Fifteen Minute Ferry to Northern Ireland

Fifteen Minute Ferry to Northern Ireland
Originally uploaded by randubnick.

Here in Boston, it is cold and misty, in mid-June! I decided to continue my Northern Ireland riff with a photo that matches today's weather. This picture of Northern Ireland was taken in January from the fifteen-minute ferry between Greencastle and Magilligan. We had been wandering around County Donegal, admiring the amazing scenery, but had lost our way several times, and in the winter, it gets dark around four in the afternoon, so getting lost on the long drive back to Belfast was a concern. A friendly man in a curiosity shop in County Donegal told us about this ferry, and I was very surprised to be returning to Northern Ireland by boat. It really did take only fifteen minutes, but the view of Northern Ireland was even more impressive than the efficiency of the ride. I nearly froze getting this shot, and really like the composition. But I wanted to clean the image up a little because the wear and tear on the railings was distracting, so today I pulled the image into Painter IX and swabbed the decks with digital bleach. This also created more contrast between rails and water. I also enhanced the color with a touch of digital watercolor, just enough to increase visiblity. Nice picture, nice ride, problem solved. With a little luck and a little friendship, sometimes you find that the solution to a problem is much closer than you had ever thought possible.