Great Sea Caves of Antrim
Chapters 1 -
2 -
3 -
4 -
5a -
5b -
6a -
6b -
7
Chapter 1
The Ghost of Cathedral Cave
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..a musician was surprised by the rising tide, and it pursuing, he retreating, and playing as he went, he became lost for ever to sight, but not to hearing - for still, they say, can be heard Jackson's unearthly music, sounding faintly miles and miles inland.
Titan, A Monthly Magazine, Volume XXIV
Published 1857, James Hogg & Sons
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There are many historical accounts of vast and inaccessible sea caves on the North Antrim coast, but I had never ventured to find them. However, in 2007 I discovered a century-old cigarette card of a “Cathedral Cave” at White Rocks near Portrush. The old card gave me the inspiration to look a little harder and to try to recreate a modern day version of the mysterious old photograph. Little did I know that this card would become the starting point on a much longer journey to photograph many more of Antrim's mighty sea caves.
The 1908 Gallaher cigarette card which inspired my project
Photographer unknown
The limestone cliffs of the White Rocks near Portrush are difficult to access with only a few safe descents. Furthermore, the tidal swells around the cliff base make exploration hazardous. To photograph safely, I waited for the right conditions. I needed good weather with a low sea swell. I also needed to wait for a low spring tide to give me time to navigate the headlands.
On a fine September morning, I climbed cautiously down an eroding gully and followed the tide out and around the headland. Before long I was standing at the mouth of Cathedral Cave, 100 yards deep and at least 30 feet high at its entrance. As I ventured inside I felt like an explorer discovering the lost city of gold, a place that every boy and girl should visit.
I tried to stand close to the position that the old photograph was taken. It was apparent that some rockfall and erosion had occurred in the 100 years since the original was taken but the cave was remarkably familiar. This is quite surprising when you consider that the cave has been subject to over 70,000 high tides and a century of Atlantic storms. To bring the photo into the 21st century I used a modern digital technique called High Dynamic Range (HDR) photography to peer deep into the shadows of the cave.
On seeing my first photograph of the Cathedral Cave, I felt that my recreation lacked a sense of scale. It needed a figure perched on the rock. For fun, I digitally copied the old figure from the Gallahers cigarette card into the recreation, taking care to maintain the correct scale by using the rock below as a reference.
5P1
The Ghost of Cathedral Cave
© Andy McInroy
The playful manipulation intrigued me. The figure looks ghostlike in this version and, of course, the person is long deceased. It got me thinking about who this person was and how they might feel about being transported 100 years in time, from an old cigarette card into a 21st century recreation.
After making this photograph, I felt myself returning to the ghostly figure again and again. I now realise that the purpose of the person in the photograph is not just about giving scale. The figure also illustrates how short our own time is relative to this ancient geological picture frame. The figure is not a real ghost of course, but a photographic one. Perhaps we all become ghosts every time our photo is taken, captured like phantoms within the frame.
Inspired by these thoughts, I returned 6 months later to photograph myself on the rock using a tripod and timed release. Here it is. Not a cheat this time but a real, modern day, photographic ghost. I hope that one day, perhaps another 100 years from now, some person might continue the story and stand to be photographed in this secret hall.
5P1b
Cathedral Cave self-portrait
© Andy McInroy
Continue to the next chapter in the story.
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