I've been exploring the Irish countryside, photographing landscapes, rivers, woodlands and waterfalls a lot recently.

The weather has been mixed with some fine sunny days and some rainy spells, but the Irish countryside looks great in any case.

Out on Ireland's Atlantic Coast, in one of the most remote places in the country, sits Blacksod Lighthouse.

A new documentary by Ireland's national broadcaster RTE tells the story of Maureen Sweeney, who on her 21st birthday, was taking weather readings at this remote outpost and relaying those through Ballina and Dublin to the Allies in Doncaster where Group Captain Stagg was interpreting the weather charts and information provided by various stations including those from Blacksod and advising General Eisenhower of the best time to launch the D-Day landings in June 1944.

Low visibility is a common problem in Ireland, landscape photography usually requires long, clear uninterrupted views so on this occasion we headed away from the big views and looked instead for scenes that suited the weather.

Here, we stopped on one of Panoramic Ireland's photography workshops in the Irish countryside to photograph sheep under a grey sky but a colourful landscape.

Lush green of late spring in Ireland both in the fields and the hedges, broken by bright orange-yellow flowers of gorse and white flowers of hawthorn.

A scene from the west of Ireland as storm clouds roll in.

Ireland's weather is variable, the country is influenced by westerly winds from the Atlantic predominantly but is also subject to Arctic and Siberian influences.

The softness of the Irish landscape is here complemented by the softness of the Irish weather.

A chilly start to the day before the sun warmed the green and grey of the west of Ireland, clouds gently lifted from the lake towards the weathered mountain tops.

And then, on we go capturing scenes from this scenic part of the world.

Join me to photograph the west of Ireland, all year round.

This week's image of the week is this one of a storm cloud and low sunshine in Ireland.

Check back next week for the next image of the week from Panoramic Ireland.

The sunny days of summer are here in Ireland.

Long days of bright, warm weather have helped to create a landscape filled with fresh greens.

Panoramic Ireland's photo tours have covered every Irish province this year with country lanes providing access to scenic views and photographic opportunities away from the busy tourist spots.

Join me for a photography adventure in Ireland this summer, the countryside is looking great with all this fine weather.

Use the contact page for more, or the blue tab at the bottom of the page if you're on mobile. Send me an email to enquire and ask if you have any questions.

They say the weather is one of the most talked about topics of conversation here in Ireland, the past few weeks would probably prove that.

The end of winter saw snow storms, spring was cold with some blisteringly hot days and now we have stormy conditions as we enter May, many column inches and headlines have been dedicated to the topic of the unusual weather.

It's been a busy week here at Panoramic Ireland, I've been leading photography tours and workshops all over Ireland and here, this image from yesterday shows some of the beautiful landscapes through which we travel regularly.

The weather - it's often said that if you don't like the weather in Ireland just wait five minutes.

It's not a widespread saying throughout Ireland, and I know of other cities and countries around the world of which this is said.

But at certain times of year we certainly do get the changeable weather that gives sunshine and showers in quick succession, often with a drop or rise in temperature.

This was true this week while out on tour in Dublin with Andrew from Chicago - we had rain then sun then rain then sun and more sun.

And today as I worked on images back at base we saw this weather, first sunshine as in the image above then cloud, hailstones and heavy rain as in the image below. There is less than 30 minutes between both images being taken, 23 minutes to be exact.

But don't let that put you off visiting Ireland or taking a photo tour with Panoramic Ireland, we see this weather often but it doesn't always last and we can adapt to conditions like these. The image as seen here was also taken in April of these beautiful pink cherry blossoms.

Here of course is the logical extension of this stormy weather, the always beautiful rainbow as seen here rising off Dublin's River Liffey shooting skyward almost paralleling the Samuel Beckett Bridge.

Join Panoramic Ireland to learn how to photograph in inclement conditions, making the most of what the elements throw at you - always remaining positive and ready to photograph no matter what the weather.