Culdaff Beach

Culdaff Beach, located in the northeast of the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal, is one of my favourite beaches in Ireland – especially for a visit in the early morning. There several good reasons for this. One is the beach’s orientation. Early in the morning, the warm, golden light of the setting sun is particularly beautiful here. It creates an almost mysterious atmosphere on the beach and casts long shadows that add depth and texture to the scenery. Another factor is the tides. Every night, the tide washes away the traces of the past day, so that in the morning, the fine sand often looks as if no one has ever stepped on it before.

During my visit last summer, I was particularly fascinated by the view straight towards the sun. From a photographic point of view, this is often a challenge, as the strong contrasts and bright sunlight can easily cause subjects to become overexposed. On this morning, however, I was greeted by a slowly dissipating mist. Together with a few clouds, it created a gentle veil behind which the sun could ‘hide’ for a while. Its light became more diffuse, allowing me to take some rather unusual shots with the camera pointed directly towards the sun.