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.

I don't use my mobile phone for serious photography but I do often take personal images, videos and quick overviews of landscape scenes when making long exposures for instance.

But I know that so many do use mobiles for photography, often it's their main or only camera, but the file formats being used now can pose problems for some computers and programs.

One in particular is the HEIC or HEIF format.

HEIC, or High Efficiency Image Container, is a relatively new image file format that was developed by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). It's also known as HEIF (High Efficiency Image Format), and HEIC is the file extension for image files stored in HEIF.

HEIC was introduced in 2015 by the MPEG. It's a part of MPEG-H Part 12 (ISO/IEC 23008-12) and was largely popularised by Apple, who started using it as the default format for photos on iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra in 2017, replacing the JPEG format.

 

Advantages of HEIC Over JPEG:

  1.  Size Efficiency: The most significant advantage of HEIC over JPG is its superior compression. HEIC images are typically half the file size of JPG images at the same quality level. This means you can store twice as many photos in the same amount of space.
  2.  Support for More Features: Unlike JPEG, the HEIC format supports 16-bit color depth, as compared to JPEG's 8-bit. This results in a wider range of colors and greater color accuracy. HEIC also supports transparency like PNGs and can store image sequences, similar to GIFs. Furthermore, it can store additional data like burst photos, live photos, or image editing settings within the same file.
  3.  Lossless Compression: HEIC also supports lossless image compression, meaning no image quality is lost when the image is compressed.

 

Disadvantages of HEIC Over JPEG:

  1.  Compatibility: Not all operating systems, applications, or devices support HEIC natively. For example, older versions of Windows or Android do not support it without additional software. However, newer versions of these platforms and many modern web browsers have begun to include native support.
  2.  Conversion Issues: Because of the lack of universal support, you may frequently need to convert HEIC images to JPEGs or other formats, which can be an additional hassle.
  3.  Processing Power: The better compression algorithms in HEIC require more processing power to encode and decode. This might result in slower performance on older hardware.

 

It's worth noting that, despite its disadvantages, the adoption of the HEIC format is growing due to its advantages, particularly in the era of high-resolution cameras and limited storage space on devices.

 

So how easy it is to make use of the images depends on your system, but using Photoshop it is easy to process and convert HEIC to JPG, TIFF or PSD; here's how using Image Processor in Adobe Photoshop:

 

Adobe Photoshop - Image Processor
Adobe Photoshop - Image Processor

 

  1. Open Photoshop 2023
  2. Click on File > Scripts > Image Processor

A window will open with lots of options, for this we simply:

 

Adobe Photoshop - Image Processor Options
Adobe Photoshop - Image Processor Options

 

  1. Choose the location of your source images, it could be files already open in Photoshop or it could be a folder, here my source images are in Q:\Photos-001 (2) and I don't want to include any sub-folders this time
  2. Choose the destination of your processed images, it could be the same location, like I have chosen or select another location on a different drive for instance
  3. Choose the output file types, here I have chosen both JPEG and TIFF but you can choose one or both as well as adding PSD output. There are some options here, JPEG Quality, Convert Profile to sRGB etc. I didn't want to resize to specific dimensions
  4. Here you can choose to run an action from your default and saved Photoshop actions, you can also add copyright information and add the ICC profile.
  5. Hit Run at the top right

That's it, Photoshop will run, process the images and create the folders such as JPEG / TIFF / PSD with those files added.

 

Adobe Photoshop - Image Processor Folders
Adobe Photoshop - Image Processor Folders

 

You now have your HEIC images converted to other formats.

Join me in 2023, 2024 and beyond to learn how to make better images in Ireland from photographing to post-processing using Photoshop.

 

Dublin’s once famous Ormond Hotel featured in the Sirens episode of James Joyce’s famous Ulysses.

Much changed during the 20th century after visits by James Joyce and his famous fictional character Leopold Bloom, the hotel became derelict in the early 21st century, over 100 years after Bloom made his journey across Dublin on 16th June 1904.

