The year 2024 has certainly blessed us with plenty of opportunity to photograph the Northern Lights or aurora borealis here in Ireland.

Last night's amazing display coincided with my visit to a calm west of Ireland lake, photographing throughout the evening in different directions to make the most of the ever-changing celestial light show that is the aurora.

I wasn't in one of the dark sky locations, so I did have some light pollution at times, but the peacefulness of photographing the natural dance of colours across the sky with reflections recorded below.

Now, we can't predict the aurora very well here in Ireland but a typical photography workshop with me here at Panoramic Ireland can see you photographing such scenes.

To find out more, send me a message.

I have posted about Dublin’s Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary before; it sits now beside modern buildings along the south quays on the city’s River Liffey.

Known as the Dockers’ Church it was built in 1863, opened in 1864 and became a parish church in 1908; its quayside position on the busy River Liffey meant that many of the dockworkers frequented the masses held there and today it has a strong congregation of old and new with many of the new arrivals working in Ireland’s tech sector now attending on a regular basis.

Those new buildings, including the one seen here just beside the church, a workplace for some of the new workers in Ireland’s services industry have contributed to some ill-feeling on account of size, shading and overshadowing the church.

As a result, due to local protests, in 2018 the developer of many of these buildings contributed over €3 million to a fund to repair and restore the church and its surroundings. The City Quay school (jigsaw building) received €1 million and the remainder went to the church.

After some works to the front, most of the €2 million has been transferred to the Archdiocese of Dublin; the Archbishop of Dublin is the parish priest of the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Currently the interior of the church is in bad condition with damp, mould, decay and in much need of repair, but the parish can’t now use the funds it received from the developers.

The exterior view, seen here with reflections in the calm River Liffey at night, is much more pleasant than the peeling-paint interior.

It’s a story that will continue to provide interest, to someone at least.

Dublin's Custom House is no stranger to the pages of Panoramic Ireland, the iconic structure was finished in 1791 and has been probably Dublin's most recognisable building ever since.

Architect James Gandon designed and oversaw the construction of the Custom House, literally the place where taxes or customs were paid on good coming in to and out of Dublin.

Built with Portland stone, a fine white limestone from the south of England, the Custom House exuded a strong sense of authority over the merchants in Dublin yet the location was obsolete by the time it was finished as the main port operations had moved much further downstream to accommodate larger ships of the late 18th and early 19th century.

The Custom House is seen here with half reflections on a calm River Liffey affected by a little wind.

Panoramic Ireland's Dublin Photo Tours are the original in Ireland and run all year round - learn how to improve your photography with a private experience from an Irish photographer who has worked for the biggest names in the travel and publishing world.

Dublin's Custom House, one of the city's fine Georgian buildings sits above the River Liffey as it flows through the capital of Ireland seen here with arches lit up in the colours of the flag of Ukraine.

The Custom House is very recognisable to Dubliners, it was designed by one of the finest Georgian architects who designed many of Dublin's most iconic building - James Gandon; it opened in 1791 to serve as the building in which to collect and pay taxes for good shipped through Dublin, most goods travelling via the quays - the riverside.

Reflections are an important part of landscape photography. 

Sometimes these reflections are bright and colourful and sometimes, like here, more subtle and subdued like a typical west of Ireland scene.

Join Panoramic Ireland in 2021 for landscape and cityscape photography workshops in Ireland.

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.

It's a bright and colourful time of year, autumn. Sunny days have fine, clear light and the colour of autumn foliage makes any journey into the countryside colourful.

Six months since my chemotherapy finished it is exhilarating to be back in the countryside photographing the colour of another fine autumn.

Green Reflections

There's something about reflections and photography, don't you think?

From street photography to landscapes via architecture, reflections feature in all genres of photography.

Morning Reflections from the River Liffey, Dublin

I usually photograph the River Liffey at night with the city's iconic buildings reflected in its calm waters.

Dublin City - the River Liffey and reflections.

Dublin looks fine in the evening with the gentle flow of the River Liffey, nightlights and clouds reflected in the smooth waters momentarily.