Dún Briste, Downpatrick Head, Co. Mayo

In 1393, the Atlantic separated this stack from the mainland. You can still see traces of buildings on its summit. Nobody has stood up there in centuries.

Dún Briste translates as "the broken fort," and from the cliffs at Downpatrick Head the name makes immediate sense. This massive column of layered sedimentary rock rises fifty metres from the ocean, its top flat and green, as if someone lifted a small field and set it on a pillar of stone. It looks like it belongs to the land, but the sea has long since claimed it.

I made this as a panoramic long exposure on a heavy, overcast day. No drama in the sky at all. But that flat, diffuse light was exactly what I wanted. It held the rock texture in even tone and let me concentrate on the water. A strong Atlantic swell was wrapping around the base of the stack, and the extended exposure turned those colliding currents into flowing lines and trails. Almost like a map of the ocean's movement around the rock.

The cliffs here are completely exposed, and a windy day adds a certain focus to the proceedings! Somewhere between too short and too long, the water retains its energy while revealing its structure. That was the photograph I was after.