you like the atmosphere of the photo?  Or is it not for you?  Please share your thoughts in the comments.  I promise that I read every one, and occasionally reply too!  Thank you!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt2 #fujifilm_xt2 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #dublin #guinness #guinnessbrewery #guinnessstorehouse #stjamessgate #iconic #nightphotography #longexposure #atmospheric

On one of those nights when there's nothing on the TV, and inspiration for going out with the camera is not forthcoming, the only thing to do is to sit down at the computer and look for an old image to edit, and see what can be made of it.

So this is what I did here.  A night shot of Carrickfergus Castle, taken at 04:30am all the way back on 3rd April 2021.  This is a completely fresh edit on a photo I've never published before, so I hope you like the result!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt2 #fujifilm_xt2 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #carrickfergus #countyantrim #northernireland #northernirelandphotography #nightphotography #longexposure #reflection #reflectionphotography #nightshot #castle #castlesofinstagram #normancastle

I know, I know, I know...

It's Ballygally again!!!

But I don't care!  I love the place, and photographically speaking, it's the gift that keeps on giving!! 
So when the sky turned all pink and purple recently as the sun rose, of course I was going to get the camera and take a photo.  Or six.
And I liked the way that the Castle Hotel was picking up on the warmer tones from the sunrise, while the background was decidedly more pink.  It made a nice contrast - at least I thought it did anyway!

Further proof, if any were needed, that winter doesn't always mean drab grey days with nothing to photograph!  A familiar scene to many, but hopefully another occasion when I can put a different wee spin on it.  What do you think? Calendar shot for next year?  Dunno about that - I'm not yet convinced there'll be a calendar next year! 
 Share your thoughts in the comments - I love reading your feedback!  Thanks!!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #ballygally #ballygallycastle #larne #countyantrim #antrimcoast #causewaycoastalroute #northernireland #northernirelandphotography #redsky #autumnsunrise #dawnlight #coloursofsunrise #beachsunrise #autumn #autumnmornings

I'd better stop boring you all with photos of autumnal glory from Gosford Forest Park on Saturday, but to be fair, it literally was the gift that kept on giving!

I've put together this little selection of vertically orientated images taken at various times of the day in locations all over the forest.  I think that each one has its own story to tell; its own beauty; its own contribution to make to the whole adventure we had on Saturday.  But put them all together, and you have a much more detailed account of what Gosford Forest looks like in the autumn.

In effect, each image could be a chapter in the story of Gosford in the Fall.  Whether it's the morning misty sunshine; the colours; the big gnarly trees; or the evening sunlight from the setting sun.  Have a look.  Which one is your favourite?  Which one attracts you more?  Which chapter would you like to read more of?

Feel free to comment below and share your thoughts!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #gosfordforestpark #countyarmagh #northernireland #northernirelandphotography #autumn #autumnvibes🍁 #autumncolours #coloursofautumn #autumnintheforest #fallcolors

The little red footbridge in Gosford Forest Park.

I had never been to Gosford Forest before Saturday, but from what I could gather, this is one of the "iconic" shots to get when visiting the park.  So why not get the shot when the sun is shining and the autumn colours are at their peak?

The sunlight hitting this scene was actually quite strong, so a little bit of editing was required to bring it back closer to what I was seeing with my own eyes.  I think I've got it fairly close with this image!

A picture postcard shot, in perfect autumn conditions!  Nothing much more to say really!  Enjoy!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #gosfordforestpark #countyarmagh #autumn #autumnvibes #autumncolors #sunshine #footbridge #bridgesofinstagram

And now for something completely different!

On Sunday afternoon, I got the opportunity to set up an informal studio style photo shoot with Aaron & Marina, who both work part-time locally as professional models.  In essence this was just a few hours spent together for me to get in some much needed practice at doing these kind of shoots, and hopefully them ending up with some nice photos for their portfolios.

This is just a small selection of some of the shots we came up with.  We had an array of outfits and costumes; some role playing; lots of fun and laughter; and lots of me shouting at my camera and equipment when it didn't do what it was supposed to be doing!

