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See Ireland with a Creative Eye
What Is A Photo Tour?
What is a photo tour and is it different to a photography workshop? This is a question we get asked a lot. There is no real difference but simply, a tour is more focused on seeing the place with a photographic emphasis while a workshop is specifically designed to concentrate on one or more aspects of your photographic technique, equipment or composition. Both tour and workshop are interchangeable and there is a degree of overlap.
Because we tailor each tour to suit your needs, we choose the appropriate locations and times to maximise your time in Ireland and help you to improve your photography.
If you would like to know more about our photography workshops in Ireland please contact us here and join an Irish photographer for a day in your favourite part of Ireland.
Don't forget that we offer Gift Vouchers for Christmas and all year round for birthdays and other occasions. A photography gift voucher entitles the holder to the same benefits as a direct booking: one-to-one photography tuition, a choice of locations in Dublin, Wicklow and the rest of Ireland, morning or evening photography workshops, follow-on advice and critique on images. To buy a Panoramic Ireland Photography Gift Voucher for a friend, relation or even for yourself please follow this link or Contact Us.
Find out more about our Dublin Photo Tours here, for our Northern Ireland photo tours click here and Galway and rest of Ireland you can find out more here.
What makes Ireland so special? Perhaps it is the landscapes, the history, the people or a combination of all of these that bring 7 million visitors every year to this little island.
Dublin is the capital of Ireland and the chief city on the island, Belfast is the second largest, and the chief city of Northern Ireland. The island has two currencies and two governments but there no border controls between the north and south; indeed it is quite easy to drive from one side to the other without knowing it.
It is true, in Ireland it rains a bit (isn't that why it's so green?) but don't let that put you off because it doesn't rain as much as you think. With some good luck there will be fine weather during your visit. The best months to visit are April, May, June and September. The days are long, the weather is often perfect and it isn't high season. Is there any better place to be than driving along a country road somewhere in Ireland on a warm, sunny day?
Ireland makes a perfect location to improve your photography or to enhance your image collection. Contact us today to learn more about our bespoke tour options.
Panoramic Ireland (that's me) Meets Irish President Michael D. Higgins
Here I am (just so you know that I am actually a real person) meeting Irish President Michael D. Higgins at the Festival Interceltique du Lorient in France.
Image of the Month
Summer 2023
The west of Ireland, boats on lakeside sandy beach between mountains on a sunny day.
For 2023 take one of Panoramic Ireland's private photography tours in Ireland from Belfast to Cork to Dublin to Galway - perfect for avoiding the large crowds and finding scenic seascapes, landscapes and cityscapes to photograph. Bookable now for 2023 and beyond.
Find out more by going to the Contact page.
Seven Essential Places to Photograph in Ireland
- Dublin - home to Guinness, Croke Park and The Book of Kells; you can't miss Dublin, a city that has improved over the past 10 years.
- Wicklow - mountainous and empty yet less than an hour from Dublin, Wicklow is home to the most famous hermitage in Ireland at Glendalough.
- Belfast & the Antrim Coast - the land of myths and legends, saints and scholars, Northern Ireland has some of the finest landscape photography. The stunning landscapes are now easy for all to see, Game of Thrones has added to that appeal.
- Dingle - the furthest west that you can get in Ireland, and a peninsula that has as more pubs than you could ever visit. Visually stunning.
- The Burren - a unique geological landscape, The Burren is home to arctic, alpine and mediterranean plants.
- Connemara - rugged and wild, full of bogs, sea and sky as well as a few ponies of distinction.
- Donegal - the most northerly county in Ireland, the Atlantic coastline is second to none in Ireland with the sea cliffs of Slieve League and miles-long sandy beaches.
Have a look at the blog section of the site for more stories, events and information on the places mentioned here.
Enjoy the site, we hope you learn something and when you come to visit us here in Ireland/ Why not book a photography tour with us, learn something about the real Ireland and learn how to make better images.
LATEST POSTS FROM OUR BLOG
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The Dark Hedges, Six Trees to be Removed November 2023
Written by Darren McLoughlinIrishman and International travel photographer in search of the best bits of Ireland. Leading photography tours and experiences in Ireland.
