Landscape Photography and Ireland Travel

Jun 1

Pine Tree Island Ireland Mountain Landscape Sunset — Pine Island Viewpoint - County Galway, Ireland

Is Ireland the best place for landscape photography?

I’ve been to 13 countries. While that’s not a significant amount to someone that has traveled the world. It’s a substantial amount for someone that has only been to 1 or 2 (including the place they’re born/live in). And I don’t consider myself a “world traveler” by any means, but I obviously love to travel and have my preferences (biases).

So the short answer is YES. Ireland is the best place for landscape photography I’ve ever been to. Or more accurately, my favorite place, visually speaking. *It’s a tight race between Ireland and Scotland.

Why?

The things that make Ireland unpredictable, dreary, rough around the edges…those are the things I like most. Starting with the weather.

See, as a photographer, filmmaker, videographer, visual creative etc., I want to see the weather interact with the landscape in a way which makes it unique, rugged, otherworldly even. If you want sunshine and blue skies all the time - you’ll get boring (landscape) photos. If you want something that feels prehistoric, with atmosphere, mood, drama…then Ireland delivers.

Dingle Peninsula Irish Landscape Boat Island Mountains Atlantic Ocean — The Dingle Peninsula

I went on my last trip (2nd time there) to Ireland with a goal. Pure landscape photography. This meant that my aspirations to film and photograph wildlife would have to take a back seat, but that’s fine. I think it’s good to have your mind laser focused on a creative goal, because it took some warming up and practice (and failure) before I started getting images like above.

But from a photography standpoint, the reason I think it’s worth mentioning that my goal was pure landscape photography, is because I don’t consider myself a pure landscape photographer. I’ve filmed and photographed landscapes before, sure. But many times, I would just point and shoot at f/2.8 (or whatever my lowest aperture was depending on my lens). So although I didn’t ignore composition, I think I missed quite a bit in my past landscape photos in terms of capturing an image that guides a viewer’s eye through the photo.

Additionally, I wanted to hone in on my aperture for this Irish landscape photography mission…because that trap of f2.8, I knew that a shallow depth of field wouldn’t isolate my subject - since the subject was/is as expansive as the landscape.

Ireland Landscape Photography - What I Learned

I go into a ton of detail in the video above. Things like waking up early, avoiding crowds, traveling responsibly (as ethically as possible), and my camera settings.

But, all this is to say, my mission to go to a place as beautiful as Ireland with a crystallized goal…a granular vision…was in some ways the most significant learning curve shortening I’ve ever experienced in photography. Once I committed, and once I stuck with it after some initial failures, I was able to create images that I’m truly proud of. Images that I believe capture the essence of what makes Ireland so beautiful.