However, despite all that, and 850 shots later, we did manage to get a few keepers, and Aaron and Marina did seem generally pleased with what they got!  Great fun, but at the same time, invaluable experience and lessons for yours truly as well.  Definitely time well spent!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #fujifilmportraits #portraitphotography #portraitshoot #malemodel #professionalmodel #studioshoot #justforfun #larne #countyantrim #northernireland @aaron__model @marinafultonphotography

On Saturday, as I was walking around Gosford Forest Park, I became all too aware that it is so easy to get caught up in admiring the big wide vistas of autumn colour, when often it can be the little details which make great images.

As a result, I have loads of photos like these, where little shots of finer details caught my eye.  Whether it's a spider's web glinting in the sunshine; different coloured leaves catching the light; contrasting colours; or droplets of moisture hanging there waiting to fall to the ground, they were all so captivating in their own little way, that I almost forgot to take more wider shots!

What do you think?  Do you have a favourite here?  Or do you prefer the wider views of the forest and its colour?  Let us all know in the comments below!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #autumn #autumnvibes🍁 #littledetails #gosfordforestpark #coloursofautumn #countyarmagh #northernireland

On reflection, I think that I really did enjoy myself photographing autumn at Gosford Forest Park yesterday!

These mind-bending images were all shot around the mill ponds in the park, which were both sitting as still as glass allowing for near perfect reflections!  I hope they don't break your brain too much as you look at them, but I thought that they made a nicely unusual take on the normal autumn shots!

And in the last shot, I stood waiting for ages but that duck just wasn't going to lift her head for me at all.  And trust me, I stood there nearly ten minutes waiting for the shot!  Oh well....

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos!  Anyone for a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle??
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fuji50140mm #fujifilmphotography #autumn #autumnvibes🍁 #gosfordforestpark #countyarmagh #reflection #reflections #reflectionphotography #jigsawpuzzle

Well, what a day that was!

Early this morning, my friend Mark and I headed out to shoot some autumn colour, and I have to say that we had an amazing day!  The weather was perfect; the colours were awesome; and we literally kept going for as long as we had daylight!!

Our chosen destination was Gosford Forest Park in County Armagh.  Neither of us had ever been there before, and so we didn't have any pre-planned ideas of what to shoot.  We just went and made it up as we went along.

On arrival at the car park, which is slightly elevated, we soon noticed a layer of mist hanging over the hollow just below our location.  There were a few lone trees in the meadow, and with sunrise just ten minutes away, that's where we headed first.

Long story short, what followed was one of the most mesmerising sunrise scenes I've ever witnessed.  I hope this series of photos does it justice, but the sun's rays piercing the mist through the branches of this tree were simply spellbinding!! I have wanted to capture a scene like this for years, and this morning it actually happened.  Very happy photographer!!

I have about thirty shots of this scene alone, and over 300 photos from today in total, so I'll probably be droning on about our adventures in Gosford for a while, but I just had to share these images with you!

Which is your favourite?  What do you like about it?  Tell us all in the comments below!  Thank you!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fuji50140mm #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #autumn #autumnvibes🍁 #autumncolors #mistysunrise #gosfordforestpark #countyarmagh #northernireland #northernirelandphotography

I didn’t get a chance to post this yesterday, but I’m sure you noticed it in the dawn sky!

Maybe not the world's most exciting photo, but early this morning you may have noticed the bright "star" quite close to the crescent moon in our skies.

That "star" is actually a planet, namely Venus, our next door neighbour in the Solar System.  This photo was taken around 04:30am, as I was heading home from work.  However, as the morning progressed, Venus and the moon would appear to get closer together in the dawn sky.  In actual fact, by around 09:30 - 10am, the moon actually passed in front of Venus, hiding it from view temporarily - an event known as an "occultation". Sadly from the UK, this took place during daylight hours, but the sight of these two in close proximity to each other in the night sky was still nice to witness.

I did try a close-up shot of the two, but this didn't work out as there was a stiff breeze blowing and wobbling the camera too much - despite me trying to shelter it behind the car!  Every one of my close-ups turned out a blurry mess!
But hopefully this shot, taken above the East Maiden Lighthouse, with the moonlight reflecting off the sea, gives you an idea of what this little conjunction looked like!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #moon #crescentmoon #planet #venus #lunarconjunction #earlymorning #lighthouse #occultation #venusoccultation #larne #countyantrim #northernireland

I love mist.
I love watching banks of mist and fog drifting across the landscape, utterly transforming the appearance of even the most familiar of locations into something quite different.

