Landscape Photos: Knocknarea at Night

Hello fellow photographers, I hope you are well.

Last week I took advantage of one night with clear sky to shoot the stars. I had to look for one of the darkest places in the 5 km range from home because of the lockdown and I thought the top of the local hill could do the job. It was actually a pretty bright night because the super moon was reflecting so much light from the sun that I could see my shadow when I was up there taking pictures even at 2 in the morning! Also you can clearly see the light pollution causing that bright orangy spot down on the right where the closest village is. Still the sky was clear enough to show a sufficient number of stars. To increase their important I went for a star trail effect taking 15 shots at 30 seconds intervals and combining them together afterwards in Photoshop. Some shots were taken at a bigger interval as my first battery ran out of juice, and you can clearly see it by the more distant dots on the trails.

Astro photography is always a lot of fun, after winning the initial resistance and getting out with your camera in the middle of the night. Already looking forward to my next trip.

Location: Knocknarea, Strandhill, Sligo, Ireland.

What to shoot: Knocknarea Mountain is an iconic element of Irish landscape. On the top the walking trails and the cairn are good elements to play with and find your favourite composition.

Ideal time to shoot: Sunsets.

Gear: Standard zooms.

Coordinates: 54.258682, -8.575473