Cliffs of Moher - Ireland

After we trespassed on private land to shoot the Cliffs of Moher away from the mass of tourists and paid parkings, we arrived right at the edge and went all the way down to the ocean. It was a very windy and stormy weather, it felt quite creepy to be there, alone.

The Cliffs of Moher (Aillte an Mhothair in Irish) are located on the west coast of Ireland, south of the Burren and around the area of Doolin (which is a very charming little town).
These vertiginous cliffs have a maximum height of 214 meters (702 feet) above sea level. It is often a very  rainy area with strong winds coming from the Atlantic Ocean.
It is a very impressive place to visit but I'd suggest to avoid the touristic area and go wander around to find a spot to sneak in and really appreciate the power of Nature concentrated on that area.

Of course, be careful not to get too close!

Creeping Clouds

While I was watching the sunset in Finisterra, I saw those clouds creeping from behind. I climbed a few rocks to take a nice shot without many people showing up in the photo and an old woman was sitting next to me watching silently.

"It's going to rain tomorrow".

I looked at her with a smile and said: "Do you think so?"

She raised a finger towards the clouds and replied: "When the clouds are creeping in the sky like this, it means it's going to rain the next day".

I thanked her and went back to join my friends. The next day, it rained heavily for hours till late at night.

And so far, everytime I see these clouds, I remember the old lady, and what she told me has yet to be proven wrong to me :)

Koh Samet clouds

One of my favorite things to shoot is: Cloud formation.

I find clouds add so much to a photo, from dramatic moods to the white fluffy happy clouds that enhance the deep blue of the sky. Cloudless skies are often boring and where I used to live, we seldom had any clouds during the year!

This was taken on the island of Koh Samet, in Thailand. The pinkish colors are due to the sunset. We also had a thunderstorm a few days earlier, and that's when I heard the loudest thunder in my entire life, as if it fell right on our bungalow!

Enjoy!

The Lighthouse

"In my empty bottle, I built a lighthouse while others were building a ship"

** Shot taken north of Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

Town of Cee

Usually, most pilgrims end the Camino de Santiago in the town of Santiago de Compostella, in front of the Cathedral where supposedly lie the remains of St. James.

But the Camino doesn't really end here, it continues up to Finisterra, the "end of the World" where they say a shepherd found the body of St. James. It is also called the "Pagan route", as it was a pilgrimage route way before Christianity.

On my first Camino, I stopped in Santiago due to lack of time. On my second pilgrimage, I decided to go all the way to Finisterra.. And I did not regret it.

The way is really beautiful with amazing sceneries along the Atlantic Ocean and many towns perched on the hills, bathing under a beautiful sun.

This is the town of Cee, about 12km before "point 0", the end of the world. It's a fairly quiet and peaceful town with many fishermen of course.

For all who walk on the St. James way, my advice would be: Go all the way to Finisterra, it's only 3 more days walk and it's an amazing place to be.

Let's get wet!

In summer 2008, I offered myself a trip to Ireland in order to celebrate my 30th birthday. A few friends joined me and we decided to visit the west coast of the island from Killorglin (attending the Puck Fair) to Sligo.

On one of the chilly days, with a storm lurking behind the mountains, we decided to stop and have a swim in the ocean.
We found a little path down to an empty beach north of Dingle before reaching O'Connor Pass.

The beach was empty, apart from a few solitary joggers. There was a very light rain and the huge clouds were rolling fast to strike us.
I walked around trying to find a nice spot for a shot. I found this fence surrounding a section of the beach. I just had time to test a few shots before the rain drops became bigger. I had to put my camera away.

I guess we had no choice but to get wet! Either swim or get caught in the storm.

Well, at least I got a cool shot!