Silhouettes often make a useful tool in photography, strong lines breaking the horizon or the shape of a majestic tree outlined against the colour of an evening sky.

Silhouettes serve to show off the sky, the photographer exposing for the highlights rather than the shadows to allow the shapes of the subject to come into its own.

For over 10 years now Panoramic Ireland's famous Dublin Photo Tours have been taking locals and visitors alike around Dublin's famous and not so famous sights.

Yesterday was no exception with RM in from Austin, Texas. We headed off in the afternoon to explore some of the city's interesting places.

The weather was fine, and it was my first full tour after having had chemotherapy for cancer last week so I wasn't sure what to expect from my own ability.

Polarising filters, also known as polarisers or circular polarisers are essential filters in any photographer's kit.

Usually in the form of a screw-in filter, polarisers block out some polarised light allowing only light travelling in one direction to pass through the filter to reach the sensor.

Simply, we use polarisers for one reason - to reduce glare or reflected light from objects or subjects. 

Dublin Bay is a UNESCO Biosphere - a protected area designated important for wildlife.

Since 1981 the beach and dunes, pictured here, at Bull Island in Dublin Bay have been a Biosphere, in 2015 the whole bay was brought into that designation including the Baily Lighthouse on Howth Head.

Dublin is a fine city of wide avenues and cobbled streets lined with pubs.

Famed for its nightlife the world over, Dublin has more pubs than any other county or city in Ireland.

With approximately 750 pubs, that figure was a lot more in the past, Dublin's pubs are often cited by tourists and visitors to the city as one of the key reasons to visit Ireland.

Here, people enjoying an evening out in Temple Bar stand outside the most photographed pub in Ireland, The Temple Bar. 

Street photography is an interesting pursuit, often requiring more patience than landscape photography.

Street photography often suits inclement weather, but more often than not it suits bright, sunshiny, direct light.

I took a walk around Dublin's Merrion Square recently, finishing at the Oscar Wilde statue, see the video here on Instagram's IGTV.

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Merrion Square, Dublin. Statues and memorials including the Irish flag and Oscar Wilde's statue. . . #travelgram #neverstopexploring #beautifuldestinations #adventureculture #earthpix #instagood #nakedplanet #bbctravel #natgeotravel #travelblog #AdventureVisuals #Irish #panoramicireland #vsco #lifeofadventure #vscocam #vscotravel #tripadvisor #ireland #hikingadventures #dublin #urban #irishdefenceforces #architecturelovers #canon #architecture #getoutandexplore #merrionsquare #oscarwilde #lovedublin

A post shared by @ panoramicireland on Dec 12, 2018 at 2:55pm PST

Dublin's iconic Custom House at night, reflected in the River Liffey.

I posted a photo of the famous Dublin landmark as it was bathed in bright golden sunlight, see here: https://panoramicireland.com/photo-tours-blog/dublin-beautiful-colour-sunset-river-liffey-custom-house but I have photographed this building more often at night over the past twenty years.

The Beauty of Sunset in Dublin

I often get asked what the weather is like in Dublin or in Ireland.

It's difficult to predict, the weather, but one thing is for sure - the weather here is a lot better than you might think, particularly for the photographer.

Enjoy the views, walking through Clonmel in County Tipperary and Dublin, the capital of Ireland in this GoPro made hyperlapse or timewarp video.