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Anyone visiting Ireland will soon come to realise how rich the history of this country is, and graphically illustrated by the numerous ruined castles and towers that dot the landscape.
This particular collapsed tower is all that's left of the castle at Ballyvaughn in County Clare.
Situated dramatically right by the sea, this tower overlooks the Burrens and my wife Liz and I found it to be a great place to stop for a picnic and some photography.
With its crumbling stonework and gaunt appearance, my original colour photo, taken in bright sunlight, looked just too jolly to do the castle justice.
So I made this monochrome version in PhotoShop which, I feel, gives the image the sort of brooding drama that the sometimes violent history of this place deserves.
Filename - castle ballyvaughn 01.jpg
Camera - Canon 5D
Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 24mm
Exposure - 1/15sec @ f16, ISO100
Location - Ballyvaughn, County Clare, Ireland
This image - 533x800px JPEG
Conversion - ACR & PS-CS2
Comments - Tripod, mirror lockup and cable release used to prevent camera movement.
All content copyright © Howard Litherland 2009-2026 unless otherwise stated.