Road Trip To Donegal

Road trip to Donegal? Well that’s exactly what these four friends decided to do last week. Donegal was up until recently the forgotten county here in Ireland but not anymore. These four friends who have been living here in Ireland for several years decided to go on an adventure to somewhere they had read about, somewhere that gave them a burning desire to visit. They wanted to see more of the country they were now living and working in so they decided Donegal was where they wanted to visit. They wanted to capture these happy memories of their visit to Donegal with a photoshoot, and that is when Photos From Ireland was contacted to capture these happy memories. After several emails and a phone call the photoshoot was arranged and I gave some advice on clothing and what to wear for their visit to Donegal.

I arranged to meet with them at the Strand Hotel in Ballyliffin, Co. Donegal and after a brief chat and welcome I took them to the first photoshoot location. We drove a couple of minutes away to a place that I love to photograph people at. This was one of the most organised groups of people I have met they came prepared with different outfits for different looks and I myself was really excited with the clothes they brought with them. We all got on really well from the first minute and although we only met a few minutes earlier everyone was very relaxed and chilled and it was as if we knew each other for years. I had so many ideas and I always like these photoshoots to be relaxed and informal and a bit of craic, I try and get people to forget about the camera as I find the images turn out so much better.

Very quickly I soon realised that these four friends were up for some serious fun so I decided to turn up the fun factor for the four of them. They came with open minds and we chatted about all sorts of things, their own lives and what I do and I gave them some local knowledge about the area to give them an insight about times gone by and how people work and live now. The locations I had planned for them four in total were all very close by and gave them a great variety of images.

The most important thing I believe when doing a photoshoot is to make people relax and forget about the camera. Young or old, male or female it does not matter you need to get them into zone whereby they trust you and what your doing. I have a few tips and tricks that I have learned over the years to get to this point very quickly without them knowing and you need to be able to read people’s body language as well to get them to feel most comfortable.

I asked them why they chose Donegal for a short break and they said that they had heard how beautiful, wild and rugged it was and they wanted to see it for themselves. The locations I had planned for them I knew they would love and like an old friend each location did not disappoint. I planned each location to be even better at each and every point and they were certainly not disappointed with the places I chose for them. With Malin Head in the background I recommended it as a must see location to visit when they were this close and also the Seaview Tavern for a beautiful sea food dinner with fresh food caught daily from the pier nearby.

Next stop location on our photoshoot was location at the Doagh Famine Village the beautiful scenic beach beside it. Change of clothing and this time something Eastern in style.

When I saw the clothing they had with them I knew this location would be perfect for what I had in mind.

Each friend had a different personality and a different style and so I decided to work on this for the photoshoot. I got to know what they liked doing outside of work and photography and music was two passions they had, we had a lot in common :)

One question that I am asked time and time over again is, what is life like in Donegal? I always tell people you can have it as busy or as peaceful as you like. Like a lot of things in life it’s what you make of it, and there is certainly plenty to do here in Donegal and also plenty of places to relax and chill in as well. There is something about life here that captivates people when they visit, it’s almost like a long lost relative they met for the first time and yet they knew all their life. The natural beauty of this area can be really good for the body and the mind.

Donegal is a great place to come and chill and re-energise get rid of all of life’s stresses and meet new friends. It’s a place where you can come as a stranger but you will leave as a friend.

Five fingers beach in Malin behind was this amazing backdrop and boasts the highest sand dunes in Europe.

We then went onto the next location towards Carrickabraghy Castle with Glashedy Island in the background in Pollan bay. To be honest I have a soft spot for this location I love the long narrow road down to the ruins of the castle and the stone walls, it reminds of the West of Ireland Galway in particular. There is a wild raw ruggedness here, something that I love and it was a location these four friends loved.

I knew they were into music and with their bright colours I thought it would make for a good album style cover or a music video. I am always looking for inspiration in music, films and artwork for ideas.

Fashion photography is something I have done a lot of over the years and with these natural colours and the sunglasses I thought this would be a perfect spot for this image.

Finally our last stop was the ancient historic location of Carrickabraghy castle, of which the old ruins are all that is left. This is an amazing view of Malin Head to one side and Dunaff and Fanad lighthouse in the other.

Four friends on a road trip to Donegal, make that five friends at the end of their photoshoot here in Donegal. You may arrive here as a stranger but you will leave as a friend.