Togs & Tales
Shane Brennan

Shane Brennan
Landscape Photographer
Hi my name is Shane Brennan. I’m 36 years old and come from Portarlington, Co. Laois. I live in Killenard with my wife Caitríona and our little boy, Pat, who is almost 2 years old. I work in a local primary school and I’ve always had a love of nature and landscapes, long before I ever picked up a camera. My grandparents and all of that generation of the family hail from the West so I’ve always had a love of that part of the country. Maybe some day I will succeed in my quest to convince my wife to move in that direction!
What was your path to becoming a Landscape Photographer & What was your first camera?
What was your favourite Landscape Adventure Story since becoming a Photographer?

What was your worst in-the-field experience as a landscape Photographer?
Sunrise or Sunset & Why?

Where is your favourite Location in Ireland to Photograph & Why?
What is your favourite photograph, that you’ve taken to date, & Why?

What equipment / Setup are you currently using?
- Nikon Z 7
- Nikon 14-30mm
- Nikon 24-70mm
- Nikon 24-200mm
Top Tip for anyone starting out?
I recently listened to a podcast between Joe Cornish and David Ward and they said something that really resonated with me. “Give yourself permission to experiment with your photography.”
Best Advise you’ve personally been given?
My top tip comes from a brilliant UK photographer called Colin Bell. Norman McCloskey also mentioned this when he was speaking about sunrise/sunset below in his Togs and Tales interview. To paraphrase Colin, he said something like, “Where the light is falling is often more interesting than where it’s coming from.” I found that to be a helpful tip because I know, when I was starting out, I had a bit of tunnel vision and would always shoot towards the sun without considering what might be happening elsewhere and how the light might be affecting the landscape. After that, I noticed that many images that I admired belonging to other photographers were of interesting ways in which light was falling across the landscape and interacting with various subjects.

Who is your favourite Irish photographer at the moment ?
There are so many talented photographers in Ireland and the standard is outrageous. It’s very hard to pick one favourite photographer. However, I have to say that I purchased Norman McCloskey’s book “Beara” last Christmas and I absolutely love it. He’s a brilliant photographer. Every image is so natural and you can really feel that he loves his subject, the Beara Peninsula. There’s a great sense of place in that book. I’ve never been to his gallery but I definitely plan to visit it in the future.