One of the southwest of Ireland's most iconic buildings, Ross Castle is a tower house or fortified dwelling dating from the late 1400s and is typical of the architecture of the period - wealthy and powerful families lived in such defensive structures.

Seen here after sunset as the blue hour approaches, clouds race across the sky and the waters of the river run calm to give a good, but not perfect, reflection with its bright artificial lights.

In Ireland it would be easy to assume that the best sunsets are to be found on the west coast with the sun setting over the Atlantic.

The Wild Atlantic Way is certainly a great place for sunsets but the east of the country and Ireland's Midlands can boast bright, saturated, stunning evening skies as seen in this image.

After a three day photography tour on Ireland's Atlantic Coast I was travelling through the centre of the country when the bright sky attracted me off the motorway, as I wrote in a recent post here.

To view more of my sunset images see here.

And of course you can enjoy the real thing, join me on a photography tour or workshop in Ireland.

The late night landscapes of County Kerry last week were the same colour as David Bowie's room - blue, blue, electric blue.

Here, after a long day of photographing the south west of Ireland, the sun had set and light was fading leaving a bright blue to envelop the landscape on the Wild Atlantic Way.

A beautiful and colourful sight I'm sure you will agree.

Panoramic Ireland, that's me of course, create private photography tours and workshops in the west of Ireland and the east too. During blue hour and other times of day.

For more information contact me.

You never know what to expect as an outdoor photographer here in Ireland.

After a three day photography tour in the west of Ireland I was finishing up and heading home through the midlands and close to sunset I spotted a great stormy sky.

Think of spring, think of colour. Think of cherry blossom and Dublin doesn't spring to mind.

From my previous post on cherry blossom in Dublin I have had many comments expressing surprise that Dublin looks quite so colourful, that looking at the image of bright pink blossom overhanging paths it looks more to the eye like Japan or other countries associated with the beautiful flowers.

Some say it was a giant, Finn McCool or Fionn mac Cumhaill who built the causeway known as the Giant's Causeway. Finn was an Irish giant who, according to one version of the myth, was having a fight with his rival in Scotland called Benandonner.

Finn built the causeway, using rocks as stepping stones across the Irish Sea to Scotland so they could fight but when Finn realised he couldn't fight Benandonner and win, on account of the Scot's size, his wife suggested that Finn hide in the baby's cot. When Benandonner arrived looking for Finn he looked into the baby's cot and upon seeing the size of the baby, returned in haste to Scotland tearing up the causeway as he went.

The story explains why the same basalt columns are found in Scotland, on the island of Staffa particularly in a place known as Fingal's Cave - another name for Finn.

In reality the Giant's Causeway was formed some 50 to 60 million years ago when the chalk rocks of this part of Antrim were overlaid with basalt from massive volcanic activity.

Spring is here and the colour that we see throughout the countryside is quite amazing.

In particular in urban settings cherry trees are one of the most impressive displays of colour that this time of year has to offer.

Here is one of my favourite images from recent years, taken in Dublin's Herbert Park, an avenue of bright pink blossom sits low over a path and park benches.

Pine Island is one of the western region of Connemara's key attractions for landscape photography and one that I return to often. Next visit, April 2023.

The trees here are Scots Pine, a native evergreen tree that tends to grow tall and slender, it has red coloured wood and tends to add a lot of interest to landscape images of the west of Ireland.

Here we have a long exposure scene with reflection and some wind on Lough Derryclare's surface.

Situated at the northern tip of the Fanad peninsula in northern Donegal, Ireland's most northerly county, Fanad Lighthouse is undoubtedly one of the most scenic in Europe.

The stormy, but as seen here calm, waters of the Atlantic stretch thousands of miles beyond the horizon and distant mountains are visible in many directions.

This lighthouse is photographed more often than most others in Ireland and is a perfect location in a part of Ireland full of interest for landscape photography.

As I write this I'm sitting in front of a warm fire with a cup of tea ready to do its job of warming me up from the inside.

A near perfect reflection on the lake, snow covering the rugged, well-weathered peaks of the volcanic landscape of Slieve Gullion in South Armagh and sunrays all combine to give a sense of the beauty of this part of Ireland.