Morning sunlight somewhere behind the clouds in the west of Ireland. Before the heat of the day, low cloud and fog sit in the valley in front of the heather-clad mountains.

Photography in Ireland is always a mystery, the weather forecast may say good weather or bad weather but the day, and a journey through the countryside, often reveals a difference.

I'm rarely disappointed though. 

Here, on a photography workshop in the west, JK from Virginia in the USA wanted to spend time photographing typical (but not boring) Irish scenes so we headed for somewhere that I knew would have good visuals like this for the first location.

Thick cloud blanketed the rest of the landscape but here we had a view beyond, to the mountains and, in the foreground, sheep dotting the hillside.

A good start to the day despite a negative weather forecast.

From here we headed on to photograph coastal scenes as the low cloud lifted from the western countryside.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph - improve your photography, in the west of Ireland, in Dublin or somewhere else in the Irish countryside throughout 2024 and 2025.

A bright sunset behind deep cloud over the Atlantic fades to blue as night sets in on Ireland's west coast, the Wild Atlantic Way.

And it was a wild night on the Atlantic with the wind blowing, clouds forming and the cold spread of night after a long day of photography of Ireland's wild landscapes.

This was not a disappointing scene, rather one of joy and delight as the texture and colour of the Irish sky at blue hour made for fine scenes to finish a day of photography.

Join me, Panoramic Ireland, to photograph on Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way with a Panoramic Ireland Photography Workshop / Tour in 2024 or 2025.

There was Murder on the Dancefloor as English pop sensation Sophie Ellis-Bextor took to the main stage at Electric Picnic 2024 for her picnic debut in Stradbally.

And what a way to get the Electric Picnic party started, Ellis-Bextor rarely stood still during her energetic performance dressed in silver sequins and tassels.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor heads to North America for a tour in the USA and Canada in early September.

Electric Picnic moved to a mid-August slot in 2024, away from it's usual early September placement. Friday saw American singer-songwriter Noah Kahan take to the Main Stage to headline the opening night.

The Grammy-nominated artist performed to a rapturous crowd in Ireland's County Laois, so much so that he took a pit walk at the start of his set.

A set that included Dial Drunk, New Perspective, Northern Attitude and finishing with Stick Season.

Kahan is continuing to tour with upcoming concerts in Berlin on August 27th before heading back to the USA and Canada.

There’s nothing better than a music festival, and in Ireland there is nothing better than the largest festival of them all – Electric Picnic.

Now in its 19th edition, the Electric Picnic has grown and sees the world’s largest headliners (Kylie, Billie Eilish, Dua Lipa, Hozier etc. throughout the years) and some of the most famous artists to ever record music including Debbie Harry, The Stranglers, Grace Jones, Nile Rodgers etc… with its largest ever capacity of 75,000 attendees in 2024.

If the music alone isn’t enough to satisfy your interests then you won’t be disappointed because Electric Picnic is also Ireland’s largest arts festival with more then enough to entertain throughout the weekend.

Now, while most visitors to EP will undoubtedly be enjoying themselves with more than just one pint, vodka etc… here are some things to do in 2024 that don’t involve alcohol.

Sit and enjoy some gospel and choir music in the afternoon sunshine while everyone else is nursing hangover headaches and crawling out of their tents. Previous artists here include the Trinity Orchestra and Irish Women in Harmony.

Ferris Wheel and funfair – what more can you say, the flavour of a visit to a traditional Irish seaside town in summer comes to the Main Arena at Electric Picnic. A Ferris Wheel, merry-go-rounds, spinny things and the smell of popcorn and candy floss.

In the depths of the Irish countryside, the sun rises slowly illuminating the rugged, mountainous countryside.

Clouds lift off the valley floor, wisping along the steep slope of the mountains as the early morning sunlight highlight the quartzite rocks.

Such scenes make some of my favourite landscape photography images. Empty of people, early in the day or late in the evening and dramatic lighting.

