Ireland Photography Workshop Recce Report | Dingle to Kerry

Ireland Photography

Ireland is famous for many things but not many of them beat the beautiful landscapes and coastline (IMO). I was asked by some of my regular clients last November to organise a trip to Southern Ireland, at first, I thought could be tricky because any workshop lasting more than 3 days can play havoc with my schedule of evening class courses. However, I love Ireland and haven’t gone there for photography before so it seemed like I should just bite the bullet and put something together. It could work out or not but regardless I knew I would enjoy the experience of going and discovering new places.

I scheduled a 4 day (3 night) workshop for March 2020 so the only thing left to decide was where and exactly where to take clients. That was the difficult part because southern Ireland has so many great locations. Dingle Peninsula, Killarney National Park and areas around County Kerry had been mentioned to me a few times over the years, so it seemed a good starting point. Furthermore, I have an acquaintance from the area that I felt sure would be able to help out with his local knowledge. After an email or two, we were set to do a recce and scouting trip in Sep 2019 over five days.

The recce covered over 50 locations with 1000 KM of driving between points but made better/worse (depending on your taste) of fitting in a Damien Rice concert in Cork in the middle of the trip. (BTW it was worth the effort and drive/time to see him and not many dry eyes in the theatre by the end of the night)

What I hadn’t anticipated when planning the Ireland Photography recce trip was:

How slow people drive in Ireland ( guaranteed that they will drive at least 25 KM slower than the limit for the road)
How many American tourists are there; how they can’t drive and how annoyingly loud they are.
Why so many B&B’s, Guesthouses, Hotels don’t include breakfast in the price or have a bar!
When the fog comes in, it really comes in! See the gallery of shots - no fog/low cloud forecast the night before!
A few random things; why so many bungalows? Why so expensive to drink and eat out? Why do slow drivers always look so happy? Why are the people so friendly and chatty?
Not too mention that it happened to be a weekend of fierce rivalry between Dublin and Kerry for the cup in Gaelic Football - so every house and car was decked in green and yellow flags!
I could go on and on but you get the idea - an English bloke trying to explain Brexit madness to random Irish people! But you gotta love the music if you find a proper Irish pub without the tourist trap!

All that aside, the locations, countryside, views, quality of the roads, the local people, cleanliness of the streets and overall experience makes you wonder why you would live in England. So it’s fair to say that my romantic, idealist view of Ireland has increased as a result of this trip.

Getting back to the point of the trip and the workshop scheduled for next March (hopefully more dates to follow) there really is an abundance of locations, types of photographic opportunities (vista’s, reflections, beaches, mountains, lakes, woodlands, waterfalls, castles, long exposure, short exposure, layby shoots, rock and cliff formations, sandy beaches, rocky beaches, buildings and much more…) around County Kerry. So if tide times are calculated and drive times don’t restrict, you can cram a lot in a short space of time. I visited many locations over the five days and built up a prioritised list of options covering different types of landscape and seascape photography. Due to time constraints, most of the photos I took were done (unashamedly) with my phone so I had specific GPS coordinate to plot and plan the final itinerary.

Dingle-Killarney-South Kerry Photo Map.jpg

After 5 days of visiting Ireland Photography locations, grabbing sample shots and working out logistics, I have a good feel for what will be an action packed but amazing variety of photographic opportunities. I will wittel down the list closer to the time based on tide and weather in March 2020 but can sya, with confidence, that this will be an amazing photography experience for any level of photographer.

KERRY - Southern Ireland Photography Workshop - Mar 2026

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KERRY - Southern Ireland Photography Workshop - Mar 2026

£1,595.00

Photograph amazing areas in South Kerry, Dingle, and Killarney National Park on this 5-day Ireland photography workshop

Summary

Location: Dingle and Killarney - Kerry Southern Ireland
Dates: Thu 5th - Mon 10th Mar 2026 - 5 Days/4 Nights
Participants: Max 4
Fitness: 2. Easy-Moderate
Experience Level: Beginner to Advanced
Equipment Needed: DSLR or Mirrorless Camera and Tripod
Photography Workshop Event Details: Dingle
Description: This is a 5-day, 4-night residential photography workshop in the south-west of Ireland — the longest and most immersive trip I run, based around Dingle and exploring some of the most beautiful country in Europe. Open to all levels and any camera, it takes in three extraordinary areas of County Kerry: the wild, sea-battered Dingle Peninsula, the dramatic coastline of South Kerry along the Skellig Ring, and the mountains, lakes and ancient woodland of Killarney National Park.
The variety here is the gift and the challenge — mountains, lakes, waterfalls, woodland, coastline and rock formations, often within a single day — and five days gives us the time to do it justice. We'll cover the technical control you need, but the real focus is on learning to see: composing order and intention out of these vast, busy scenes, working close-up and intimate detail as readily as the grand vista, and reading light, weather and tide as a harmony rather than chasing the obvious postcard shot. Some stops are quick laybys to catch a fleeting moment; others we'll work slowly, waiting for the light and water to come good.
With a maximum of just four photographers and five full days on the ground, this is genuinely personal tuition with the time to slow down and work properly — Alan plans each day around the season, the forecast and the tides, and sends a detailed itinerary ahead. You'll come away not just with a portfolio from one of Europe's great landscapes, but with a stronger way of seeing — light, composition and restraint — that will change how you photograph wherever you go next. An extra night's accommodation is available the day before if required — please request in advance, subject to hotel availability.