Contributor to New York Times / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Echtra Echtra and Eonmusic
Cancer survivor.
Ask me about travel in Ireland or about photography in Ireland.
Written on Tuesday, 14 November 2023 00:13 in Guide
I don’t think County Antrim’s Dark Hedges need much of an introduction. The visually stunning avenue of beech trees have arguably become one of the most famous stretches of road in the world.
Certainly, it must be Ireland’s most photographed road.
Having appeared for a few brief seconds in HBO’s Game of Thrones the once unknown row of 300 year old beeches are now often overrun by tourists, many thousands arriving throughout a typical day en route to the Giant’s Causeway, Dunluce Castle or covering a dedicated Game of Thrones tour.
The tree tunnel is surely a photographer’s dream with its intertwining overhead branches and large tree trunks of silvery bark that take on the colour of the weather and lighting.
Originally there were around 150 beech trees planted along what was the avenue to Gracehill House at the end of the 18th century, built by the Stuart family - now almost 250 years old there are only 86 mature beech trees left.
And as of next week, there may be 11 fewer; after examination more of the Dark Hedges will be cut and significantly or taken to the stump leaving at least 75 healthy trees. Six are to be removed for definite.
This work is being carried out because of the age and neglect of this man-made natural wonder over recent decades, with lofty boughs breaking and posing potential risk to the visitors underneath.
Dark Hedges with Damaged Trees So, will the Dark Hedges still be worth visiting in 2024? Yes I do think so, if you can get here without the crowds then yes. The location has lost a lot of its charm, having gone from grassy and shrubby verges to muddy and unsightly but for the photographer there are still elements worth photographing here.
Large Gaps at the Dark Hedges And it will be a long time yet before all of the trees reach end of life. Of course the new trees being planted will take a longer time again to develop into what has been a quiet tourism site for decades.
Join Panoramic Ireland in 2024 to photograph the Dark Hedges, the Antrim Coast and all of its beauty spots.
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**Update** The Storm Moves in - Storm Debi to Hit Ireland
Written by Darren McLoughlin
Irishman and International travel photographer in search of the best bits of Ireland. Leading photography tours and experiences in Ireland.
Contributor to New York Times / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Echtra Echtra and Eonmusic
Cancer survivor.
Ask me about travel in Ireland or about photography in Ireland.
Written on Sunday, 12 November 2023 16:58 in Miscellaneous
An ominous start to the week with Storm Debi set to blast Ireland with storm force winds.
A status red warning, the highest level in Ireland for weather events, has been issued for Clare, Galway, Roscommon, Offaly and Westmeath.
Interestingly they have singled out East Galway and South Roscommon even though it looks from the map that North Tipperary, formerly an actual distinct part of the Premier County, should also be included. Especially as Nenagh in North Tipperary is forecast to get 68km/h winds while Birr in County Offaly is only expecting 57km/h and Ballinalsoe, East Galway is only forecast to get 50km/h.
There has to be a better method rather than relying solely on county boundaries, especially as places like Birr in County Offaly is only 1km from County Tipperary.
Anyhow, an orange weather warning is in effect for Tipperary, Carlow, Laois, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Longford, Louth, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan, Kerry and Limerick with the rest of Ireland under a yellow weather warning.
**Update** And indeed, as of 20:32 this evening, Met Eireann have updated more counties to red including: Clare Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway and Roscommon from 02:00 - 05:00 Monday 13/11/2023 with Dublin, Kildare, Laois, Louth, Meath, Wicklow, Offaly and Westmeath under a red warning from 05:00-08:00. Orange is in effect for most of these counties as well until 10:00.
Keep an eye out on met.ie for updates including upgrading and downgrading of weather warnings.
There is also a status red marine warning, get those boats into harbour.
Keep safe and dry, best not to make any unnecessary journeys.
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Adobe Lightroom - Finding Previous Import
Written by Darren McLoughlin
Irishman and International travel photographer in search of the best bits of Ireland. Leading photography tours and experiences in Ireland.
Contributor to New York Times / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Echtra Echtra and Eonmusic
Cancer survivor.
Ask me about travel in Ireland or about photography in Ireland.
