It's now the week before Christmas 2021 and Ireland, like much of Europe and the world, is experiencing a sharp increase in Omicron variant Coronavirus cases.

For the moment, there are some public health measures such as 8PM closures for hospitality, those arriving into the country need to fill out a Passenger Locator Form and take antigen tests for five days after arrival; mask wearing has remained throughout in shops and public buildings.

With a late, and slow, start to the booster vaccination program, Ireland looks set to be badly hit with the more transmissible Omicron variant so we do expect there to be further measures introduced such as lockdowns or other restrictions on movement.

Because there are many uncertainties around Coronavirus and the new Omicron variant, I am again offering no-deposit-required bookings for January and February 2022.

Patrick Kavanagh, the cantankerous poet who came to live in Dublin from the tough country life in County Monaghan, spent much time on Dublin's Grand Canal.

So much so that he was honoured with a bench and a statue on the waterway that runs from the River Liffey to the River Shannon.

In his Canal Bank Walk he starts Leafy-with-love banks and the green waters of the canal.

He wrote the poem after his treatment in 1955 for lung cancer, in which he had one of his lungs removed, during a summer of convalescing on the banks of the canal.

Panoramic Ireland spends much time also on the banks of the Grand Canal in Dublin, the very canal that Kavanagh loved so much, drawing inspiration also both before and after cancer treatment.

Remember to support local business this Christmas, buy a photo tour for yourself or a voucher for a friend.

Leafy-with-love banks and the green waters of the canal

Pouring redemption for me, that I do

The will of God, wallow in the habitual, the banal,

Grow with nature again as before I grew.

The bright stick trapped, the breeze adding a third

Party to the couple kissing on an old seat,

And a bird gathering materials for the nest for the Word

Eloquently new and abandoned to its delirious beat.

O unworn world enrapture me, encapture me in a web

Of fabulous grass and eternal voices by a beech,

Feed the gaping need of my senses, give me ad lib

To pray unselfconsciously with overflowing speech

For this soul needs to be honoured with a new dress woven

From green and blue things and arguments that cannot be proven.

Canal Bank Walk by Patrick Kavanagh

As I write, Storm Barra - only the second storm of the Winter 2021 season is set to bring incredibly strong winds over Ireland

Storm Barra is set to batter Ireland for over 24 hours with forecasts showing sustained speeds of up to 80km/h and gusts of over 130km/h.

It has been, as is usually the case, a very calm day here in Ireland ahead of the stormy conditions. 

Twelve of Ireland's counties have been issued with top level and second level warnings for wind and rain with the associated problems of damage, fallen trees and flooding.

More to come on Panoramic Ireland over the next few days.

We are fast approaching Christmas again and as is usual for this time of year I have been making and sending out vouchers for photo tours by Panoramic Ireland.

Here, a fine waterfall is the focus for one voucher, a gift from a father to his daughter for a landscape photography session in the west of Ireland.

On this occasion we will look at the use of filters, long exposures and choice of perspective in landscapes.

I have written about vouchers before here and here.

From a high vantage point in the drumlin country of County Armagh, I spotted a large plume of smoke heading into the atmosphere.

At first I thought it must be an industrial unit on fire, because of the sheer volume; this was no chimney fire.

As I descended to lower ground, I could see that it was coming from the direction of Newry, County Down, so I headed in the direction of the town and followed the dark skies close to main road.

Eventually I found a close place to observe and photograph the inferno.

Sunset in the mountains, Ireland, the sun goes down.

Valley lakes reflect the last of this day's light as the sun edges towards our apparent horizon on the mountain ridge; glints of brightness in the dark from quartzite rocks.

Thin Lizzy's haunting final single The Sun Goes Down is about more than this quotidian natural event, yet as one of my favourite songs, I feel it fits with this image quite well.

Of course, now at the end of November we are seeing early sunsets in Ireland at approximately 16:30 and we will soon reach the shortest day of the year.

Winter is a fine time for photography in Ireland, short days mean that sunrise and sunset are easier to be up and out for, the crowds of summer have gone and often a good winter storm brings interest to the coast.

Join Panoramic Ireland's photography tours in Ireland all year round, not just when the sun goes down - when it comes up as well.

County Tipperary has been named as one of the top places in the world to visit in 2022 by Condé Nast, the world's most famous travel magazine.

It has been mentioned specifically for its food and scenic beauty.

You will find no argument about this from Panoramic Ireland, we enjoy photographing in the green county that stretches from the River Shannon to the River Suir.

As part of my online photography sessions here on Panoramic Ireland I give one to one online photography reviews, tuition and help aspiring photographers to improve their portfolio and photographic skills.

Recently after my webcam stopped working I decided to use my GoPro Hero 9 as a webcam. 

GoPro's website lists this as a feature of the action camera, also available on the Hero 8 and new Hero 10 and via a more complicated route on earlier models.

The software GoPro Webcam can be downloaded here.

In my case, using Windows 10 and with the Hero 9 updated to the latest firmware, the software worked fine for the first use but then stopped working subsequently.

In fact, every time I plug it in Windows notification tells me that there is a Camera Connection Error and to try and reconnect the camera.

Of course this produces no different results, always the error.

At first, after doing some research, where I found many with the same problem, I decided to uninstall and reinstall the GoPro Webcam software.

That solved nothing of course, I'm not a big fan of uninstalling and reinstalling software as it rarely cures any problems.

Interestingly though the uninstaller wanted me to remove Microsoft's News Suite. Not a problem, as that is something I never use.

So what do I do now?

Well, this is my workaround; until some kind of fix is issued as it is definitely a software bug - edit: it's still a problem but this method works.

Autumn is well and truly here in Ireland.

We have now passed the autumn equinox by around six weeks, with six weeks to go to the shortest day of the year. 

Temperatures are dropping along with the shortening day length, but we do have clear blue skies this week.

Autumn is a time of colour of course, so woodlands and the mountains take on a stereotypical burst of colour as green moves to yellow, brown and red.

Time to enjoy photographing the pockets of deciduous woodland that dot the Irish landscape.

Blue hour in Dublin, photographing the city's modern riverfront skyline.

The River Liffey east of the city centre has changed substantially in the past 15 years. Formerly the quays here were flanked by red-brick Victorian warehouses of only a few storeys high as can be seen in the middle section of the image here.

Now, new buildings line the river and, although not lofty, their scale does eclipse those old warehouses.

The colour here from the buildings suiting the blue hour's natural tones.