I'm not a big believer in always having the latest gear, honestly even for professional photographers it is not necessary to have the latest iteration of your chosen camera system.

Of course keeping up with technology is important and can give advantages over previous versions, especially in the digital age. But it is possible to create world class imagery with ten-year old digital cameras.

So when my phone stopped working suddenly on a recent photography workshop it was necessary to get a replacement. As it turns out this was the second HTC phone that I have owned to suddenly stop working, with no warning. Not good.

The rugged landscapes in the west of Ireland make for great landscape photography.

Here, small fields of green have been created by generations of farmers clearing stones from the land. 

Old cultivation ridges can be seen inside the fields where, in centuries gone by, farmers created what are known as lazy beds.