To photograph scenes like these, why not join me on a day photographing the landscapes of the west of Ireland in 2024 and 2025?

To find out more please feel free to contact me.

What on earth could link swimming at the Forty Foot in Dublin and Electric Picnic's Comedy Arena 2024? That would be Ardal O'Hanlon, one of Ireland's best known and surely most loved comedians.

Ireland's largest and most loved festival, Electric Picnic is back again August 16th - 18th 2024 and starring on stage is the incomparable Ardal O'Hanlon. 

Now, what links him to the iconic swimming spot in Dublin Bay, the Forty Foot you ask?

Well, a few years ago the very man set off to find out why the Irish have such a propensity for cursing and made a TV show about it called Holy F***. In one of the segments O'Hanlon investigates how cursing can help with such things as exposure to cold water - like when you jump into the seas around Ireland.

And the show, produced by Loosehorse, used some of my imagery, see credits below.

This same show saw Ardal O'Hanlon interviewing the renowned fan of profanities, Bob Geldof who I photographed at Electric Picnic in 2015.

So, if you're headed to Electric Picnic 2024 then why not stop by the Comedy Arena for a rib-tickling break from your music weekend.

Here is the current line-up for the Comedy Arena at Electric Picnic 2024 including headliners Russell Howard and Katherine Ryan.

Here, Simon Amstell from his appearance in 2014.

The Irish summer is a strange thing, one day can be hot and sunny and then the next day is cloudy, cold and raining.

And of course we can get all of that in one day too. 

Here, a lush scene of Irish farmland ringed by mountains, a river runs through it. All under a cloudy sky.

It's a patchwork of 1,000 fields, trees line the river and tree-filled hedges mark the boundary between fields all helped by the long daylight hours in summer, plenty of rain and gentle heat.

May 2024 saw some of the finest displays of the aurora borealis or Northern Lights over Ireland and lower latitudes ever witnessed.

After a long and busy day photographing in Dublin, word was coming in from all sources of an amazing light show and even in the city I could see and photograph the stronger portions of the celestial display.

But it wasn't until I headed far from the city, into the Irish countryside that I was able to truly enjoy and photograph the unpredictable lightshow.

Still I didn't manage to make to some of my favourite locations over on the west coast of Ireland where the night sky is darker, thus more suited to astrophotography and night sky events.

It doesn't take much to see the difference, in Dublin and other large conurbations only the brightest stars are visible, in the countryside the sky can be so dark that it seems like you are staring into, literally, the vast reaches of the Milky Way and beyond.

I was reading recently of a ranking that lists the best locations for astrophotography in Europe and, interestingly, eight out the top ten sites were in Ireland!

Travel booking site, Omio analysed over 1,400 locations in Europe using factors such as clear views to the southern horizon, light pollution and the Bortle Scale that measures the astronomical observability of celestial objects.

Ballinskelligs in County Kerry ranks at number one, followed by Ashleam in County Mayo.

So what are you waiting for, now is the time to get to Ireland, use Omio to book your travel here and why not book a photography workshop with Panoramic Ireland when you're in Ireland.

The gable end of 12 Montague Street, Dublin as it faces onto Montague Lane is temporarily home to an artwork by Joe Caslin which aims to highlight the work of charity Samaritans.

The street artist, who is also a teacher, uses pencil drawings to highlight societal issues in contemporary Ireland, has unveiled his latest artwork in Dublin to bring attention to Dubliners of the work carried out by Samaritans.

Utilising the concept of the 15th century Japanese technique of Kintsugi in which broken pottery is repaired using powdered gold, Caslin's artwork of a male figure with the Kintsugi gold holding his face together suggests the idea that people may appear whole now but might have been broken before.

Samaritans do amazing work for those who need help, operating a 24 hour helpline for free via this number: 116 123 from anywhere in Ireland - from Antrim to Wexford and it's free to call.