And when that mist is thick enough to make that transformation, yet still patchy enough to let the sun shine through, then there's always a chance for a nice photo!

And I hope that I managed that here.  I was out in the car earlier this afternoon, and, me being me, noticed that there was a big bank of mist hanging in the air just outside Larne.  I was already familiar with this clump of trees, having tried to photograph them before, so I headed straight for them in the hope of some nice light and mist.

This is the result.  A lovely autumnal scene, in my opinion greatly helped by the unexpected presence of a flock of sheep right under the trees.  Beautiful, rural, autumnal County Antrim at its finest!  No big fancy landmarks, or dramatic weather conditions.  Just a little taste of the little corner of Planet Earth that I call home...
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #fuji50140mm #mist #mistylandscape #autumn #autumnvibes🍁 #larne #sheep #seasonofmists #countyantrim

There's almost an element of "sensory overload" in this shot from Ballygally Beach this morning, but this was taken at just about the most intense period of light and colour! 

I promise I haven't adjusted the brightness or colour saturation that much (if anything I've reduced them slightly!), and this was pretty much what the eye was seeing!

Everything started to fade and calm down soon after this image was taken, but isn't it amazing?  I can only hope that those cold water swimmers were as awestruck as I was!  Although, to be fair, one of them did comment on the beautiful sky to me as I passed by.

So lovely to be out again this morning after a few weeks of life generally getting in the way - and, of course, my serious battle with the dreaded man-flu!  And what a morning it was!  Fabulous!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #fuji1680mm #sunrise #goldenhour #fierysky #fierysunrise #ballygally #ballygallybeach #larne #countyantrim #antrimcoast #northernireland #northernirelandphotography #beachsunrise #goldensunrise

Ballygally Beach at sunrise this morning, as the light and colour started to intensify - and I got more excited!

I will admit that I just went for it and galloped through the stream - which was flowing quite rapidly - soaking my feet and trousers.  But I just wanted to get it in the foreground for some shots, even if it meant ruining a pair of shoes!

In the end, I got some shots with the stream, the shoes are on a radiator somewhere, the socks are in the wash, and you get to enjoy the results!  What a sky!!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilmxseries #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmphotography #redsky #redskyinthemorning #goldenhour #sunrise #sunrisephotography #underglow #ballygally #ballygallybeach #larne #countyantrim #northernireland #northernirelandphotography #antrimcoast

What a beautiful sky we were treated to this morning as the sun rose!  It's been a while since I've seen such a vibrant sky, let alone photographed one, so this morning when I got up, and saw the red glow through the en-suite window, I knew where I was going!

Thankfully the tide was low enough at Ballygally Beach to expose enough sand for a lovely reflection of those amazing colours.  I know that this is another place I've probably been to way too often, but when you've beauty like this unfolding before your eyes, it's hard to ignore!

This was one of the first photos I took when I arrived this morning, but the sky just got better and better as time passed, so I'll probably bore you with a few more shots during the day.  Apologies in advance for that (not really!) but please do watch this space for more of this morning's gloriousness!!

As always, comments are welcome, and feel free to share!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujixseries #fujifilmphotography #sunrise #sunrisephotography #redsky #redskyinthemorning #ballygally #larne #countyantrim #northernireland #antrimcoast #causewaycoastalroute

Solitude...

I think that the more I look at this photo, the more I can identify with it.  As someone who enjoys my own company, and loves to go out alone with the camera when I can, I love the peaceful emptiness of this image.  Whether you're looking at the distant paddle-boarder, or the solitary seabird bobbing on the water in the foreground; each one is doing their own thing, and probably enjoying every minute.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not a complete recluse!  I have many friends who also enjoy photography, and we meet up and go off together fairly often on little photography adventures.  But I love just getting in the car and going off somewhere for an hour or two, just to see what I can see.  And you'd be surprised at how often I do that without even getting the camera out of the bag!

But I love the peacefulness of this photo.  It was taken from the wall at Portmuck Harbour in Islandmagee, itself a hive of activity on that particular evening, as the sun went down in glorious fashion, bathing the place in warm golden light.  There were men fishing off the pier; people swimming in the harbour; a group of teenagers having a water fight.  But for this photo, it was the serenity and quietness just beyond the noise and activity around me which caught my eye.  And I hope that I captured it well enough - but you can be the judge of that...

