How an iconic shot of Errigal was perfectly captured after three years of planning

An incredible picture of Errigal and the full moon taken by a Ranafast photographer this week was three years in the making.

As he posted it on his socials, Rory O’Donnell said it was ‘the bucket list shot’ - accompanied by a reel that was every bit as fascinating of how it evolved.

Rory knew he had to be in position before an exact time - 8:06 pm on Tuesday - and then had to trust his calculations. As he stood at his narrow vantage point at the tip of Carrickfinn just under 14 kilometres from Errigal with the islands and Bád Eddie to his left, he ignored the last-minute second-guesses that stormed through his mind on an otherwise most gentle of evenings.

Full moons are infrequent, usually once a month, then the alignment and angles had to work for him, with the uncontrollable of weather also needed to work in Rory’s favour, to even have the chance to finally snap the photo he had dreamed of and meticulously worked towards.

In the end, the cards turned exactly as he had both hoped and planned and then something he hadn’t foreseen even happened, the moon made its way up the side of Errigal before nestling perfectly at its peak, with its reflection to be seen in the water before Bunbeg. If this was a slice of luck, it was certainly deserved. 

A landscape photographer with a labour of love, Rory’s prints from down the years can be found online or at Time & Tide Annagry. Errigal, as never captured before, will soon join them.

“A few of my friends know plenty about it because every time I went to try and get it, I was sharing updates on Whatsapp about what worked or didn’t work,” Rory tells DonegalLive. “It’s been three years.”

It was never a lucky shot, a right-place right-timer. Over the years, trial and error made Tuesday’s photo possible. It was never just going to land on Rory’s lap and yet, still involved crossing his fingers until the very last minute and even beyond.

“The reason it’s so difficult to get is, say, there are roughly 12 full moons in the year, so once a month,” Rory continues. “The issue is that the full moons arrive in different places - it’s not like the sun which moves a little every day.

“So when you’re looking east, the full moon can be very far north or very far south. For the image I wanted, with the iconic west face of Errigal - the most well-known side - to get the moon coming up as it did and being roughly aligned in that direction, it only happens one night this year.”

“Three years ago when I first tried the other problem I learned was the full moon would come up at nighttime, when it was dark and the sun had long set. So even though the moon was up and I got it coming up over Errigal, the whole land was dark, so Errigal was just a silhouette.

"From then, I realised you need enough ambient light to illuminate the foreground, so as well as having the right direction, you need the full moon rising within an hour of sunset, so there’s still enough of a glow on the land, which cuts down the opportunity even more. I learned before about exposure on the photos, so I had to make sure the moon wasn’t blown out so you I wanted to make sure that you could see detail of the moon.

“I practised shooting the moon rising, even though it wasn't over Errigal. It was a matter of me working out my settings and then getting the position right and you need to be in place an hour beforehand.”

Practice makeing perfect and patience being a virtue are more than just sayings. There’s a meaning in them and Rory knew that his geometry had to be spot on as well, and even at that, he thought that he’d be blaming it on the weatherman, following one of the the bleakest summers on record.

“You need to know where the moon will rise in regard to the height of Errigal, which is just over 750 metres, so you need to know the degree of elevation,” he adds. “You need to know what time the moon will be in alignment, on a compass you draw a line 180 degrees back so that’s where you have to be standing at to perfectly line it up.

“Last year I made several attempts to dial into those calculations and was confident about getting to the correct location and was aware it needed to be just an hour after sunset, when there’s still enough light and the moon isn’t too overpowering. It’s about getting the balance. Unfortunately, last year was a no-go as it was too cloudy.

“This year was about patiently waiting and I did a few practice shots of the moon rising. It was nothing too exciting and because of the poor summer we had, I didn’t think it was going to happen. But this good spell came and I thought: ‘Could this be it?’. Where I stood, up at the end of Carrickfinn by Dunmore, up past the airport, there was very little room to move. There was water off to my side and I knew that I needed to be at the right place, with not much space to play with - maybe about 20 metres on either side.

Watch the timelapse reel of the moon making its way up Errigal

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A post shared by Rory O‘Donnell (@rory_odonnell)

“I was up there, a lovely evening with clear skies, and hoped it wouldn’t be too hazy, as that can ruin the image. Sure enough, I had it timed for six minutes past eight and a few minutes beforehand I saw the moon start to rise off to the left of Errigal. I thought it might go a little too acutely, which would’ve meant me having to move 200 metres and I knew I couldn’t outrun a rising moon. So I decided to stand and wait and trust the calculations I had made, even though I was second-guessing myself.

“The moon did the most beautiful thing, where it rolled up the side of Errigal as if it was climbing up it. I hadn’t planned that. It was stunning to watch and it just came right up to the very peak. My camera didn’t move the whole time and everything. At last, after all this time, it had worked out right.”