Dunquin Pier

Chasing Sunset at Dunquin Pier

Dunquin Pier had been planned as one of the sunset locations during a photography weekend in County Kerry with friends. At around 320 miles from Belfast, a journey of roughly six and a half hours, it is not somewhere I can simply revisit whenever the forecast looks promising. I believe this was my first time photographing it.

The weekend proved to be something of a washout. Cloudy skies and intermittent rain followed us around Kerry, and I returned home with only fifteen photographs that I considered worth keeping. We had hoped for a colourful sunset over the Atlantic, but it was already clear that the sky was unlikely to give us the display we had travelled for.

Finding the Composition

Dunquin Pier has an iconic composition, looking down across the winding path as it descends between the steep cliffs towards the sea. We took turns placing our tripods in the position where its leading lines and angles worked best.

While one of my friends occupied the prime viewpoint, I carefully made my way farther down into the scene. The worn ground was wet and slippery, so I used the extended legs of my tripod as a walking aid to steady myself. Once I found a safe position, I sat down, set up the tripod and mounted the camera.

When the Heavens Opened

I had only been photographing for a few moments when the heavens opened. We abandoned our positions and ran for shelter in the campervan and cars.

Boris had travelled to Kerry with me, but I had left him safely inside the camper. I was prepared to get soaked for a photograph; I was less enthusiastic about spending the rest of the weekend sharing a small van with a soaking-wet Borzoi. With his exceptionally thick coat, becoming thoroughly wet is not good for him—and unlike the rest of us, he cannot simply change out of it.

The colourful sunset I had imagined never appeared, but the subdued light and heavy sky captured the character of the evening as it really was. Sunset was due at 17:25, and I captured this photograph at 17:03 using a Sony a7 III and Sony FE 24–105mm F4 G OSS lens at 24mm. With the camera secured on the tripod, I used an exposure of 1/13 second at f/6.3 and ISO 100.

Unfinished Business

I have returned to Dunquin Pier a couple of times since, but the sunset photograph I originally imagined still eludes me.

One of these days, I’ll get it.