Anyway - enough rambling from me!  I hope you enjoy the photo, and feel free to share any comments you may have below!  Thank you!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt2 #fujifilm_xt2 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #portmuck #portmuckharbour #islandmagee #countyantrim #northernireland #northernirelandphotography #sunset #goldenhour #solitude #alone #standuppaddleboarding #summerevenings

Sorry for the lack of activity around here lately! Truth is- I was suffering from a serious, possibly life threatening, bout of Man Flu for most of last week! Seriously- it was touch-and-go for a while, but I managed to pull through. Just about… 

But enough of the nonsense…

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to get together with a couple of other photographers, just for a bit of a fun practice portrait session. It was a great couple of hours, trying different techniques and lighting setups; as well as bouncing ideas and suggestions off each other.

My friends Alistair Hamill and Marina Fulton were there, and Marina brought her friend Michael along to pose for us! As you can see from the pictures, he’s an absolute man mountain!! Sadly, Marina’s camera developed a fault, but she was happy to do some posing as well. 

Great craic! Great experience! And I thought I’d share some of the results with you.
@marinafultonphotography @ahamillphotos 
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fuji56mm12 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #fujifilmportraits #fujifilm_portraits #studioportrait #studiophotography #portraitsession #justforfun

What a beautiful sight in the early morning skies above N Ireland this morning!  A lovely bright halo around the moon, which appeared while I was at work just after midnight, and lasted for the rest of the night.

This phenomenon is actually known as a "22° Halo", since the angle between the moon (or sun if during the day) and the brightest part of the ring can be measured at 22°.

The haloes form when light from the sun or moon is reflected from, and refracted through, tiny ice crystals suspended high in the atmosphere.  These crystals are hexagonal in shape, and so the light passing through them is refracted at 22°, thus concentrating the amount of light at an apparent 22° from its source, as we look at it.

Since the light is refracted - or broken up into its constituent colours - coloured fringing is also sometimes visible in the resulting halo.  Look carefully at this photo, and you will see this happening, with red hues inside the circle, and bluer tones to the outside.

But what makes this morning's halo even more special, was the fact that the moon was right beside the planet Jupiter in the night sky!  if you can zoom into the photo near the moon, you will see Jupiter at the seven o'clock position just below it. 

I know this might seem a little nerdy and scientific and technical (aka boring!!) but to witness a lunar 22° halo like this, during a conjunction with Jupiter, surely must be a chance in a million?  Somebody might be able to correct me there, but I've certainly never seen it before!

Enjoy the photo, and as always, comments are always welcome!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #nightphotography #nightsky #lunarhalo #22degreehalo #jupiter #lunarconjunction #planet #larne #countyantrim #northernireland #longexposure #earlymorning #witns

Huge thanks to the legends @vanguardphotouk for replacing the broken clip on my Alta Sky 51 bag free of charge! I did offer to pay for the replacement part but they came to my rescue and wouldn’t take a penny! Excellent customer service!! Thank you! 
#vanguardphotouk #altasky51d #thankyou #excellent_service #camerabag

Well would you believe it?
Just two more days and September will be gone!  October is upon us, and that means that Christmas is just around the corner, and will be here in no time!

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet?  What about those family & friends living in other parts of the world?  Christmas posting deadlines for economy class postage are rapidly approaching, and I'm sure you'd want to send them a unique flavour of home.

And that's where I can help.  My 2024 calendars "Views of County Antrim" are nearly all gone for another year, but you still have the chance to get your hands on them.  I'm well through my last box of them, and they won't last forever, so now is the time to get your order in.

They can be ordered directly from my website (link in my bio) for £12 each (+P&P) or if you prefer to shop in person and live near Larne, there are some copies left at Trends Picture Framing at 5 Agnew Street.

So what are you waiting for?  Get your order in soon and avoid disappointment.  This is the lovely autumnal scene you could be opening up to this time next year.  But when they're gone, they're gone...

Please share this post with others so that we can spread the word and hopefully get this last box of calendars emptied!! Thank you!!

