One of my favorite stops on the trip through the UK and Ireland was the Dark Hedges, a famous avenue of beeches planted in the 1700s. Over the centuries, the trees have become gnarled and twisted, and appear to reach out over the road, making a particularly picturesque scene. Though the beeches have been a beloved spot in Northern Ireland for years, in recent years the Dark Hedges have become something of a celebrity due to their use as a filming location for Game of Thrones.

Panorama from 7 vertical shots, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 180mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 1/6, ISO 64, tripod.

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The hedges have become so popular, in fact, that it is difficult to find a time when the lane isn’t crowded with tourists. The road is a popular stop for tour buses, and there has been so much traffic in the area in recent years that there are concerns that the roots will be damaged. Of the 150 trees which were originally planted, only about 90 remain, and tourism to the area doesn’t appear to be slowing. In the last few years, storms have claimed a few of the remaining trees, either uprooting them altogether or causing enough damage that they had to be cut down.

But I was lucky. We arrived early at the Dark Hedges, before the tour buses made their way there, and had the lane to ourselves. No matter how many times you’ve seen photos of the Dark Hedges, when you see them in person you can’t help but be moved by their eerie beauty. As was often my experience in England and Ireland, my mind moved to fanciful places, and I found myself thinking of the stories I’d heard of the hedges. Not surprisingly, given their sinister appearance, the hedges are believed to be haunted by the “Grey Lady,” who darts from tree to tree.

For this early morning shot, I used a telephoto lens to capture their density. I then used a panoramic technique and shot multiple vertical frames to fix the limited angle of view I got from using a telephoto lens. The Dark Hedges is a beautiful spot, and I think this image captured the atmospheric quality of the lane.

As it happens, I wasn’t the only one whose mind took a mystical turn at the sight of the Giant’s Causeway. The place has inspired myths and legends from time immemorial and the most persistent is the one which gives the causeway its name.

Panorama from 5 vertical shots, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 16mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 71 seconds, ISO 320, ND 5-stop filter, tripod.

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Ireland is a place with a rich culture of legends and folklore dating back to the ancient Celts. One of the most well-known figures from Irish mythology is Fionn MacCool, a giant. According to legend, MacCool had a feud with the Scottish giant Benandonner, who challenged MacCool to fight him. MacCool built the causeway between Ireland and Scotland so that the two giants could meet, but realizing that Benandonner was much larger than he expected, MacCool was hidden by his wife, Oonagh. Oonagh disguised her husband as a baby and tucked him in a large cradle. When Benandonner crossed the water and found the sleeping “baby,” he was terrified and concluded that if the baby was that large, his father must be a giant among giants. Benandonner then retreated to Scotland, pulling up the stones of the causeway as he went.

It’s a fantastical story, but the otherworldly landscape of the coast is the kind of place that inspires such thinking. Looking out over the water — where, on a clear day, you can just see the coast of Scotland — I can imagine ancient people, prone to colorful tales and with a love of the spoken word, crafting a story worthy of such a magical place. Ireland is bewitching, a place that captures your heart as well as your imagination.

After a few days, the other photographers and I left Northern Ireland, as we had other destinations to explore. But the Giant’s Causeway is a place that will linger in my memory for years to come, I’m certain. In all of my travels, I’ve never seen another place quite like it.

Two months after my children returned from England, I returned to that part of the world as part of a group of photographers who would travel to England, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland to photograph landscapes. I knew from my time in the United Kingdom earlier in the year that that part of the world was a dream destination for landscape photography. With mountains, wild coastlines, and lush green countryside, I knew it would be a productive trip.

Panorama from 2 horizontal shots, additional exposures for highlights, focal length 16mm, aperture f/11, shutter speed 13 seconds, ISO 31, ND 5-stop filter, tripod.

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Northern Ireland’s Antrim Coast quickly became one of my favorite destinations on the trip. It’s a strikingly beautiful part of the world where ancient castles dot the countryside and each bend in the road seems to reveal a misty glen. It was hard not to be charmed by this beautiful land.

I found one of the most picturesque spots on the Antrim Coast at the Giant’s Causeway. It’s a landscape from a fantasy and unlike any other place I’d ever seen. The causeway is made up of thousands of octagonal basalt columns of varying heights that lead, like stepping stones, down into the sea. The columns were formed millions of years ago, when Antrim was the site of intense volcanic activity. When lava forced its way up out of the earth, it eventually cooled, and as it cooled, cracks formed, which created the columns.

As a man of the twenty-first century, I understand how the Giant’s Causeway was formed. I have enough knowledge of science to understand the processes that went into the column’s formation. But just the same, there is something about that place — about all of Ireland, really — that puts me in mind once again of distant, lost worlds. Wandering along the jagged Antrim coastline and its mysterious columns that lead down under the water’s surface, I found myself again lost in reverie, imagining an ancient people dancing underneath a night sky.