This is one of my favourite images. The reason why is because like a lot of my favourite photographs there was an element of luck involved i.e. right place at the right time. It was 2a.m. in the Inagh Valley, Connemara, Co. Galway, Ireland. It never really gets fully dark in Ireland during the summer months due to our geographical location.
However, we still have incredibly dark skies with very little light pollution, which is ideal for photographing the stars. I set up my camera on the tripod and had dialed in a ten-minute exposure. Half way through the exposure I looked up and noticed this really bright ball of light moving quickly across the sky. It turned out to be the International Space Station making a pass.
I had to wait for what seemed like ages for the camera to finish processing. When the image finally appeared on the back of the camera I was absolutely delighted. Another part to the story is that I was lucky enough to meet Commander Chris Hadfield at a book signing in Galway last year. He was actually on board the ISS the night that I photographed it. I showed him the image when I met him which made my day!