A definite feel of autumn in Ballygally these mornings, as the pools of light from the rising sun fall on the village and surrounding hills, doing their best to warm up the chilly morning landscape.

Still some lovely colours to be found, though!  And I love the fact that this beauty is just ten minutes from my front door!

Feel free to share, and comments are always welcome!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #pronegstd #ballygally #ballygallycastle #ballygallybeach #sunrise #sunrisephotography #autumnsunrise #goldenhour #goldenhourphotography #larne #countyantrim #antrimcoast #northernireland #northernirelandphotography

Towers on the ground and in the sky! 
#aurora #auroraborealis #larne #chainememorialtower #larneharbour #fujifilm #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #longexposure #nightphotography

So, did we see last night's amazing display of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights??

I'm sure some of you will have seen plenty of beautiful photos already in your social media feeds.  Unfortunately, I was working last night, and had to watch helplessly from the sidelines (or through the fence, to be precise!) until I could take my break around 02:00am.

Thankfully, the display actually lasted for most of the night, with a slight trade-off for some broken low cloud starting to roll in.  Nevertheless, I had half an hour to get some shots in the bag, so I carried on regardless.

This is one of my favourite shots from my brief session round at the Chaine Memorial Tower in Larne.  I know it's a place I go to way too often, but it's ideal when you've limited time to get a decent image.  And here we have twenty seconds of the most glorious colour, which was just about naked eye visible - and probably would have been if I could have been further away from the glare of the streetlights.  I will say that this is maybe the first time I've ever noticed the bright purple into electric blue fringing at the top of the aurora.

Anyway, I hope you like the photo, despite the overly familiar location and hurried nature of my setup.  It's still only September, and as we reach Solar Maximum soon, I've no doubt that there'll be plenty more photos like this in the months to come!  Comments are welcome, and feel free to share!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #samyang12mm #samyanglens #longexposure #longexposure_shots #aurora #auroraborealis #northernlights #larne #countyantrim #northernireland #nightphotography #nightskyphotography #nightsky #reflection

Today, I thought I'd do something a little different and have a little play on the computer with one of my previously unedited photos.  Just to see what I could come up with.

The only rule I set for myself was that the resulting image should be at least feasible in reality - not overcooked with strange coloured filters in the sky, or weird effects making the image totally surreal.  Just taking an original photo, and turning it into something new, yet believable.

And this is what I came up with. 
I took this early morning twilight photo of the cottages in Gleno village, and turned it into this quiet, tranquil rural village scene, which could have been last week, or fifty years ago!

I enjoy editing photos as much as taking them, but the best advice I was ever given in this respect was that when you look at an image, if the first thing you see is the edit, rather than the actual image, then you've done it wrong.
So what do you think?  Have I done it wrong, or is the edit sympathetic to the scene, and totally believable?  Only you, the viewer, can decide...
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #gleno #glenovillage #larne #countyantrim #northernireland #photoediting #twilight #earlymorning #rural_houses #ruralvillage

What a beautiful sight this was to behold in the early hours of this morning!
Summer has briefly returned to our shores this week, and I was determined to make the most of what was turning into a lovely dawn sky as I left work.  Being September, with sunrise over an hour later than it is in mid June, I had some waiting around to do.  But I didn't care.  It was a warm, windless morning.  The birds were already providing the sound track.  The waves were gently lapping over the pebbles.  The first little glimmer of daylight was starting to grace the horizon.  And I had absolutely nowhere else to be at that time of the morning - nor did I want to!

And then, the tiny little orange dot I was waiting for emerged from the haze along the horizon.  Not the sun - but our planetary neighbour Venus.  As she silently crept higher into the dawn sky, beautiful and serene, it was such a contrast to the hot, stormy, highly toxic atmosphere which the planet actually possesses.  None of that violent toxicity was apparent here, as you can see.

But it was lovely just to stand there and watch the planet rising into the dawn sky, eventually throwing her reflection onto the calm water.  I had to drive on past Ballygally to get it to line up with the East Maiden Lighthouse, which itself was throwing lovely beams of light out into the morning haze as its lens rotated.  With the rubbish weather this summer I've been denied scenes like this pretty much since June, but even if just for this morning, it was nice to be back!
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #fuji90mm 
#fuji90mmf2 #venus #dawnsky #coloursofdawn #sunrise #earlymorning #antrimcoast #countyantrim #northernireland #northernirelandphotography

Late Summer evenings on the slopes of Slemish, Co Antrim.

