A photography evening on the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland.

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.

It's all blue by the coast, before sunrise on the coast of Ireland and the stillness and calm of the open sea is immense.

Sometimes the weather isn't what we expect in landscape photography, and weather is a big factor in determining the look of an image. So landscape photographers are not just typical moaners about the weather, it's key to creating the final piece - we would stand out in any conditions to get an image and we only complain when it's the wrong weather for what we want.

Dublin's Baily Lighthouse, overlooking the UNESCO designated wildlife reserve of Dublin Bay the lighthouse is a famous sight for locals and tourists alike in Howth and County Dublin.

The lighthouse on Dublin's Howth Head has guarded ships entering and leaving Dublin Bay, Dublin Port and Dun Laoghaire, as well as those moving through the Irish Sea, for over 200 years.

Sometimes the early morning just gives more than you expect.

Making the effort to get out early for sunrise makes a lot of sense, especially on the east coast of Ireland.

On this occasion I knew the tide would be out giving the opportunity to get a wet sand foreshore that will reflect the sunrise sky's brightness and vivid colours such as here in this image.

What is harder to predict is the actual sunrise, but it is always worth making the effort to get up and get out with camera ahead of the arrival of a new day.

What we look for in sunrise skies are some high level clouds, blue sky and a clear horizon. That allows the early morning sunlight to shine across the sky and landscape catching the edges of those clouds above and any buildings down here on the ground.

On this morning the perfect combination - just look at that colour!

It doesn't have to be epic, just appropriate and the sunrise will make it beautiful.

The wild, stormy and rugged coast of Ireland varies from sandy beaches to rocky headlands.

Here seen on one of the many stormy days driving wave after wave onto the coast, swirling white water draining over black rocks.

I often get asked about bad weather and photography such as is it possible to photograph on stormy days, what about 'bad' weather.

What is 'bad' weather? Weather affects the feeling of an image, there really is no such thing as bad weather in photography. A sunny image with calm seas can lack impact, even lighting is not as interesting as contrasty conditions typical of a stormy day and the motion of the ocean upon the shore is one of dramatic interest.

Storms bring waves, Ireland being a small island where you can only be 80 miles from the sea means a trip to the coast as seen in this image is very easy and worthwhile.

The challenge of landscape photography is of course to deal with the elements, anticipate the weather using knowledge and the forecasts and be ready to adapt to what local conditions are like.

Stormy days sometimes bring sunny weather between the windy, wet weather such as here on the Antrim Coast.

Join me on a photography workshop on the coast of Ireland, contact me for dates and locations for Panoramic Ireland's coastal photography workshops in Ireland 2018 and 2019.

During a recent photography workshop on Ireland's coast (see here for more information) we stopped to find a small cave at low tide.

It wasn't a famous or large cave but it did have a certain character to it with intense sunshine coming in from one side.

Photography workshops and tours in Ireland are not just about the typical landscapes and scenes, although I do cover these on my experiences, but it's more about the journey.

Pink sky in the morning, day breaks as the sun nears the horizon once again spilling colour throughout the seascape without a care.

Announcing loudly that today is going to be bright and colourful, the Irish Sea plays its part in the directive - let's make this one to remember.

And it certainly was a sunrise to remember, the colours and warming glow made us stop in awe, of course we were there to photograph such a scene and we were not disappointed.

Planning only takes you so far, then there is adaptation to what nature is giving at any moment.

Come and join me on a morning photography adventure in Ireland; find and photograph scenes like these on one of Panoramic Ireland's photography workshops and tours - for everyone.

Grass clings to the rocky outcropping just offshore like it has done for countless millennia.

After the sun has set and all have gone home, I have this section of coast to myself with nothing more than the sounds of seabirds settling in for the night and crashing waves across the stony foreshore.

Some say it was a giant, Finn McCool or Fionn mac Cumhaill who built the causeway known as the Giant's Causeway. Finn was an Irish giant who, according to one version of the myth, was having a fight with his rival in Scotland called Benandonner.

Finn built the causeway, using rocks as stepping stones across the Irish Sea to Scotland so they could fight but when Finn realised he couldn't fight Benandonner and win, on account of the Scot's size, his wife suggested that Finn hide in the baby's cot. When Benandonner arrived looking for Finn he looked into the baby's cot and upon seeing the size of the baby, returned in haste to Scotland tearing up the causeway as he went.

The story explains why the same basalt columns are found in Scotland, on the island of Staffa particularly in a place known as Fingal's Cave - another name for Finn.

In reality the Giant's Causeway was formed some 50 to 60 million years ago when the chalk rocks of this part of Antrim were overlaid with basalt from massive volcanic activity.