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.
Panorama taken at sunset in the west of Ireland. This is one of many panoramic images of Ireland's West that I have been taking recently. In a previous post I explained what makes a panoramic image panoramic.
So, what actually is a photo tour I hear you ask. A photo tour with Panoramic Ireland is what you want it to be, street photography, coastal sunrise, sunset in the mountains, long exposures and night time photography with a balance of exploration and learning new skills.
Every day is an adventure, and it's about time you got out there and enjoyed it.
Each and every tour is designed to suit you, to take you to the best parts of Ireland without all that fuss of finding the right locations, to challenge your existing skills as a photographer and to explain those uncertain principles of photography that you have forgotten.
A beautiful morning on Dublin Bay today
Yesterday (Saturday) was nothing more than cold and damp, with rain from sunrise to sunset and beyond. One of those days when you have no motivation to leave home, thankfully those days are few and far between - even during the winter.
I have photographed this part of Dublin many times but a few days ago on a photo tour there was quite a lovely and unusual sky over Dublin with plenty of clouds spreading across the sky, this composition looking downstream on the River Liffey towards the Samuel Beckett Bridge suited the cloudy sky very well, especially with the good reflection of the harp-shaped bridge in the river.
The best thing about spending time in the west of Ireland is being so close to some of the best landscapes in the world. Either side of running a few photo tours in Northern Ireland and Dublin I took a few days to get back to one of my favourite parts of Ireland - Galway and Mayo. I ended up extending this with a trip to Sligo. These are three fine, scenic counties.
Have you been to the Aasleagh Falls or Leenane?
Christmas 2013 and New Year 2014 have been characterised by storms here in Ireland. With low pressure storms affecting Ireland and western Europe. And while New Year's Eve was quite mild in comparison, the early hours of New Year's Day saw the east coast of Ireland lashed by winds and rain. High tides and saturated ground has led to flooding in many parts of Ireland, and many local authorities were on standby with flood defences. So I went for a walk.
Ireland has been hit by storm after storm this autumn and winter with more to arrive, and although there has been some snow on sheltered east-facing slopes on the mountains that ring the country, there has been no widespread frozen precipitation over the country.
After the spectacular pre-sunset light scattered by the clouds in the skies over Galway Bay that I captured from Salthill Promenade yesterday, this evening was always looking to be a winner when it came to sunset – have a look here.
It was cold and free of clouds all day, by evening cars still had a discernible layer of frost over their windscreens and anyone working outdoors would have known that winter was making its presence felt.
A journey to Galway with Sunset in Sailthill
A long day today saw me in Galway, known as the City of the Tribes it lays claim to being the festival city of Ireland. Almost every visitor to Ireland talks about Galway in such ways that it makes you wonder why all Irish people don’t move there.
Home to many a brilliant festival including the Galway Film Fleadh, the Oyster Festival and the Galway Arts Festival amongst others; with a thriving social scene with some of the best pubs in Ireland Galway has always had a reputation for being the liveliest city in Ireland.
I do practice street photography regularly, in Ireland and in Italy where I have spent some time photographing nuns in Assisi, the calli of Venice and the hill-top towns of Umbria. I do enjoy street photography, the interactions and looking for that fleeting image, to capture a moment in time is exciting.