Stephen McPhilemy is one of Ireland’s up and coming photographers, creating atmospheric images around the North West of Ireland. Whether it’s the stunning sun setting into the night or an early morning mist over Mount Errigal, Stephen captures truly atmospheric moments he manages to bring stillness and calm to vivid life. Primarily portraying the breathtaking side to County Donegal. His imagery really is a work of art and each photograph is unique in its own right.

Please tell us a bit about yourself ?

Hello, my name is Stephen, a 30 year old from Donegal who stumbled into loving photography, taking photos of Donegal and my travels abroad.

What would you say is unique about your style ?

This isn’t solely unique to me, but I don’t use any presets. A lot of people go for the “teal and orange” look or edit photos the same way just to suit their instagram grid, and there’s nothing wrong with this, but I feel it means a photo ends up looking a certain way just to look good on an overall grid. I prefer to make individual changes to each photo, every scene and photo is different so I usually spend a lot of time making small changes . I don’t think this is unique to me but It’s what I like doing.

Where are your favourite spots in Ireland for getting those picture perfect shots ?

I hate to say it but I have yet to really explore Ireland, opting to work and travel abroad in recent years has meant a lot of my photos are from my times away. My Ireland photos are all from home in Donegal. I say that like it’s a bad thing, it definitely isn’t. Living so close to mountains, forests and the water is an absolute luxury and I’m extremely lucky to have such beautiful places to take pictures of without having to travel far.

Please can you share the TOP 3 photographs (in your opinion) that you’ve taken and write one sentence about each ?

When I look back at my photos they remind me of the moment itself, how I was feeling at the time and the conversations had along the hike or journey, not so much the technical aspect of the actual photo

1. Errigal Window:

A glorious morning with my friend Daniel, we brought a flask of tea and some snacks and sat on top of Donegal’s highest point enjoying the sunset for over 2 hours. There wasn’t a sound to be heard up there at 5am.

2. Murder Hole – Golden Cave:

A last minute trip that provided a perfectly positioned sun lighting up one of Ireland’s most photographed caves. Like many photos, it was taken in the right place at the right time.

3. Falcaragh “Giants Eye” :

Some shots are planned and knowing it was the right time of year for the sun to be shining through the “giants eye” I managed to capture this shot.

Are there any destinations in Ireland that are high on your list to visit ?

Having taken up surfing during the first lockdown I’m looking forward to hitting up some surf spots along the west coast. For photo only reasons I’d love to visit the Dun Bristie sea stack in Mayo and Ireland’s highest point Carrauntoohil.

Three people (living or dead) you’d invite to dinner ?

Avicii – A man that struggled with creativity and the pressures of perfection, I usually turn to his music when editing video or photo
Rory Kramer – Watching his videos were the reason I bought a camera
Chris Burkard – An amazing photographer and all round awesome guy

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