The Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi said that ‘The wise man knows that it is better to sit on the banks of a remote mountain stream than to be emperor of the whole world.'

And sitting on the banks of this fine remote Irish mountain stream (small river), I was reminded of these very words as I photographed the scene after a recent photography workshop in Ireland's fine springtime countryside.

For 30 minutes I enjoyed my own solitude, gazing on the fast flow of the fresh water and felt in awe of the scenery just here in front of me.

I'm sure that the river banks must have been full of wildlife but I couldn't hear much over the constant sound of the flowing water.

After finishing today's photography workshop I took a few moments to photograph for myself at a small river and woodland in the Irish countryside.

Here I found a path through the woods, hence the title of this post - a walk in the park with sunshine and shadow.

I was reminded of this quote while admiring the scene in front of me:

“A path is made by walking on it.”

― Chuang Tzu

And what a fine day it has been, perfect for photography with some rainshowers but mostly sunshine and cloud with blue sky.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, for a private photography workshop in Ireland - no crowds, no groups.

On the 7th of March 1848, Ireland's now well-known tricolour flag of green, white and orange was flown for the first time.

It was created by Thomas Francis Meagher, a skilled orator and statesman who later went on to become the first acting governor of Montana.

Often represented as green, white and gold the Irish flag is in fact green, white and orange - in Meagher's own words: "The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the 'Orange' and the 'Green', and I trust that beneath its folds the hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood." 

Youghal, Dungarvan and Wicklow Town have all cancelled their parades for Saint Patrick's Day 2020 due to Coronavirus fears.

And it looks like more Saint Patrick's Day events might be cancelled. Indeed, now Cork City has cancelled their parade along with Dublin.

I'm not an expert in virus epidemiology and I don't have access to all of the information about COVID-19 so I'll leave it up to you to decide if banning or restricting events is a good idea or not.

If you are in Ireland why not still enjoy yourself, if you are looking for things to do to avoid the crowds why not take up a solitary pursuit such as fishing or better still photography.

Join me for a crowd-free private photography workshop in Ireland this year where we will likely only be joined by herds of cows or droves of donkeys or maybe even a pine marten and kits.

For over a decade Panoramic Ireland's photo tours have been providing inspiration, training and enjoyment to photographers beginners and advanced throughout Ireland

Dublin's famous Long Room Library has also been closed as of today, March 10th so why not check it out in Panoramic Ireland's 360-degree panorama here.

Today, the 1st of March marks the start of meteorological spring here in Ireland, it is also Saint David's Day - the patron saint of Wales.

Spring in traditional Irish culture starts on the 1st of February which is Saint Brigid's Day but for weather scientists March, April and May are the spring months.

On the west side of Saint Stephen's Green the visitor to this fine Dublin park will find a grand statue to Lord Ardilaun or Sir Arthur Edward Guinness, great-grandson of the famous brewer and founder of Guinness.

Many users of Dublin's tram, the Luas, will undoubtedly see his sedentary position from just inside the park.

The statue was erected to the businessman, politician and philanthropist in 1892.

The Irish coastline is a spectacular mix of landscapes - from coastal villages to sandy beaches to rocky coast.

Panoramic Ireland's photography workshops have always covered the coast of Ireland and 2020 is no exception, join us on a photography workshop in one of these fine places to photograph blue hour and more:

Copper Coast, Waterford

Galway & Mayo

Clare

Dingle & Co. Kerry

Antrim Coast & Giant's Causeway

Dublin's Coast

Cork

Donegal

Sligo

The Irish coastline is full of variation with long sandy beaches, rocky inlets and geological formations in a compact area.

And that makes Ireland a perfect place for coastal landscape photography.

Here the rocks are carboniferous limestone, in layers that have been long eroded by the wave action of the Atlantic.

We set up our cameras and tripods on the cold winter afternoon, hoping for some sunlight but actually in this case the overcast weather worked better.

I was at this point only a few weeks away from having an operation to remove a cancerous tumour, and during that time it was scenes like this that kept me motivated in my treatment and recovery.

I'm almost a year post-cancer; I'm still photographing, I'm still leading photography workshops and tours in Ireland and you can book a private photography session with me through the site here at Panoramic Ireland.

Send me an email to ask about photo workshops in your area of Ireland.

The mightiest tree in the forest, an Irish woodland.

A recent visit through an Irish woodland saw me find and photograph the mightiest tree in the forest, pictured here.

It can't be done, to cut down this tree with a herring - I thought to myself.

Well, I did find a shrubbery before finishing up on my quest to photograph this fine, green place.

Dublin is a place of colour and charm, here the setting sun brightens up the sky over the River Liffey.

On the photography workshop we experimented with silhouettes of the famous skyline from this part of Dublin.

The colours and dark outlines of the city's buildings captured the atmosphere of the evening in the Irish capital.

Join Panoramic Ireland to photograph Dublin on one of our Dublin Photo Tours.