New Year, New Moon - sunset, dusk and the arrival of the moon, Venus and the stars at twilight at Newgrange

The first evening of the new year was a glorious one at Newgrange in the Boyne Valley. The first sunset of 2017 was magnificent, followed by a descent into twilight that featured rich hues and colours, and then the crescent moon next to Venus, the Evening Star, made it a really gorgeous close to the day. In a couple of the shots, you might also catch a glimpse of Mars, which was trailing the Moon and Venus. I was lucky to be able to spend time there putting together this very special time lapse video. It might have been cold, but it was lovely.

Enjoy watching this time lapse with music to match. You will see the sun setting behind Réaltoge Hill, and the last tourists of the evening departing from Newgrange, before seeing the gradual arrival of twilight and darkness. Shot on four different cameras from six different vantage points over the course of four hours. Well worth the effort, I hope you agree. This video captures some of the essence of a place that, as a sacred monument, sees hundreds of visitors every day, but which once evening falls becomes a lonely and lovely place.

What could be better than to watch the sun, moon, planets and stars from Newgrange, where our ancient ancestors did likewise?

The 12 days of Solstice - Day 9 - red sky over Newgrange

It's day 9 of my series 'The 12 days of Solstice' and today's image features a red sky over Newgrange. One of the benefits of living relatively close to Newgrange is that I get to be there regularly. This means I have seen and photographed Newgrange under many different skies. The weather in Ireland is so changeable that every sunrise is different and every sunset too. And sometimes even after the sun has set, something like the above happens. As usual with red skies, this one didn't last long - no more than five minutes - but at its peak it was beautiful.

Time lapse video - winter evening setting sun illuminates southern chamber at Dowth megalithic monument

It was shaping up to be a lovely time lapse video. I wanted to record the setting sun shining into the southern chamber of Dowth. It's six days until Winter Solstice, and the sky was nice and clear, so I headed out to Dowth with the cameras hoping to catch the illumination of the chamber. As you can see, all was going well, but an encroaching Atlantic front - bringing rain - started to shroud the sun just at the crucial time, and cut off the light, which had begun to reach the chamber floor.

I guess I will just have to try again, if and when the opportunity arises.

Make sure to watch the video full screen and in 1080 high definition. (To do that, press play on the video, and when it starts playing click on the YouTube logo on bottom right. That will open the video in a new window. Then click the full screen and HD settings either side of the YouTube logo).

In the meantime, if you want to see some fantastic photos of a previous winter solstice illumination of Dowth by Anne Marie Moroney, click on this link.

The 12 days of Solstice - Day 2 - the golden glow of a beautiful winter sunset at Newgrange

Today is the second day of my new series of Newgrange photographs entitled 'The 12 days of Solstice". Today's image shows Newgrange in winter at around sunset. The sun has just disappeared below the near horizon, but its golden glow is still very much visible. The winter days are short in the Boyne Valley - in midwinter, the sun rises shortly before 9am and sets before 4pm. This dearth of light and heat reminds us how difficult life might have been around solstice in the Neolithic, and how important the turning of the year was to the builders of these huge monuments.

As a photographer, I enjoy the special light that happens at sunrise and sunset in winter. Even when it's cold, and maybe your hands are numb from holding the camera, the golden glow of the sun helps to warm the soul. Sunrise and sunset are very special times, and provide the observer with a moment of exhilaration and gladness. One can only imagine that the builders of Newgrange experienced  similar moments of bliss punctuating their lives as they grappled with some meaning behind their own existence.

For an explanation about the inspiration behind the new series of photographs, see this post:
http://blog.mythicalireland.com/2016/12/celebrating-winter-solstice-season-with.html

Spend a few minutes at Newgrange enjoying the sights and sounds of evening in this beautiful video

This is a video of Newgrange in the evening time in summer. It's such a tranquil and beautiful place to spend time, as this video shows. Listen to the sounds of the birds and the animals and take yourself to this sacred spot overlooking the Boyne for a few minutes of bliss.

It is strongly advised that you watch this short video in full screen mode in high definition and with either good speakers or headphones. Enjoy!

Enjoy this short time lapse video of a beautiful summer dusk sky over Newgrange in the Boyne Valley

This is a short video made on Monday evening after sunset at Newgrange. It is a time lapse video, showing about six minutes of cloud movement compressed into about three. I hope you enjoy it. The sun has now passed its maximum northerly declination and so from here onward the days will be getting shorter again. However, for a couple of weeks there will still be a constant twilight glow on the northern horizon throughout the night. I love this time of year.

Boyne Valley Bridge with Taurus and Mercury

The Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge in the afterglow with the stars of Taurus/Pleiades and the planet Mercury.

from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/GrW9Ps
http://bit.ly/MI-gallery

Boyne Valley Bridge with crescent moon

The Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge with waxing crescent moon.

from Flickr http://flic.kr/p/FshxWj

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One of my best shots of Newgrange to date

I just realised that although I've been keeping my Facebook page up to date, I have not blogged in a while. So here goes. A beautiful image of Newgrange taken yesterday towards sunset. This is one of the best shots of Newgrange I have taken to date. Very pleased with the result.