Exploring Rough Island: A Hidden Gem in Strangford Lough

Situated within the serene waters of Strangford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland, Rough Island is a small tidal island steeped in quiet charm and subtle history. Accessible only at low tide via a causeway from the mainland near Island Hill, the island offers a peaceful and scenic walking experience that captures the natural beauty and rich heritage of the lough.

Historically, Rough Island has served many modest roles—from grazing land for livestock to a strategic lookout during wartime. While it has never been heavily developed or inhabited, its significance lies in its place within the wider story of Strangford Lough, an area known for its Viking history, ancient monastic sites, and diverse marine life. The surrounding lough is one of the most environmentally significant marine areas in the UK, designated as an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) and a Marine Nature Reserve.

Today, Rough Island is a favourite spot for walkers, birdwatchers, and those seeking a quiet escape. The walk out to the island is both scenic and accessible, but timing is essential—the causeway is only passable for a few hours on either side of low tide. Once on the island, visitors are treated to panoramic views of the lough, the Mourne Mountains in the distance, and a variety of bird species that inhabit the tidal flats and salt marshes.

For photography enthusiasts, Rough Island offers a striking palette of textures and tones. The interplay of stone, sea, sky, and shifting light creates a timeless quality.  Gnarled trees, weathered rock formations, and the ever-changing patterns of the tide lend themselves to evocative, moody compositions that reflect the quiet drama of the landscape.

Rough Island may be small and unassuming, but its peaceful setting, rich atmosphere, and connection to the natural rhythms of the tide make it a unique and rewarding destination—not just for walkers, but also for those with an eye for the poetic potential that photography can capture in one of Northern Ireland’s most picturesque and contemplative corners.

The following images complete the walk around the island.

Exploring Shapes, Light, and Shadow: Monochrome Photography Under the M3 Bridge Over the River Lagan

Nestled in the heart of Belfast, the M3 bridge stretches over the River Lagan like a colossal spine of concrete and steel. While often seen as a mere conduit for traffic, this structure offers a captivating subject for monochrome photography, especially for those drawn to the interplay of shapes, light, and shadow.

Beneath the bridge, a world of geometric wonder unfolds. Repeating patterns that draws the eye into the distance. In black and white, these forms gain new power—freed from the distraction of colour, the photographer can focus purely on line, contrast, and form. Angles sharpen, curves soften and the scene becomes a study in architectural rhythm.

Light filters through gaps in the bridge, cutting through the darkness in crisp, narrow beams of light. On a clear day, sunlight splashes across the water and concrete alike, throwing strong shadows that stretch and shift with the time of day. The bridge’s underside becomes a canvas for chiaroscuro—the dramatic contrast between light and shadow that defines great monochrome imagery.

The reflections on the Lagan’s surface add another layer of complexity. In monochrome, the river becomes a dark, shifting mirror, catching glimmers of light or silhouettes of the overhead structure. Photographers can use long exposures to smooth the water, enhancing the stillness and emphasising the strong verticals and horizontals above, although today I used moderate shutter speeds to produce still dark waters.

Shooting under the M3 bridge invites a meditative approach. It's about seeing the urban environment differently—finding beauty in hard lines and quiet light. For those with a camera and a keen eye, this overlooked location is a hidden gallery of form and contrast, waiting to be captured in black and white.

Today when I took the bus to Belfast  I did not know what I would photograph; taking a walk along Titanic Quarter produces many opportunities and it summarises the joy of street photography.

A sequence of images taken on this theme:

Rough Island through the window

This is a photograph that I have pre-visualised for quite some time, I left home with this shot clearly in my mind, taking a photograph of Rough Island in Strangford Lough through a car door window, using the window itself to frame the image, has created a natural and intimate composition that blends human presence with the surrounding landscape.

You're sitting in the driver's seat, the car pulled into a quiet corner of Island Hall car park that overlooks Strangford Lough. The weather is typical of Northern Ireland—clouds hanging low with diffuse light filtering through, casting a soft silver sheen over the water. The car door is closed, and you're angled just right so that the window frame becomes a natural border to the view.

Through the door window, Rough Island sits like a still memory, its shoreline gently lapped by the withdrawing tide. The island’s form is framed perfectly by the door— its green brush, gnarled trees, and stony edges cradled by the gentle curved causeway providing access at low ride.

The car’s interior edges— a sliver of the door handle, and the wing mirror catching a corner of sky—contrast with the rugged beauty outside, anchoring the viewer in the immediacy of the moment. It’s a quiet juxtaposition: the quiet solitude of nature captured from the familiarity of a human space. The photograph becomes a pause in motion, a frame within a frame, a brief stillness on a journey.

Finding a Picture Within a Picture in Street Photography

Walking through the bustling town square, camera in hand, I stumbled upon a moment that seemed ordinary yet extraordinary. With my eye following the line of a long curling bench seat I saw a solitary man sitting.  Holding on to this scene I noticed a small toddler running around the centre of the square and the child’s mother calling hand outstretched, I captured the picture — a picture that contained an unfolding story.

Later, upon reviewing my photograph, one of four taken at this scene, I decided that a square format would work well by concentrating on the middle view of the frame, the photograph was taken in portrait format.  I noticed how the viewer’s eye was led to the solitary man sitting and then to the other unfolding element of the mother and child in the centre of the town square. This scene seemed to unveil a secondary story, a picture within a picture, adding depth and interest to the scene in the town square.

This discovery was an important learning point; to look for the picture within the broader scene. I began wondering whether every picture might harbour a secondary image, a hidden story waiting to be found amid the busyness of the urban landscape. In effect to become a photographic explorer, eager to unveil the stories within stories that lie in plain view before us.

Returning in Black and White: A Photographic Experiment

Just a couple of days ago, I captured a colour photograph of an old tree near the shore of Strangford Lough — its misshaped branches reaching out over the stony beach, adding texture and character to the scene. The image was full of life, a feeling that colour naturally brings. But my intention all along was to produce a black-and-white photograph, and it left me wondering: How would this scene hold up without colour?

Yesterday, I returned to the same spot, determined to create a monochrome image. The aim was not simply to reproduce the colour view in black and white, but to reimagine the scene through light, shadow, and texture. Where colour guides the eye, now contrast, form, and composition carry the weight — a challenge made even greater by changing light conditions in the landscape.

Shooting in black and white forced me to see more deeply. I noticed details I hadn’t previously recognised: the rhythmic pattern of the bark, the delicate interplay of light, shadow and texture, and the way the tree framed the scene in a quiet, cinematic symmetry.

The result is not a replica but a reinterpretation. In colour, the photograph spoke of majestic landscape, the rocky shoreline and the sculptured form of the tree leaning over the stoney beach. In black and white, it resonates with solitude and endurance.

Revisiting the same location with a new intention turned a familiar subject into something fresh — a powerful reminder that sometimes, limitation invites the greatest creativity.