The Dark Hedges
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Words by Dalene Heck / Photography by Pete Heck
 The Dark Hedges – Northern Ireland
People are like stained-glass windows.
They sparkle and shine when the sun is out,
but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed
only if there is a light from within.
~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross
After a day of dodging large groups of tourists, we went on the hunt for the The Dark Hedges in Northern Ireland. It took some searching and the help of generous strangers to find them, but it was worth every effort. It was one of those breathless, perfect travel moments when we found serenity in a magical, fairy-tale setting.
Wow. That’s a postcard shot! And it looks very peaceful. 🙂 Is it HDR?
Hi Christy, Thanks, it took some time to find, but with the help of 3 different people we finally made and were blown away. Yes, is it HDR and then I did an overlay on the original photo.
I just showed Kali and his response was “I can haz Ireland?” 😛
Wow! That’s gorgeous. And you’re right — it looks like something straight out of a fairy tale!
Thanks Amanda!
Oh my gosh. I love those “this is why I travel” moments. They remind me of a poem by Elizabeth Bishop that I think you would like, she even has a line about these trees, I think!
“But surely it would have been a pity
not to have seen the trees along this road,
really exaggerated in their beauty,
not to have seen them gesturing
like noble pantomimists, robed in pink.”
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/questions-of-travel/
Thank you Sam, I love that Poem. Beautiful!
Amazing shot! You kind of expect there to be leprechauns or pixies hiding in the bushes. Maybe even a unicorn!
Cheers Steve! I believe that they were there, they just don’t show up on film 🙂
Woa! Is that a REAL place? I thought it was a fictional painting. “Fairy-tale” indeed!
That pretty much was our reaction too. It was surrealsies.
That is AMAZING !!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Mom!!
Love the picture! This reminds me of a drive I made through some roads by the beach in Big Island!
Cool, I’m assuming Big Island as in Hawaii?
What a beautiful spot!
Thanks Emily, One of my many favorites so far in Ireland/Northern Ireland
Looks spooky and mysterious… FRODO?!?!
Haha, I make LOTR references all the time here too!
Excellent photography! Thanks for sharing this moment with us.
Thanks Leah! 🙂
Ooooh – beautiful! Love it!
it’s always so much fun playing with new techniques, but I do love your non-HDR pictures! That quote is absolutely beautiful.
Thanks Abby! Seeing as we just upgraded our camera before coming to Ireland, we’re having all kinds of fun with new photo types! And I LOVE that quote too…it totally stood out to both of us when we were looking for something to go with the picture…
That’s amazing! Are you planning on posting more photos of it?
Hi Reena. Thank you. I am actually not planning on posting anymore photos on it. I thought of possibly doing a B&W but changed my mind as I thought the one image was pretty powerful with the quote that we found. You can find more of our photos of Ireland here though –> http://500px.com/hecktictravels
Great quote and amazing photo!! I love how the trees have the perfect amount of side light to give them separation. Wonderful!
Thanks so much Jeff!
That’s a great first attempt!
Beautiful Shot – I actually had to give it a second and third glance as I thought it was a painting! Great job…. I might need a tutorial from you!
DD xoxo
Thanks Mrs Davis! That was all Pedro’s handiwork on this one. 🙂
Very cool photo, guys. Could easily be an enchanted forest in a fairytale.
I think I even heard a cartoon bird singing!! 🙂
stunning! it makes me want to go to Ireland even more!
I didn’t know that you were such a good painter! That street with trees looks amazing!
Oh but I wish I had those skills with a paint brush! 🙂
This type of photo is my favorite to take..you’ve mastered it with this one! Beautiful shot!
Absolutely beautiful photo Pete. Well done! Loved the quote that you used as well.
Cheers, learning the ropes of HDR slowly 🙂 It was a surreal location and am I pretty happy the photo worked out.
is this a real place? its so beautiful!
It is absolutely real! Took some searching around to find it, but we were so glad we did!
What a gorgeous photograph! So green!
Amazing shot indeed. This place just inspires good photos. Did you know it’s a location in the HBO series Game of Thrones? (I’m just posting my own pics of it on my blog today.)