I don't feel qualified to write anything about photographing Ireland. We were only there for a week and saw such a small portion of it, but alas - here are some photos and some thoughts.

Here's where we stayed along our route:

Dublin

Kinsale

Kenmare (just south of Killarney National Park)

Ventry (near Dingle)

Dublin

-Neal

First of all, you’re gonna need a car.

This is Sharon, she was very kind to us and deserves all of our thanks for helping us learn how to drive on the left side of the road.

Be sure to have a credit card with a huuuuuge limit though - the morning we left for the trip I franticly called our provider and asked if they could change it (totally didn’t work, I ended up having to pay an extra $300 bucks or so for better insurance)

I’ve heard of people taking buses to the bigger tourist spots, but it seems like that is the only viable option for public transit - we didn’t see a single train while we were there, but maybe weren’t looking hard enough.

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f11 | 30 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Big Stopper, Circular Polarizing Filter

The Rock of Cashel was first constructed in 1100 and they let you walk around inside (8 Euro entrance fee if I remember correctly). Full of tourist though, even with a 30 second exposure I had to take out some humans with Photoshop.

It’s was not too far off the road we took from Dublin to Cork area (M8 motorway)

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f11 | .25 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

Killarney National Park is probably a 2-3 day size of park that we did in 1.

There is some good history (Ross Castle), insane gardens, and obviously great views.

This is Torc Waterfall. It was a 5 minute walk up to here, but there’s a loop that you can continue on for anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f10 | 4 | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f11 | 1/80 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

The Southern side of the park was full of crazy vistas and a few sheep on the road.

This image is available for print, click here to order.

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f11 | 175 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Big Stopper, Circular Polarizing Filter

This is a composite image, one of the water and sky from the frame using the Big Stopper, and the other from one without for the land portions.

I was super excited about this composition and location (Lough Leane, accessed by car park in the Southern portion of the park) but the light just didn’t come through the way that I had hoped

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f11 | 1.6 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

Dunquin Harbour

This image is available for print, click here to order.

Sony a7rii | 35mm 2.8 | f11 | .8 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

This image is available for print here.

Sony a7rii | 400mm 5.6 | f6.3 | 1/80 sec | ISO 200

From Dingle onward the weather was almost entirely rainy and windy, so even though there were a lot of good opportunities for compressed landscapes with the 400mm, they weren’t an option because of shake.

Here’s one of the few that wasn’t blurry near Dingle.

Sony a7rii | 85mm 1.8 | f11 | .4 sec | ISO 50 | Sony Smooth Reflections App

Western Coast of the Dingle Peninsula

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f13 | 1/30 sec | ISO 50 | Circular Polarizing Filter

Taken from a beach near Cloghane on the Northern coast, looking South towards Conner Pass.

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f11 | .6 sec | ISO 50 | Circular Polarizing Filter

This image was taken from the car at a lookout point on Conner Pass, as the wind was coming up over the crest of the mountain way too fast for a tripod.

Sony a7rii | 85mm 1.8| f4 | 1/125 sec | ISO 50

Dingle Harbour at (misty) sunrise.

This image is available for print, click here to order.

Sony a7rii | 55mm 1.8 | f10 | 1/13 sec | ISO 50 | Lee Circular Polarizing Filter

The Cliffs of Moher are definitely a thing. The road there is tiny and far from straight, and it was almost 10 Euros per person to park (apparently you can make a 2 hour walk and get in free though)

Sadly we missed prime Puffin time.

Moo boye.

I have very few things to say about Dublin.

1. My food related recommendations happen very rarely, so this is a big deal for me to type - Brother Hubbard is somewhere you should consume food into your body. 13/10 recommended.

2. Trinity Library is worth the moneys.

3. I have zero photography recommendations, whoops.