Sometimes the weather doesn't give you what you want but it gives you something far far better.

This was the case on the occasion that I wanted to photograph the long landscapes of the Irish countryside.

Instead I was met with low cloud and swirling mist across the mountain slopes until, briefly, the cloud cleared.

Dunluce Castle in my own County Antrim.

Used by Led Zeppelin in their album artwork for Houses of the Holy 

I won't bore you with all of the details as I have written previously about Dunluce Castle on County Antrim's Causeway Coast here: http://panoramicireland.com/photo-tours-blog/cow-in-front-of-dunluce-castle-causeway-coast-antrim-northern-ireland

Dunluce and the Causeway Coast is a place that I lead many photography workshops and tours in. Join me, Panoramic Ireland, on a day that suits you: http://panoramicireland.com/photography-workshops-ireland/northern-ireland-photography-workshops-photo-tours/book-a-photo-tour-in-northern-ireland-causeway-coast

Recent weeks have seen me leading photography tours and workshops all over Ireland, from Antrim to Cork, Dublin to Galway and many points in between using the country's scenic roads like this one to get to location.

Find more about those adventures here on Panoramic Ireland or contact me to join me on a photography experience in Ireland - you choose the location and day.

The greylag goose Anser anser is not a common sight in Ireland yet in some of the wetlands around the country it is possible to see these majestic birds like here with several young enjoying a dinner of grass.

Each day's sunset is different, there are no two sunsets the same even in the same location.

Here is a case in point, a few days ago I photographed the sunset here in the west of Ireland. It was a bright evening with some cloud and plenty of blue sky - see image below and this link.

Sometimes the weather forecast shows for cloudy, boring and rainy weather here in Ireland.

That was true of the morning when I made the effort to head to the coast, one could have been forgiven for abandoning the morning's photoshoot or at least for not expecting much in the way of good images.

Yet here is the reward for patience, the lower clouds undulating across the sky pick up the first rays of the sun while those above slowly change colour.

Since 1974 the outline of The Irish Trader, a coal transporting ship, has made an interesting focal point on the long sandy beach at Baltray County Louth on Ireland's Irish Sea coast.

I have written about previous visits to The Irish Trader shipwreck here.

I decided to revisit the old, rusting frame this month, July 2018, to see exactly what remains and what damage has been done in recent storms during autumn and winter 2017/2018.

Last night's colourful sunset saw me clambering (and falling) over stone walls in pursuit of the colourful sky in the west of Ireland.

From this week's forecast I knew that if the conditions looked right then it would be worth the effort to photograph the sunset, the forecast for today was for better and sunnier conditions but Met Eireann like many forecasting services around the world, are often not accurate in the slightest and that indeed proved right once again.

I have spent a lot of time in the west of Ireland throughout the years, photographing and travelling through this beautiful Irish region.

This summer of course has been very warm and dry, yet the west of Ireland's landscapes often have more interest in the sky than in other parts of Ireland.

You can now book directly a private one-to-one photography workshop in Ireland's west with Panoramic Ireland, in Connemara which is the western part of County Galway.

Connemara is perfect for learning how to make better images, the landscapes as well as seascapes are big and wide open.

Join Panoramic Ireland on any day of the year, to suit your schedule, and take away a better understanding of light and landscape.

Click here to check availability and book: http://panoramicireland.com/photography-workshops-ireland/coastal-photography-course/galway-connemara-coastal-workshop

Zigzag clouds in the morning - altocumulus undulatus above the west of Ireland.

Over the years I have photographed many types of clouds but this is one of the most interesting skies that I have trained my camera on.

Early morning in July on Galway Bay and the diving tower at Salthill saw the formation of this dramatic skyscape but it was not until we got to Lough Corrib with its calm waters reflecting the unusual clouds above that the scene looked so impressive as to make you stop and breathe it all in. A moment never to be repeated, unusual enough that in 20 years of photographing the Irish landscape I have never seen similar before.