I often get asked if it snow in Ireland or does the sun shine in winter in Ireland.

And on certain days it is possible to say yes to both.

This week has seen plenty of snow here in Ireland, and it has also seen lots of blue sky and sunshine - with all three on the same day so I can answer yes to both of the typical questions. Yes, it does snow in Ireland and yes, the sun does shine in winter.

Here, a scene from the mountains of Ireland from a photography expedition above the snowline into the white world of winter.

To join me on a photography expedition in the mountains in any season contact me using the contact page.

From an evening in Dublin, this short video features street scenes from around Ireland's capital city.

Two well-known pubs feature, The Ferryman and The Stag's Head, as does the River Liffey which was the main reason for our photographic adventure in the city.

On the photography tour we covered everything from long exposure architectural photography to street and documentary photography.

To join me, Panoramic Ireland, on a photography tour or workshop covering one photographic subject or many - contact me using the menu or see my Dublin page for more information. Private one-to-one tours start from €155.

One of the world's best known publications, The New York Times, has recently visited Cork - a city in Ireland's southwest whose inhabitants often refer to as The Real Capital.

How do I know this? Well Panoramic Ireland (that's me - hello) photographed the charismatic small city for the 36 Hours in Cork feature.

36 Hours in Cork will be published in the New York Times on Thursday 14th December 2017. Find it online or buy it in print, and if you do can you send me a copy?

Check out the NYT's Instagram post below, and don't forget to follow me over there on IG, as it says in the post I'm @panoramicireland

Where in the world is @nytimestravel? The photographer Darren McLoughlin captured this scene while on assignment for a story in this week’s issue. Where do you think he was when he took this picture? (There’s a hint in his handle: @panoramicireland.) #🌍🔍

A post shared by The New York Times (@nytimes) on Dec 11, 2017 at 9:24am PST

The Irish name for a round tower Cloigtheach  literally means bell house and they indeed functioned as bell towers, it's a logical construction with the high tower being visible from miles around, as a way-point guide for pilgrims and other travellers. Also sound travels further from a height and therefore the monastery - round towers are almost always associated with important churches and monasteries - would have been heard from quite a distance too, especially inside valleys where the sound of ringing bells coming from above the tree canopy would have been impressive.

I've been busy over the past few weeks, first with a trip to London to photograph Marillion at the Royal Albert Hall and then a photography assignment in Cork, Ireland's southern city.

Here on my Instagram feed you can see one of the behind the scenes images from the photography assignment that took me to the friendly city.

Good morning from Cork. The sun has risen over the River Lee and it's a better day than of late. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . #architecture #natgeotravel #travelblog #travelgram #lifeofadventure #Irish #oneplus #vsco #vscocam #natgeo #earthpix #natgeolandscape #bbctravel #weather #instatravel #instagood #instadaily #vscotravel #adventurevisuals #architecture_lovers #journey #urbanadventure #cork #cityscape #ireland #urbanvisuals #reflections #discoverireland #onassignment #sunrise_and_sunsets

A post shared by @panoramicireland on Oct 25, 2017 at 1:34am PDT

Of course there will be more images to follow, especially once the article for which I was photographing is published.

Cobh, a port town in Cork Harbour is best known to the world as the last port of call for RMS Titanic, the ill-fated luxury liner that sank on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic in 1912.

It is now best known to over 140,000 cruise visitors per year who disembark from 69 vessels as the pretty seaside town that is close to some of Ireland's best sights. It has recently been voted amongst the best cruise destinations in Europe, coming in only behind Amsterdam.

If you are visiting Cobh or Cork on a cruise or other style of holiday then let Panoramic Ireland, that's me, show you the best places to see and photograph with one of our photography tours. 

On a recent photography workshop to my own part of Ireland, the Antrim Coast, we stopped on our way between photographing waterfalls and caves to photograph the scene stretching before us across the sea of Moyle towards Scotland.

This part of Ireland is closest to Scotland, approximately 12 miles of North Atlantic separating Ballycastle from the Mull of Kintyre.

Here we are overlooking the islands of Islay and Jura, the peaked mountains on the horizon are the Paps of Jura.

I have written about Northern Ireland's locations associated with Saint Patrick in this post and since it is Ireland's national saint's day once again, that's the 17th March for those of you who don't know, why not show off some more locations with links to the snake-banishing, shamrock-wielding Welshman who became a hit in his adopted country Ireland.

And where better to include, other than the spectacular Croagh Patrick mentioned here, Dublin's Saint Patrick's cathedral, a well in Tipperary, and Cashel also known as Patrick's Rock in Irish.

Wicklow in the morning, this is without doubt one of my favourite images.

Working on assignment for the Ritz-Carlton Hotel magazine I had the task to capture representative scenes of Ireland - landscapes, green, classic Dublin buildings.

On a rare quiet day taking a break from leading photography tours in Ireland I headed to one of Ireland's most famous landmarks - the Rock of Cashel in County Tipperary.

It was a cold and rainy March afternoon as rain spread across the plain obscuring the distant mountains before clearing long enough to enjoy the view again.