From the coast to the mountains - a few weeks ago I headed to the coast for sunrise, the morning's forecast was for sunshine and a bright start to the day.

In reality it was dull and grey and there was no hint of a colourful sunrise.

I photographed and videoed at the Forty Foot in Dublin before making my way into the mountains.

Having checked the weather radar it looked like better weather was to be found away from Dublin.

I found the sunshine after a little rain and the morning got brighter and warmer. I stopped at a woodland stream to photograph some woodland colour and character.

Enjoy the video from the day's journey through the scenic Irish countryside.

Sheep find shelter on a lonely, almost treeless landscape in the Irish mountains.

At the end of a photography workshop, after photographing a small river and waterfalls we found this Irish scene of lush green trees, empty landscape and sheep sheltering behind tufts of vegetation.

And of course it made a scene worth photographing, different to those landscapes that we had spent the morning capturing, but as interesting as any scene.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, on a photography workshop in Ireland - from Dublin to Galway, Kerry to Antrim.

Ireland's waterfalls are often famous, places such as Torc and Glenariff are Ireland's best known and most visited.

Here, one of Ireland's lesser known and least visited waterfalls, a veil of water falling over a precipice in the Irish countryside.

Green moss, hard edges and fine water - Ireland's hidden places are worthy of attention as well.

After the Coronavirus pandemic join one of Panoramic Ireland's photography tours and workshops in the Irish countryside to learn how to photograph waterfalls, the coast, people and wildlife.

Despite the Coronavirus pandemic stifling access to the countryside in April 2020, nature continues on and the green hillside landscapes of Ireland are looking lush right now.

Green is of course the colour most people associate with Ireland with its fields of grass, hedgerows and woodlands filled with deciduous and coniferous trees.

Sometimes it is misty and rugged like this scene, sometimes bright and lush like this one.

While we can't get out and about with current restrictions, it is possible to take a private, one-to-one photography session online with Panoramic Ireland, that's me by the way, via this page: https://panoramicireland.com/photography-workshops-ireland/online-photography-class-tutorial-professional-photographer

This ancient, tree-lined, grass-covered lane hasn't seen much traffic except for hooves of sheep for many decades.

Here it is filled with sheep and lambs in spring, nibbling the hawthorn hedge and grass - flowers escaping their graze.

To learn how to make better images, contact me for private online, virtual tuition via Hangouts, Skype, email, Zoom etc.

Life in some ways during the current lockdown due to Coronavirus / COVID-19 is continuing as normal, at least in the countryside.

Here sheep roam the fields, one field actually, this triangle-shaped field on the edge of the mountains.

A large tree stands guard over the small patch of land, and along with most of the low-level trees here, remains leafless - for now.

Higher, above, conifers line the top of the flat topped mountain.

In the hedges yellow-orange of the gorse bloom can be seen, a plant that flowers all year round in places.

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.

A lot has been written about scenic drives in Ireland, there is the Wild Atlantic Way as well as the Causeway Coastal Route to name two routes but the whole country is scenic.

For instance, County Kerry's Dingle Peninsula is a scenic drive worth making, read more here.

I have written about green roads and rural lanes here on Panoramic Ireland before. Here is one from a walk in the Irish countryside earlier this year, 2019: https://panoramicireland.com/blog-ireland-guide/irish-summer-green-rural-lane-trees-exploring

Here, stopping along the back roads of the Irish countryside - in the west we went exploring and photographed one of the most scenic lanes in the country.

I wrote last year about the end of winter, the green of spring and in that post I used an image of shamrocks with water droplets.

Just today, Saint Patrick's Day (17th March) I photographed a similar scene of water droplets on leaves and the bright sunlight glints in the fresh raindrops.

Shamrocks are of course a well known symbol of Ireland made famous, the legend goes, by Saint Patrick who used the three leaves on one stem to explain the Christian Holy Trinity to the Irish pagans that he was converting.