Written on Thursday, 09 November 2023 00:12 in Photography, Photoshop and Post-processing
I read recently online, someone asking for help to find previously imported images in Adobe Lightroom. They had set a location, imported and after changing folders couldn't find where they had imported images to.
It sounds like a simple fix, and in a way it is, but sometimes it can be confusing and until you get to know your software there is that time when this kind of thing can occur - is it on an external drive, date based folders or all thrown together in one big folder? Or indeed a combination of these.
Thankfully Lightroom has a few ways of helping out in this case.
I'm in a folder in Lightroom, but not the images I'm looking for - Go to Library (G) or Loupe (E) view and in the Catalog panel on the left column look for Previous Import, this will bring you to your most recent import.
Previous Import in Adobe Lightroom - And if you need to find the location that these images are stored in, right click on any of the images and choose Show in Explorer
Adobe Lightroom - Right Click > Show in Explorer- This will bring up in Windows Explorer the actual folder that the images are stored in.
That's it, now you know how to find your most recently imported images in Adobe Lightroom, like this one of a colourful autumnal woodland path from Ireland.
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A Slice of Relaxed, Leafy Life in Portobello, Dublin
Written by Darren McLoughlin
Irishman and International travel photographer in search of the best bits of Ireland. Leading photography tours and experiences in Ireland.
Contributor to New York Times / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Echtra Echtra and Eonmusic
Cancer survivor.
Ask me about travel in Ireland or about photography in Ireland.
Written on Monday, 30 October 2023 02:42 in Guide Read more...
Dublin's Portobello is a large block of the south inner city stretching from the Grand Canal in the south to Kevin Street at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in the north and from Clanbrassil Street in the west to the eastern boundary at Wexford/Camden/Richmond Streets.
Comprising the leafy canal, leafy parks and leafy avenues this is one of Dublin's most desirable neighbourhoods.
Portobello lies within easy walking distance of the city centre, the Luas runs close by at Charlemont and buses head in and out along the south circular road.
Griffith College sits close by and anyone familar with the area will know of the area's regeneration over recent years.
Parts of Portobello have seen new developments, particularly in the east close to Richmond Street.
Portobello is definitely a sought after place to live.
Here's a fine property that I recently had the privilege of viewing, up for sale currently - but I'm sure not for long.
Colourful Interior of 25 Ovoca Road, Portobello, Dublin The beautifully proportioned front room is a perfect cube, looking out onto a quiet residential street with plenty of parking for residents.
This three bedroom, three bath villa-style house is on the market for €775,000 with Owen Reilly, find out more here: https://www.myhome.ie/residential/brochure/25-ovoca-road-portobello-dublin/4735851
Located just steps away from renowned eatery Bibi's, 25 Ovoca Road is a perfect location for those who want to be close to the action but live in a quiet, residential area.
Bibi's Cafe Portobello -
Ballinastoe Woods, Wicklow
Written by Darren McLoughlin
Irishman and International travel photographer in search of the best bits of Ireland. Leading photography tours and experiences in Ireland.
Contributor to New York Times / Sunday Times / Irish Times / Echtra Echtra and Eonmusic
Cancer survivor.
Ask me about travel in Ireland or about photography in Ireland.
Written on Tuesday, 24 October 2023 14:06 in Photo Tours
Wicklow is not short of scenic locations for photography and one of the most scenic of them all is Ballinastoe Woods.
Here, a boardwalk ascends through the forest, part of a long walking route through the mountains and Irish countryside.
It's easy to imagine this place as enchanted, inhabited perhaps by a púca, one of the mythological creatures in Irish and European folklore.
Soft clear light, soft red pine needles and soft green moss add to the atmosphere of the woods as a special place, as seen here in autumn.
Mischievous in nature and seen as wicked or benevolent depending on the story, there is no doubt that an encounter with a púca would be very eventful.
As we reach Hallowe'en, based on the Irish festival of Samhain at the end of October, we arrive at the traditional day of the púca on November 1st.
So, as you leave the brighter parts of the woods take care in those darker, quiet areas for it might not be a badger that you encounter but a naughty púca; treat it with respect and I'm sure you'll be fine.
Here's another enchanted woodland that I photographed: https://panoramicireland.com/photo-tours-blog/116-ancient-woodland-co-kerry-ireland
