There are moments of stillness and serenity during the Irish winter when the rain and wind stops and everything becomes beautifully still. Rock climber Iain Miller captured this strange and wonderful calmness recently while walking and climbing the hills of Donegal. Miller reached out to IrishCentral with his stunning shots and video (below) to share his experience. He explained that these shots were taken over the past 14 days while Donegal “has been experiencing a huge high pressure, which had allowed amazing and quite surreal light.”

Miller describes himself as “a rock climber and occasional picture-taker” with over 30 years experience as a mountaineer and 20 as a marine engineer. He has been exploring the mountains and coastline of County Donegal, in the northwest of Ireland, since 2007, resulting in a unique and in-depth knowledge of the geography and features of the area. What better man to know when the Donegal countryside is at its best?

The rock climber, who clearly has a great eye for photography, sent us an embed to his personal Facebook with the note: “Just a short film showing how still and calm Donegal is in the winter sun. Can be watch upside down and footage is the same in the calmness of the Dunlewey Lake.”

He went on to share some incredible shots he has taken during November of his office, the highlands and lowlands of county Donegal.

The photo above was taken from Millar’s own back door in Tullaghobegley Irish, near the town of Falcarragh. He explained, “It shows the first arrival of snow clouds over Errigal Mountain, Donegal's highest point.”

His home, the Donegal Mountain Lodge, according to his website “allows almost endless panoramic views of the 20-kilometer-long western edge of the Derryveagh Mountain range. From the front door of the lodge in early morning light to the star-filled night sky with no human light clutter.” It looks absolutely surreal.

The next photo Miller explains was “taken from Tramore Strand by Dunfanaghy and shows snow clouds out over Gweedore Hill and Tory Island.”

Tramore, in Irish, literally means “big beach” and that’s exactly what you get on this strand – two miles of wild Donegal coast and seascapes.

This dramatic shot was taken from “Maumlack Summit looking onto the south face of Errigal Mountain in the fading evening light.”

Miller said, “This picture is extremely difficult to capture as it requires a winter sunset on the horizon between mid-November and December and an evening low tide. This has taken a few visits over three years to get the correct sunset.”

His final picture “taken from Horn Head overlooking Tramore Strand by Dunfanaghy,” Miller said, “shows the sunsets we have been seeing in the last week or so.”

What an incredible play to live and work.

Read more: Top five tourist attractions in County Donegal

For more on Iain Miller and his work, follow him on Facebook or visit his site here.