Sometimes it is easy to think of landscape photography in terms of the right light, the golden raking sunshine illuminating the countryside in front of the lens.

And it is true that landscapes with lighting like this are without doubt impressive and beautiful.

A return to County Cork took me to it's beautifully varied coastline that I have previously mentioned here.

Unlike on that previous occasion the weather was not cloudy and moody but bright and colourful highlighting the bright greens found in the littoral landscape.

The River Suir is Ireland's third longest river at 184km and seventh largest in terms of flow.

It rises in north Tipperary and flows south then turning north and east towards Waterford Harbour where it meets the Celtic Sea after flowing through Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir and Waterford City on its way.

There are many factors that contribute to making a good image. Not least among them is lighting, in fact without light we have no image and without good light we have a bad image.

No matter how many times you visit a location as a landscape photographer there is always something of interest, something different to photograph.

The subject matter might be the same, the image might be from the same location as your last visit and the weather might be as good as it was before but the scene is not the same and the image will be different.

During a recent photography workshop in one of my favourite Irish locations for photography I visited a woodland that I knew to contain bluebells.

It was the end of spring, getting into early June and I knew that in most locations south of Dublin bluebells were past their best. But this location, sheltered under a large beech wood canopy on the northern slopes of a mountain, always provides a few extra days of bluebells even if the native Irish species of wildflower is not as extensive here as elsewhere - see my previous post of a covered woodland floor here.

As we walked through the woods the path led us past moss-covered rocks and the last of this year's bluebells - as anticipated still in good condition here at the start of June.

Trees arched over the path forming a natural tunnel; burdened by vigorous leafy growth and buffeted by strong winds year after year they almost touched the ground on the opposite side of the trail that invited us deeper into the forest. What a place to stop for a few moments and a memorable photograph.

Panoramic Ireland create photography workshops throughout Ireland, from bluebell and moss-covered woodland to urban Belfast and Dublin.

For more information contact me here.

Bluebells Hyacinthoides non-scripta are a common sight throughout Ireland in late spring every year, particularly in woodlands.

Here in Sligo the whole woodland floor is carpeted with blue from the native wildflowers, rocks and trees are covered with bright green moss under a canopy of fresh green beech leaves.

Another evening in Dublin and another amazing sunset as crepuscular rays from the low sun spread out from behind dramatic clouds suspended over the River Liffey as it flows through the centre.

It seemed on this occasion that the evening was going to be overcast and boring, but as is often the case with evening weather the sun's rays burst through the clouds and blue sky became visible.

Spring 2016 has been busy for Panoramic Ireland's photography tours and workshops in the Irish countryside.

The beautiful weather of recent weeks has brought challenges and opportunities, and the month of May has been better than those of recent years.

Here is a colourful image of a field of buttercups fringed by hawthorns and beech trees under a blue sky with soft, white clouds, taken in a quiet moment between sessions with tripods and filters.

The rugged landscapes in the west of Ireland make for great landscape photography.

Here, small fields of green have been created by generations of farmers clearing stones from the land. 

Old cultivation ridges can be seen inside the fields where, in centuries gone by, farmers created what are known as lazy beds.