Nothing makes me happier than being on the road, surrounded by trees, fields, clouds, basically anything natural. Ireland is the epitome of this. On our second last day in Ireland, Dan and I travelled from Kilkenny to Wilkow Mountains National Park and spent the day driving around the winding mountain roads, chasing sunlight in between the rain.
We pulled over more times than I can remember, running in the direction of something that caught our eye from the road. Whether it was through fields, pathways or fjords, we explored everything we could during our day in Wiklow. The wind was icy all day even though it was the middle of summer, but I remember I was so happy that the goosebumps on my skin didn’t matter.
One of my favourite spots in the park was a field of grass so vast you couldn’t see where it ended - it just connected back up to the mountains looming in the distance. As I got out of the car, the wind swung my door open sharply and my hair went flying in every direction. Dan and I ran as fast and as far out as we could into the fields, laughing hysterically and giving each other piggy back rides on the way there. When we abruptly stopped running, shoes muddy from the damp grass and wind howling into our ears, it was a moment where life really sunk in. I am me. I am here. I am happy. SO so happy right now. I never wanted to leave.
Each location we visited in Ireland had it’s own little piece of magic that I could easily say every time that “this is my favourite place”. I’ve come to the conclusion that Ireland in general is just a marvel of green and hidden secrets. Every town we visited and every park we explored holds a special place for me. I would go back to Ireland to explore more in a heartbeat.
all photos edited with my Gdansk Lightroom Preset
We set off the loop walk around the lake and it was such a stunning stroll. I loved every minute of it and kept stopping to take photos. I was contemplating coming here for sunrise but I'm happy we visited in the afternoon. The second half of the lake was all backlit and I captured some of my favourite photos where you can see the moon plus the jagged peaks of the mountains. Austria is SO incredible!
It's been a long day starting at 4am for sunrise landscape photography, then a trip to Lake Gousau and finally a stop in the town of Hallstatt. I have visited Hallstatt a few years ago during the spring. It's strange on that trip I was wearing a thick turtle neck jumper and on this trip just a light dress!
As I was getting ready to go to bed for a sunrise start the next day, I noticed the moon outside our bathroom window. It was in a crescent shape during blue hour and headed towards the jagged mountain peak. Dan quickly set up the tripod for a timelapse while I snapped a few photos. I started with a closeup shot of the moon with my 200-600mm f5.6-6.3 OSS lens.
I set my alarm for 4am, Dan and I hopped in the car while it was still dark and drove to our first location. We had scouted a couple of sunrise spots the day before. This spot was a nothing place - not a landmark or a viewpoint. It was by a little carpark for an army base just off the side of the road.
I thought I would share my street photography separately in this post instead. I captured all these photos with my Sony A7IV + GM 35mm f1.4.
Finally, the travel blogs are back!! It's been 3 years since I went overseas, my last trip being to Scotland to do photography for a wedding. Now that the Australian borders have opened again, Dan and I decided to head back to Gdansk, Poland to see his family. By the end of our first whirlwind week we were ready to head off on our month-long road trip. First stop - Poznan, Poland!
I took these photos in June of 2019, it was the last time I've travelled overseas from Australia since the pandemic started. At the time, Dan and I were staying with his family in Gdansk, Poland. We travelled to a few different places during the month we were there including Scotland to capture a wedding, a roadtrip to Austria and this little trip to Granada, Spain.
Today we are continuing on with our road trip through Austria. Our second half in Austria was a little more overcast so we spent a few of our outings exploring and taking photos in the rain.
Last year while Dan and I were in Europe, we decided to go on a roadtrip with Dan’s cousin Karol and his girlfriend Gosia to Austria. I took the Sony A7III with me for travel photography with the Sony 28mm f2 and 35mm f1.4.
I spent a morning doing landscape photography around Lake Bled in Slovenia using the Sony A7IV with the GM 35mm f1.4 lens.