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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.

Monday, 24 February 2020 23:44

Coastal Geology, Photography in Ireland

The Irish coastline is full of variation with long sandy beaches, rocky inlets and geological formations in a compact area.

And that makes Ireland a perfect place for coastal landscape photography.

Here the rocks are carboniferous limestone, in layers that have been long eroded by the wave action of the Atlantic.

We set up our cameras and tripods on the cold winter afternoon, hoping for some sunlight but actually in this case the overcast weather worked better.

I was at this point only a few weeks away from having an operation to remove a cancerous tumour, and during that time it was scenes like this that kept me motivated in my treatment and recovery.

I'm almost a year post-cancer; I'm still photographing, I'm still leading photography workshops and tours in Ireland and you can book a private photography session with me through the site here at Panoramic Ireland.

Send me an email to ask about photo workshops in your area of Ireland.

Monday, 24 February 2020 22:21

The Mightiest Tree in the Forest

The mightiest tree in the forest, an Irish woodland.

A recent visit through an Irish woodland saw me find and photograph the mightiest tree in the forest, pictured here.

It can't be done, to cut down this tree with a herring - I thought to myself.

Well, I did find a shrubbery before finishing up on my quest to photograph this fine, green place.

Sunday, 23 February 2020 21:45

Sunset Silhouette in Dublin

Dublin is a place of colour and charm, here the setting sun brightens up the sky over the River Liffey.

On the photography workshop we experimented with silhouettes of the famous skyline from this part of Dublin.

The colours and dark outlines of the city's buildings captured the atmosphere of the evening in the Irish capital.

Join Panoramic Ireland to photograph Dublin on one of our Dublin Photo Tours.

Thursday, 20 February 2020 21:34

Green and Grey in an Irish Winter

I often get asked about how the weather is in Ireland in winter.

Well, it's hard to say anything definitive but in general, Ireland is green all year round including in winter.

Just like in the image above from the west of Ireland in December.

Typically a winter daytime temperature will be around 5C but colder conditions and snow sometimes occur. The mild winter temperature is what allows the grass to keep its healthy green colour, blanketing the countryside.

The longer days of the year are on their way again, we are now more than 1/10th of the way through 2020 and Panoramic Ireland is running photography tours and workshops to Ireland's beautiful Dingle Peninsula.

Here in the image above, the sun begins to set on the Atlantic, on Ireland's most westerly peninsula with the Blasket Islands lying just offshore.

County Kerry is a favourite location for our photography tours and workshops in Ireland and Dingle is one of the most popular places in Ireland.

Join Panoramic Ireland in Dingle or Dublin for a photography tour in 2020. To find out more, Contact us or use the booking form below.

Friday, 14 February 2020 00:17

Tracks in the Snow, Ireland - February 2020

Just off the track through the snow, I found tracks and what looked like a good spot for a photograph so I headed up slope and into the deeper snow.

Only a fox had been through this part of the mountains since snow blanketed the heathery hillsides with fine, deep white powder.

I wandered for a while, photographed and spent time listening to the sounds of nature.

Exploring Ireland is filled with moments like these and other countless, priceless moments that make a visit to the Emerald Isle so special.

Join me to photograph in the snow, on long summer evenings, with autumn foliage or spring greens.

Thursday, 13 February 2020 13:53

Saint Valentine and Dublin, Ireland

Saint Valentine, the 3rd century Italian martyr whose feast day is celebrated on the 14th of February is not commonly associated with Dublin, yet his remains are housed in a reliquary shrine in the Irish capital.

How did this come about you might well ask, he was unlikely to have visited Ireland in his lifetime.

Some snow in the Irish mountains, I knew that winter wasn't over yet back in January.

After quite an adventure where the roads were snowbound today, having to reverse down a mountain side as progress was non-grippy, slippy and, in the end, impossible.

In fact the car ahead of me had already run into troubles on the steep incline, there were patches of compacted snow and ice across the road, particularly where sunlight hadn't reached over the past few days, after all I was climbing up the northern slopes of the mountains.

Friday, 07 February 2020 21:11

Swimming at Dublin's Forty Foot

Dublin's Forty Foot is a famous swimming location, perhaps one of the most famous in the world, attracting the likes of Loudon Wainwright III when he visits Ireland and thousands of locals on Christmas Day each year.

Despite the name, the Forty Foot is not home to waves forty feet high, nor is the water forty feet deep. The Forty Foot was home to the British Army's 40th Regiment of Foot, hence the name Forty Foot or 40 Foot.

Anyway if it was forty feet deep we would have to rename it to "The 12.2 Metre" or "The Twelve Metre".

Here is one of my videos made at the Forty Foot on Christmas Day 2018, when thousands of people turn out to swim in the cold Irish Sea, many for charity and good causes but also for a challenge and some fun.

Wednesday, 05 February 2020 20:34

Otter of the River Suir

An interesting sight that you often won't see in Ireland, the elusive Eurasian otter has been on the IUCN Red List for some time, classified as Near Threatened and a species in decline, Lutra lutra is one of the finest animals to see in nature.

Here as I was travelling along Ireland's River Suir in County Tipperary, I saw this busy otter swimming, diving and fishing on the fast flowing river.

It was an impressive hour, the otter would work its way upstream, then dive under water to re-emerge usually with a fish.

Here it is seen with what looks like a decent sized trout. This is a big creature, male otters can reach 1.3m nose to tail and they look impressive when you see them cutting through the water's surface.

This is undoubtedly one of the finest animals to see, along with Ireland's other elusive mammal the pine marten.

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