Listen carefully... You can almost hear the silence...

Enjoy the rest of your day.
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt3 #fujifilm_xt3 #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilmphotography #slemish #countyantrim #antrimhills #sunsetphotography #redsky #summerevenings #daysend #warmsummernights #grazingcows #bogcotton

A throwback almost exactly a year, to a clear starry night in mid August 2022, when I captured this image of a modest display of the Northern Lights, beautifully reflected in the still water of a small lake.

I'm sharing this image for a couple of reasons.  Firstly, because I have recently upgraded my editing software, and as part of that upgrade, it is better equipped to deal with the grainy 'noise' which occurs in images taken at low light.  And take it from me, it has done a wonderful job of cleaning up this photo from the original.

But I'm also sharing it because, the solar activity which causes Aurora displays like this goes in cycles lasting roughly 11 years, with the next "Solar Maximum" occurring in 2025.  In other words, this activity is currently on the increase, so as we drift farther into winter, and the darker nights, displays like this should theoretically happen more often.

Sadly, I'm at a major disadvantage since I work nights, and already this year I've had the unpleasant experience of watching one major Aurora display from work, and not been able to go and make pretty photos!  But hopefully at some point this winter, things will align and I'll get the opportunity of capturing this wonderful sight on camera.  Fingers crossed...
#fujifilm #fuji #fujixt2 #fujifilm_xt2 #fujixseries #fujifilmxseries #fujifilm_xseries #fujifilmphotography #longexposure #nightphotography #aurora #auroraborealis #northernlights #northernireland #denoiseai #reflection #reflectionphotography

I don't want to bore you all with a series of shots from the same location, but I thought this photo turned out really well and was worth a share!
I nearly said "last Tuesday night", but by this time we were well into the early hours of Wednesday morning.  As the moon rose over the top of Lacada Point and lit up the Giant's Causeway, that blanket of cloud (strato-cumulus I think, but happy to be corrected!) was drifting steadily eastward and closing the gap of clear sky above the horizon.
But that's when I noticed the little red corona forming around the moon, as the cloud was refracting the moonlight, spreading it out into its constituent colours. 
In almost total darkness, it's hard to picture in your mind what a finished photo will look like, but i must say that I'm really pleased with how these few images have turned out.  And it's why I enjoy night photography so much.  Modern cameras, combined with up to date editing software are no match for the human eye when it comes to low light, and the beauty that's there, just slightly beyond our perception, can be revealed for what it is! 
And as we start to lose our grip on summer, and head towards the darker half of the year once more, I think I'll be doing plenty more of this...
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In my last post, the one with the Milky Way above the Giant’s Causeway, you’ll have noticed how I mentioned that the cliff tops were being lit by the rising moon. 
Well here is that moonrise! I’ve witnessed many a moonrise before, in various locations, but to stand there in that moment, in that location was just a bit more special. Mainly because, by then, my eyes had adjusted to the lower light levels, and just like on a sunny day with passing clouds, there was a discernible difference in the light levels. 
And to make it even more spectacular, this wasn’t just any old moonrise. It was a triple hitter! If you can zoom into the moon in the photo, just peeping out of the cloud cover you’ll see Jupiter to the right of the moon, and the little star cluster Pleiades to the left! Absolutely stunning! 
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During my time on the North Coast last week, I didn't get much free time - or favourable weather -  for landscape photography.  However, last Tuesday evening, I did venture down to the Giant's Causeway to have a go at some astrophotography.  The sky had cleared a good bit, and the stars were bright and enticing!

I still don't consider myself much of an astro expert, but I wasn't at the Causeway long before the rising moon started to illuminate the tops of the cliffs.  I took this shot of the Milky Way, hanging silently in the south-west, before the moonlight had a chance to overwhelm it too much.  I hope you can see it clearly enough on whatever device you are viewing this post on.

I've had a fascination for the night sky since I was young, and it was beautiful just standing there admiring this view, which most people never really take in.  And I am really impressed with just how much detail the camera was able to pick up, even though the scene was pretty dark to the naked eye!

Nature's beauty at its finest!
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