Published January 15, 2026 in Stories

The perfect start of a New Year's day

Landing here? This was posted in the Burren Stories & Articles, a section of The Burren Light & Land Irish landscape photography project.

Quite a while back I decided that I would dedicate the start of every new year to health and the fulfillment of some form of art. Landscape photography ticks all the right boxes! A bit of a stroll around the Burren hills offers plenty of scenery to bag some nice photos. As I get out of the house I scan the sky for clouds coverage. I make plans to get to Fahee North (one of my favourite winter spots!) but know that a spread of low altitude clouds seen from my house usually has a very different outlook from Fahee North: crushed over the horizon, perfect recipe for an uneventful and uncolourful sunrise, though being perfectly gorgeous from the lowlands!

The view from Fahee North at dusk

And that's exactly what it was. A few stripes of high clouds could very well save sunrise and lit up in the sky, but it's never a given and depends on how that band of low clouds stuck to the horizon masks the rising sun. Not one to admit defeat easily I hopped over the cattle gate and ventured, in the darkness of twilight, on the slopes of Fahee North. The view over the Glencolumbkille is always a sight to behold! This alone is worth a trip to this location, regardless of photography.

And what you see here is how it started: quite a few high clouds in the sky, a band of low clouds obstructing the horizon and, I have to say, quite the dull light! Still, as any good landscape photographer, I set the tripod, and waited...

A waiting game, time to focus!

If you ever get in this position, use your time to move around, find compositions. It's only once you've locked your interesting foreground that you can start looking at your background. Scale it. Find leading lines, a 'hero', avoid too much 'empty' skies. This will make a good and sometimes a great photograph. You'll find this waiting time to be an opportunity to study your environment and get it right in camera. Photoshop and Lightroom will not fix your composition unless you can crop to find a better one within your image. The best time to get it right, is when you're in the moment. With becoming familiar with a place you visit often, you're likely to grow into feeling your surroundings and getting much quicker to great compositions.

Then, everything changed

Fahee North Carron Burren East Clare Ireland

Clouds rolling over from the east

I was not expecting clouds to rapidly come from behind. There wasn't much wind I could feel as standing on a slope shielded me from much of it. As the clouds came in the light changed, very quickly. Still, there would be nothing stopping that sun from rising and I was hoping for some miracle! Rain drops came in just as fast as those clouds, though the wind blew in a favourable direction, that is away from filter and lens.

Low clouds descended down onto and over the valley, giving lots of drama and atmosphere all around, with a powerful sun battling it out for a fleeting moment in time. By experience I know those conditions don't hang around too long! I entered super creative mode and started shooting. There can be a lot of sun flare when shooting in those circumstances, and rain drops will have the same damning effect on your captures if they make it to your lens. Taking this into account is essential, although Lightroom can help quite a lot with that. Earlier that day, I also chose to alter the white balance to 'cloudy' (warmer tones) in camera to preserve much of the drama evolving in front of me.

It always pays off to quickly try various compositions as if you get it wrong from the start, there is always a chance you will get a nice shot by trying a few different things. Don't get stuck with one format, turn your camera around! Framing a shot needs a different eye for composition whether it is in landscape of portrait orientation, but practice makes perfect!

It’s a wrap!

The image that made the limited edition selection

And, as quickly as it came, it was over. The beauty of the west coast of Ireland has a downfall, the weather can change so fast! Clouds kept on coming from behind and, with it, more rain and less chances for the sun making any break through. Still, what a show! I left the hill under a spell, ready for a wonderful day.

I decided to select this image to be a part of my limited edition portfolio as it really brings out the drama I witnessed that day, the golden glow of our powerful sun bathing the valley, the Burren hills engulfed into a layer of clouds and mist, the rocks in foreground freshly wet from the oncoming rain. A wonderful moment, a great new year’s day, making memories.

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