There are currently plenty of challenges with visiting Ireland, the country is now the most expensive in Europe for the cost of living, hotels are charging astronomical rates and the recent car hire challenges are being reported almost daily in the international press.

And of course that's assuming you can get here, flights are relatively cheap but with many cancelled flights in and out of Ireland and huge delays at Dublin Airport the difficulties are real.

While all of the above is true, there can be no doubt that Ireland is one of the most beautiful countries to see and to photograph.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph in the Irish countryside such as here at these fine stone circles - Beaghmore, Co. Tyrone, one of my favourite places to photograph.

I have written about arriving in Ireland before, both by sea and by air.

There is no doubt that arriving into Dublin, despite all the recent issues with international travel, is one of the scenic experiences of any airport in the world.

Here is Lambay Island, a small island off the north Dublin coast, the headland of Howth seen in the distance jutting into the Irish Sea with Rogerstown and Malahide Estuaries.

Looking south over County Dublin and the city's airport, note the sand and sediment being transported by the Irish Sea's waves along the coast.

Book your trip to Dublin.

A fine summer sunset greeted me on a recent visit west. Colour filled the sky after the late evening sun set and only the sound of birds and lapping waves could be heard.

A busy few weeks for Panoramic Ireland covering various parts of Ireland including Dublin, the Antrim Coast, Connemara and Dingle.

Join me here in Ireland to photograph summer sunset scenes such as seen here, or later the beautiful autumnal Irish landscape.

Contact me to find out more.

It's a busy time for Panoramic Ireland at the moment, the long summer days see me busy leading photography tours and workshops in Ireland.

I have also been photographing a lot of music concerts, but on a rare quiet evening after photographing for a client I made my way to one of my favourite places to photograph.

Here, stone circles and alignments sit amongst long grass and wildflowers as the June evening sun begins to set.

It was a fine evening, alone in the countryside with only birds and the sound of the wind to disturb the silence.

Although we are close to midsummer, there are still plenty of fine summer evenings like these to photograph in Ireland for 2022. 

Join me to photograph in places like this or in urban Dublin, Belfast, Cork.

For availability check out the booking pages on the site or send me an email with your dates, places and interests.

A recent visit to the coast brought me to a seabird sanctuary where I photographed many types of wild birds including puffins, razorbills, fulmars and guillemots.

This image, and the others below, made me think of the famous Black Sabbath song War Pigs with its lyrics changed to "Guillemots gathered in their masses, just like witches at black masses..."

Guillemots breed on land between May and September in Ireland, laying eggs directly on to rock - no grassy ledge or built nest.

Recent weeks have seen me photographing nightlife rather than wildlife at many concerts in Dublin and Belfast, including Whitesnake, Queen and Bryan Adams.

Don't forget that Panoramic Ireland's photo tours are running every day, in Dublin and around the coast. Join me to photograph seabirds, landscapes and streetscapes.

A recent visit to the Antrim Coast, one of the finest sections of coast in the world, saw me heading off to Rathlin Island pictured to the left in this image.

A quiet evening with a little cloud, and unusually for the Antrim Coast, little wind, saw some colour and movement in the scene as golden hour gave way to blue hour.

There was little to stop me from staying here photographing this scene for the night except for an early start the following morning.

An hour or so of changing conditions and changing my viewpoint up and down this short stretch of coastline allowed me to photograph a specific image. then to bed and ready for the next morning.

Visiting Ireland? Join me to photograph on the Antrim Coast, in Dublin or in Connemara during 2023.

I have read a few articles recently, and many over the years, that in part mention how gloomy the weather is in Ireland, how you shouldn't move or holiday here because of the weather. Well, here is a fine April day of 17C to 19C temperatures on Rathlin Island off the Antrim Coast.

Pictured here is the East lighthouse, one of the island's three lighthouses, and in the background is the headland known as the Mull of Kintyre, just 10 miles beyond.

A warm and still day on one of Ireland's largest offshore islands, in April the heat haze is evident as seen below.

Join me, to photograph in Ireland throughout the year not just in hot and sunny weather but dark and gloomy weather too.

The fulmar Fulmarus glacialis is not a native bird to Ireland, although it is now resident here all year round having first been recorded on the island in 1911.

It is similar in size to a seagull but is a member of the tubenose family or procellariids, more commonly known as petrels.

It spends much time gliding, as it was when I photographed it here, using little energy to ascend and descend then flying low over the surface of the ocean - a common trait of petrels. Indeed the fulmar is related to albatrosses.

Each year the fulmar will return to the same ledge on the same cliff and will often mate for life. It lives for over 40 years and is a pelagic feeder of any type of fish.

The upper feathers are grey with brown feathers often visible, though most guides fail to mention these they are very evident in the image above. Undersides are white and the fulmar has a distinctive blue portion of the nose.

The fulmar is one of Ireland's fascinating seabirds, fantastic when seen in flight.

The Giant's Causeway needs no introduction here on Panoramic Ireland, it's a favourite place to photograph.

Here a quiet moment in spring looking up towards the headland along the basalt columns in contrast to the images below that show the columns and the dramatic, crashing waves of the North Atlantic.

Throughout 2022 I will be returning here to one of my favourite places to photograph, at the Giant's Causeway, many times.

The weather has been marvellous over the past week in Ireland, although some cold air has arrived to bring frost but at least no snow.

Here, on a journey through one of Ireland's most scenic counties - Tipperary, I drove along the scenic road to a famous viewpoint known as The Vee to photograph the view of the Galty or Galtee Mountains.

The Galty Mountains reach a height of 917.9m and are Ireland's highest inland mountain range, most of the country's highest peaks are much closer to the coast.

Panoramic Ireland is working on a project featuring the area, if you want to see more of this region of Ireland send me an email.