Property photographer, Causeway Coast

15yrs

Nick Gray. Ex Hennessy and Porsche.

Nick Gray, property photographer, at golden hour

Causeway Coast

Coastal light moves fast

Light on the north coast changes by the minute. Cloud comes in off the Atlantic, clears, and the sun drops low over the sea. I shoot Portrush, Portstewart, Portballintrae, Bushmills and Ballycastle around that light.

Building on the coast

On the coast a house is designed around the light, the view and the weather. The photographs have to show all three, and the materials that were chosen to stand up to them.

Recent coast shoots

In Bushmills, The House: a living room shot in the last hour of daylight, the sun striping a herringbone floor.

In Portrush, Golden Sands Penthouse: textured plaster and herringbone oak, shot as the sun set over the sea. Also in Portrush, an apartment with a spiral staircase and an attic bedroom under skylights, both shot as the sun came in low. On the North Coast, The Cottage: a pink kitchen, brass hardware and a woodburner in evening light.

The setting

On the coast the building is only half the picture. I shoot the approach, the view from the garden and, when it helps, the house from the air, so the building is seen in the place it was designed for.

Shooting for the coastal light

Late in the day the light comes low across the water and fills west-facing rooms. I plan the exterior and the main rooms for that hour, and fly the drone when the sea and the sky are doing the most work.

The House

Bushmills, North CoastInteriorsGolden hourPhotographyFilm

Plantation shutters, herringbone oak, tan leather and a stone lamp. I shot the room in the last hour of daylight, when the sun comes low through the shutters and rakes across the grain of the floor. Stills and film share one grade.

Bushmills living room at golden hour, low sun through plantation shutters across a herringbone floor

Bushmills living room looking towards a glass staircase, evening sun striping the floor

Two glasses of red wine and a cheese board on a coffee table in a Bushmills living room, warm evening light

Leather sofa and stone lamp between shuttered windows as the sun sets, Bushmills

Tan leather sofa, linen cushion and stone lamp in raking golden-hour light, Bushmills

Walkthrough

Golden Sands Penthouse

Portrush, Causeway CoastInteriorsPlasterOakGolden hour

Textured plaster, herringbone oak and a sculpted island with oak stools under glass pendants. I shot it as the sun went down over the sea, low enough to rake across the plaster and pull out its texture.

Open-plan penthouse living room and kitchen with herringbone floor in golden hour light, Portrush

Kitchen island with oak stools and glass pendant lights in low evening sun, Portrush penthouse

Sun setting over the sea through penthouse balcony doors, two deck chairs on the balcony, Portrush

Plaster shelving with a stone vase and a log store in warm evening light

Shadow of flowers on a plaster wall beside a glass vase and kettle in golden hour light

The Cottage

North CoastInteriorsKitchenBrassDetails

A blush-pink kitchen, knurled brass handles, white render and a woodburner. I let the low evening sun do the work, and shot the brass close enough that it reads as warm metal rather than flat yellow.

Open-plan cottage living room with woodburner and blue sofa in low evening sun, North Coast

White rendered cottage rear elevation with French doors and pergola in evening sun, North Coast

Blush-pink cottage kitchen with white dining table and globe pendants in late afternoon light, North Coast

Knurled brass door handle on a painted door in low evening light, North Coast cottage

Cottage bedroom with pink linen and sage door frames, window light on the wall, North Coast