On a brief , non-photography related (well, it was supposed to be) trip away without the kids recently we made our way up to Connemara. I have visited Connemara on a few occasions,  but I had not spent any decent amount of time on the south side of the Peninsula. This whole region has some very unique landscapes and I think the rustic colours of winter really show it at its barren best. One of the highlights for me was a beach called Dogs Bay just outside Roundstone.

I have my favourite beaches around Ireland, Minard in Kerry or Ballydwane on the Copper Coast but this now ranks as one of the best I’ve seen. I only had a very brief time there and to be fair to the reason for the trip I didn’t want to be distracted by prolonged consideration for getting a decent image. The beach has some of the most beautiful white sand and as well as rolling sandunes. The big wide views are stunning but rushed compositions didn’t turn out any good results . I did have the film camera out as well and I hope the Porta 160 that I choose to shoot was the right choice for the muted colours there. 

This place is definitely on the revisit list and I may prioritise it as there is so much to offer if you go off the beaten track. To get it at its best I feel its a location that benefits from blue sky conditons as the sea is a beautiful turquoise colour. While not on the main tourist trail it did have quite a few visitors while I was there.

Inluded also are a few snap shots taken on the road side and I feel with a bit bit more time, this landscape has a real story to tell