"We were cycling along County Antrim A1 road, which traces the Ballycastle Bay in Northern Ireland. The countryside had just reopened for tourists after the devastating outbreak of Foot and Mouth Disease in 2001, which resulted in the destruction of hundreds of thousands cattle, sheep, and goats across much of the U.K.

We were some of the first foreigners to venture into the hinterlands for a bike touring trip. After a steep incline, a friend and I were resting along the road. There wasn't a lot of traffic, but because drivers were accustomed to having full command of the road, we had to be careful not to get in the way as passenger cars and trucks transporting cows and sheep careened around the bends. I was hoping a fellow cyclist might cross through this frame, but after waiting a while, I became impatient and snapped this picture of the empty road."

—Assistant to the Editor, Mary Anne Potts

Photography Notes

• Camera: Pentax ZX-50
• Film: 200 ISO
• Lens: 35-80 mm
• Shutter speed: 1/125th
• Aperture: F5.6
• Time of day: 11:30 AM

"I wanted to show the winding nature of the road. Since we were biking cross-country, the road—be it paved, dirt, or covered in stones—was a major part of my experience. The coastal highway was nicely paved and a good way to view the gentle waves and distant islands of this quietly beautiful area.

"To me, this photo lacks a little something (not to mention a bike!). Granted the weather in Northern Ireland is drizzly, especially in early September, but the mood is a bit bleak for my taste. Still, the purpose of travel photography is to capture the mood and experience of the journey, which inevitably includes a few gray days."


Critique
"This is a very strong landscape picture that contains a lot of man-made elements in it, like the road and the electricity lines. It gives you a sense of place, and it takes you on a journey. At the same time, you could learn more about the place if there had been a car in it, or someone by the little house or off on the rocks by the water. Then we would learn a little bit more about the culture. But on its own it's a very strong landscape image."

Even though it's a little on the dark side, I like the moody lighting. There could have been a ray of sunlight somewhere off in the distance, but you can't really control those things."

—Assistant Photo Editor Kristen McClarty

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