Blinded by the Light

I was plodding back to the car park at Ballyfad with the sun dazzling me and liked the way the path ahead was lit. The angle was so low it was practically blinding me, but it turned the damp path into a mirror of gold.

The Pixel phone is really great at lens flare. Usually, shooting straight into a light source this harsh results in a silhouette, but I love how modern smartphone HDR handles this. I dragged the image into Snapseed afterwards, and rather than fighting the darkness, I leaned into it—adding a subtle vignette to frame that explosion of light at the top. It’s a good reminder: keep your eyes up (and your lens clean) until you’re actually sitting in the car!