Stood on the shore of Derryclare Lough it was immediately obvious that none of the conditions I was in need of were going to happen. I gave it time but wasn't long in concluding that I wasn't going to get the shot that I was after. I decided to take a look around and when I rounded a huge mound I happened upon a kissing gate on a partly submerged path. I knew that the path was there as I'd seen photographs of it previously but in its current state it would make for an excellent long exposure image. I praised my good fortune and quickly set up my camera. I took a few shots using the 50mm

So there I am standing on one side of the Inagh Valley. A huge expanse bordered by mountains. I'm up a lonely farm track with not a soul near me when I hear a cough from behind. Startled, I spin around, but there's no one there. It took me a while to realise that the noise came from a lone cyclist who - from my vantage point - is but a speck on a thin grey line of road several hundred metres distant. A lesson in how far sound can travel. A few weeks later I was walking along the other side of the valley. The only sound my own foot steps. Just as I was thinking how I was in a very