The hotel was built in the 1840s and became well-known, enough for Joyce to base part of Ulysses here. But the intervening years have not been kind or sympathetic to either the original layout or the hotel as it was when Joyce visited after it had been enlarged in 1910. Ulysses was published in 1920 although it was set in 1904.

Dublin's Ormond Hotel before it was demolished
Dublin's Ormond Hotel before it was demolished

There has, nevertheless, been a campaign to retain the buildings as they are and indeed one of the planning conditions are that the building, after construction must operate as a hotel and retain the name Ormond Hotel.

Numbers 7 to 11 are due to be removed but no. 7 on the right still remains, bedecked in ‘Do Not Remove’ graffiti, which is also referenced in this large piece of street art.

Do Not Remove - Graffiti on remaining portion of Ormond Hotel, Dublin
Do Not Remove - Graffiti on remaining portion of Ormond Hotel, Dublin

To the right, in this image you can see Number 6 which is a protected structure and dates to 1686 just a decade after Ormond Quay was reclaimed from the river and its marshy edges.

To the left, numbers 12 and 13 are protected structures dating from the early part of the 18th century and will form part of the hotel redevelopment but have to be incorporated into the new development.

There is no doubt that the Ormond Hotel was an important and historic part of Dublin’s old and modern fabric, but there is also no doubt that the building had become an eyesore in recent decades.

The best course of action to prevent urban decay, and there is a lot of decay and degeneration in Ireland, not just in Dublin, is to prevent key buildings such as the Ormond Hotel from becoming disused and dilapidated in the first place.

The redevelopment of the Ormond Hotel was due to be finished in 2020, but it is still nowhere near getting off the ground in what seems like an appropriately epic story.

 

I have posted about Dublin’s Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary before; it sits now beside modern buildings along the south quays on the city’s River Liffey.

Known as the Dockers’ Church it was built in 1863, opened in 1864 and became a parish church in 1908; its quayside position on the busy River Liffey meant that many of the dockworkers frequented the masses held there and today it has a strong congregation of old and new with many of the new arrivals working in Ireland’s tech sector now attending on a regular basis.

Those new buildings, including the one seen here just beside the church, a workplace for some of the new workers in Ireland’s services industry have contributed to some ill-feeling on account of size, shading and overshadowing the church.

As a result, due to local protests, in 2018 the developer of many of these buildings contributed over €3 million to a fund to repair and restore the church and its surroundings. The City Quay school (jigsaw building) received €1 million and the remainder went to the church.

After some works to the front, most of the €2 million has been transferred to the Archdiocese of Dublin; the Archbishop of Dublin is the parish priest of the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Currently the interior of the church is in bad condition with damp, mould, decay and in much need of repair, but the parish can’t now use the funds it received from the developers.

The exterior view, seen here with reflections in the calm River Liffey at night, is much more pleasant than the peeling-paint interior.

It’s a story that will continue to provide interest, to someone at least.

Friday, 14 July 2023 23:30

Return to Dublin's Forty Foot

I took a return to Dublin's famous swimming location, the 40-Foot or Forty Foot on Dublin Bay recently.

Swimmers were braving the not-so-cold, but stormy waters of the Irish Sea south of Ireland's capital on Dublin Bay.

A beautiful place to swim, to visit and to photograph I'm sure you'll agree.

Here, one of my previous visits: https://panoramicireland.com/blog-ireland-guide/forty-40-foot-dublin-irish-sea-swimming

Tuesday, 04 July 2023 00:15

Ireland's Scenic Cliffs

Not as famous as the better known stretches of coastal cliffs, this seascape is still a worthy contender for one of Ireland's most scenic.

An empty quarter scenic, with no one to be seen at all, it was relaxing to sit and watch the calm Atlantic until sunset clicking the shutter on our cameras every so often.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph Ireland's cliffs and scenic seascapes.

