Weather plays a big part in outdoor photography, here the evening was cloudy and getting dark after a decent amount of sunlight during the day.

With little hope for sunlight we instead hoped for some interesting clouds and we weren't disappointed. There was plenty of movement and gaps in the cloud cover.

Blue hour came a little early but was well received.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph in Ireland's West and anywhere else in the Irish countryside.

Now little more than half an outline of a shipwrecked boat, the rotting planks that make up Bad Eddie's Boat, marooned on a Donegal beach since 1977, may soon become a more lasting figure if locals can raise enough funds to recreate the tourist attraction as a stainless steel work of art.

Overlooked by the long abandoned Óstán Gweedore, the monolithic hotel perched above the beach in Bunbeg, Bad Eddie's Boat is to be surveyed by a team from Queen's University in Belfast with the intention of recreating the structure as Ireland's first piece of submersed beach sculpture.

Seen here in 2014, the sea has not been kind to Bad Eddie's Boat. Eddie brought the French-built ship ashore here for repairs in 1977 and it has remained here ever since, providing interest to locals, visitors and artists alike.

Bono and Clannad recorded a video here for their famous track In a Lifetime back in 1986.

One of the finest and largest castles in Ireland, Cahir Castle was begun in 1142 and most of what is extant dates to the late 14th century. Situated on the River Suir, Cahir Castle is one of those fairytale castles that could be mistaken for a film set rather than a real castle. It was built by the O'Briens of Thomond.

Indeed it has featured in many films and TV series including Excalibur and The Tudors, now it is being turned into a medieval French chateau for the latest Matt Damon film The Last Duel. Based on a true story of the last official duel fought in France in 1386 between Jean de Carrouges and Jacques Le Gris it is directed by Ridley Scott and in addition to Matt Damon, it stars Adam Driver, Jodie Comer and Ben Affleck. It will film during September at the castle.

Cahir Castle is surrounded on three sides by water and for centuries controlled the crossing of the mighty River Suir, a strategic waterway leading into the interior of Ireland.

The list of people who haven't had a coffee or tea in Dublin's most famous coffee shop, Bewley's on Grafton Street, is short.

For decades it has been a meeting place for visitors to the Irish capital, friends rendezvousing for a coffee, cake and a chat at the central location.

Bewley's has also had real ups and downs in recent years, stuck with incredibly high rents on one of the most expensive streets in the world, with upward only rent reviews even during major economic downturns such as the Global Financial Crisis and COVID-19 and an incredibly uncaring landlord who - rightly or wrongly - wanted to collect all that rent regardless.

It closed in 2015 for a large scale refurbishment that took three years.

So 2020 saw Bewley's close again, for good it seemed back in May, however, late August 2020 saw the famous café reopen to cater to those in Dublin who want something with culture and a tasty coffee; Bewley's roast their own coffee and blend their own teas and for those not in Dublin you can find their beans and ground coffee in supermarkets or online - so for all you English speakers living in the EU looking for good coffee and tea, why not try some of Bewley's finest.

Ireland is usually seen as the Emerald Isle, with its abundance of green landscapes and old buildings.

Weather plays a big part in the mood of the Irish countryside, and often the conditions make it difficult to photograph those stereotypical, iconic scenes.

Soft scenes like this, with waves washing gently over pebbles below a grey sky - most of the green here seen in the colour of the ocean, make up a large part of the landscape photographer's collection in Ireland.

For when the weather isn't quite a s good as it should be.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to learn how to photograph coastal landscape scenes like these.

Photographing seascapes in Ireland is never boring. The varied geology of the Irish coast makes it interesting to say the least.

Here along the Wild Atlantic Way many rocks are evident, sedimentary layers are visible inclining out of the Atlantic while behind igneous rocks form the foreshore.

The rough sheep grazing land stretching uphill is dotted with rocks.

More seascapes can be found here with information on Panoramic Ireland's coastal photography workshops.

Bright sunlight and architecture always works well in photography.

What often doesn't work is shooting against or towards the sun, contre-jour - as seen here in this image.

Photographing through the windows here has allowed me to make the most of the tricky lighting, giving a starburst effect and emphasising the strong sunlight and shadows in the window heads.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph scenes like these, to make the most of the weather, lighting and the Irish countryside with its myriad attractions.

A fine day over part of Ireland today, and a lot of rain too ahead of Storm Ellen which will bring strong winds to the west and south of the island.

I was in both parts, rain and sun. I've had my first CT scan of 2020 and bloods taken for tumour marker tests - again the first of this year as COVID-19 interrupted cancer checkup services.

So after somewhat of a damp day I was glad to see some bright, warm sunshine and stopped to photograph this scene of a laneway leading across the fields past these fine ash trees as the sun gets lower in the sky creating a starburst.

It made me wonder, on this day of contemplation, was I the only person to stop and photograph this scene? Several cars passed, a cyclist as well but no-one slowed down to look at what I was photographing.

As I write this, in the middle of August, Ireland sits under a large rainy weather system, it's warm with little wind but a lot of rain. So much so that there is a weather warning in place for 14 counties.

A storm will arrive later in the week, the remnants of tropical storm Kyle coming across the Atlantic.

Here, an image from May - bright colour from the southeast of Ireland with a carpet of flowers of blue, yellow and green foliage.

The blue flowers are speedwell Veronica umbrosa and originate in Georgia.

The yellow flowers are native to Ireland, well-known as meadow buttercups Ranunculus acris.

Sheep find shelter on a lonely, almost treeless landscape in the Irish mountains.

At the end of a photography workshop, after photographing a small river and waterfalls we found this Irish scene of lush green trees, empty landscape and sheep sheltering behind tufts of vegetation.

And of course it made a scene worth photographing, different to those landscapes that we had spent the morning capturing, but as interesting as any scene.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, on a photography workshop in Ireland - from Dublin to Galway, Kerry to Antrim.