Happy New Year, welcome to 2020.

Here is the Moon as it appeared over Ireland on January 1st 2020 at sunset.

My first images from the new year and the new decade.

The sun sets on another day, another solar year passes, the days get longer from now on - Ireland and the northern hemisphere pass the the winter solstice.

In Ireland the winter solstice has long been an important point of the year, Ireland's most famous monument at Newgrange is aligned with sunrise on the winter solstice (December 21/22) - read more here.

Reflected in the western beach Ireland's Wild Atlantic Way greets the colourful sunset, beaming from sheeny sands.

What to photograph in Ireland when the weather isn't good? 

That's a question I get asked a lot, and it isn't difficult to answer. There is always a fine scene to photograph in any locality on any day.

On this occasion as the rain began to fall, it was this lake in the west of Ireland, the soft and rugged contours of the region and its conifer forest reflecting in the calm lake waters.

Happy Christmas from Ireland.

It's almost the end of 2019, the decade and while there is no snow for Christmas in Ireland, here is a Christmassy / winter scene from Ireland of stone circles and snow at sunset.

Enjoy the rest of the 2019 and Happy New Year!

If you are travelling to Ireland in 2020 join a photography tour in Dublin, Wicklow, Antrim, Connemara or elsewhere. Contact me to find out more.

We've had snow so far this winter in Ireland, here's a post from earlier this month at the start of December 2019 of snow in the Irish mountains.

But it looks like it will be a snow-free Christmas on the Emerald Isle.

So, here's an image from this week, a few days before Christmas from the west of Ireland.

This weekend's journey through the Irish countryside, snow in the mountains of Ireland above lush, sunlit green fields.

I travelled through the narrow, twisty mountain roads to find a colourful scene with green fields and warm sunlight under blue sky and a healthy dusting of snow.

This scene reminded me of another image from a few years ago, again of green fields with snowy mountains above - here.

It's almost Christmas, the end of another year and another decade; here at Panoramic Ireland we have been busy photographing Dublin as always.

2019 has reached December and, for the second year, more than a dozen of Dublin's buildings and streets have been illuminated to give the city a more welcoming feel.

Ireland doesn't get a lot of snow but when it does it is a sight for sore eyes. Here the mountains of the west of Ireland sit icy white above the golden colours of the bogland landscape.

I have written about snow a lot before here on Panoramic Ireland, here are some more articles.

Dublin's Winter Lights have illuminated some of the city's famous buildings for the second year. Created by Dublin City Council the lights switch on at sunset every night in December and stay on until 02:00.

There are 14 buildings and areas in total, including Trinity College, Hugh Lane Gallery and Christchurch.

As well as the buildings there are a few streets and Dublin's Millennium Bridge pictured above. This bridge has in recent times become known as the Rainbow Bridge and is back for winter 2022.

A woodland river flowing and swirling through the rocks under the tree canopy high above.

It just takes time, time for the action of the flowing water to finally erode the obstacles in its way, slowly carving a fine channel through even a tough, durable rock such as granite.