Thursday, 29 June 2023 16:19

Cows on the Hill, Wexford, Ireland

I have photographed many cows throughout Ireland over the years but rarely somewhere as scenic as this.

On top of a grassy hill in County Wexford, the south-eastiest part of Ireland's sunny south-east we came across a herd of grazing cattle enjoying the bright summer weather.

And here it was as we were photographing the bright pastoral scene that my clients, a Swiss couple, told me of EdelAlp - a scheme where you can sponsor a cow for the summer. 

The mountain pastures above Verbier in Switzerland, a good bit higher than the hill pictured here, are home to Herens cows which are a small breed perfectly suited to the slopes.

For the summer, you can go and visit your cow in her pasture and at the end of the season you get a 5kg wheel of cheese.

A smart idea and one that might also work in parts of Ireland, with Irish breeds of cow.

Now, which of these lovelies would you sponsor?

On we went to find more scenes to photograph.

To join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph in Ireland use the contact page to enquire about places and availability.

Friday, 09 June 2023 20:50

Path Through the Bluebells, Ireland

There is little more enjoyable in spring than walking through a woodland filled with bluebells.

Here, a path leading through the scene deeper into the forest.

Bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta carpet hillsides and woodlands in April and May each year in Ireland.

And here on the photography workshop in the Irish countryside saw us photograph in ideal conditions with sidelighting that wasn't too strong, little wind and we moved on to some of the area's rivers afterwards.

Join me in Ireland to photograph scenes like this, bluebells are gone now for the year but Ireland has something of interest to photograph all year round.

Many of us will know the Swan Hellenic name but few will know that it has been given a rebirth, in 2020, with three new ships and varied itineraries that cover the globe.

The opportunity to learn, explore and in some cases contribute to knowledge is an important factor for many when choosing a holiday. Swan Hellenic have a long legacy of discovery tours, with their first cruise in 1954 organised for the Hellenic Travellers’ Club, which had been founded by Lord Byron in 1906. Head of Classics at London University, Francis Kinchin-Smith led the cruise and invited three guest lecturers for the 14-day cruise around the sites of ancient Greece.

SH Vega has just completed her inaugural circumnavigation of Ireland, stopping at Bantry, Dingle, Galway, Portrush and the Causeway Coast before heading to Skye in Scotland and down to Dublin allowing more people to see and experience Ireland's sights.

When I first see her from the Samuel Beckett Bridge looking down towards Dublin Port, she is moored at Cruise Berth 18 right beside the Thomas Clarke Bridge, more commonly known as the East Link and the Point / 3 Arena.

May is in my opinion the best month of the year in Ireland with fresh growth on trees and hedgerows, flowers in bloom including bluebells carpeting woodlands and hillsides all over Ireland just like in the image here.

May is also the month of the Bealtaine Festival, celebrating arts and creativity for older people, a program of thousands of events throughout Ireland for older people to engage with arts and crafts through learning and teaching.

This festival takes its name from the ancient Irish festival of Bealtaine, held at the start of May and which marked the start of summer in Ireland.

Running since 1996 it was indeed the first such festival in the world; previous years have seen the likes of Colm Tóibín talking about his novels and other works. 

Sidelighting, sunshine and shadow in the mountains from this week's visit to the wild landscapes of the West of Ireland.

We have had very fine weather this week in Ireland, with Sunday being the hottest day of 2023 so far.

I headed through the wide open spaces of Connemara to meet ES and JS who had arrived from the US, we met on location for an early morning photography workshop on photographing panoramic images.

And where better to photograph panoramas than here in the wide, wild west.

Both ES and JS are keen photographers although neither had made panoramas before. So for the morning here we made panorama after panorama.

First off the warm morning sidelighting and shadows on craggy mountains.

To learn how to photograph panoramas using your current camera including how to choose a location, camera settings and post-processing using multiple software contact me here at Panoramic Ireland.

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