I usually visit Glendalough during the daytime when I go trail running up along the Spink, but as I was keen to try out some night time photography and in particular trying to capture the stars, I went out just before midnight down to the first lake.

it is a perfect spot, no urban light pollution and so peaceful except for the odd calling of the deer, which is quite eery. I hadn’t tried long exposure for quite awhile so wasn’t too sure what to expect. Initial results where mediocre at best, but after trying different setting I managed to capture the above image.

it is quite amazing how bright a photograph can become when exposed for several seconds or minutes. At first it is hard to see whether the camera captures the stars and as it is a long exposure there is natural movement as the image captures the very slow movement of the earths rotation.

This experiment definitely is worth trying again.