This photograph is the triumph of perseverance and optimism in the face of pessimism and the Irish weather!

The Small Skellig is a dramatic rock thrust out of the Atlantic off the coast of Kerry. The smaller sibling to Skellig Michael, featured in the recent Star Wars movies, it's every bit as dramatic, if not more so. During winter storms, the entire island has been known to be overtopped by huge waves.

I'd long wanted to produce a photograph giving some hint of that drama, and found the opportunity on a late summer's day a few years ago. The only way to get the angle I wanted was from a boat, so I needed a willing skipper to take me out on a suitable day - one where most people would be happy to stay home on dry land!

On this day, the fog was thick along the coast and the waves were high enough to make the trip an unpleasant one. My friend was hesitant to go out - he wanted to save me the charter money as he was certain I wouldn't get anything worthwhile out of it. However, on the satellite imagery for the area I saw there were one or two thinner spots of fog scattered about. If one of those coincided with the Small Skellig, I knew it would look incredible. If it didn't, then the trip would be a wasted one!

So much in photography depends on going out in marginal conditions - you'll either come back with something spectacular or you'll come back empty handed. There's rarely a middle ground on those days.

I convinced him to go out, and for most of the journey you couldn't see more than 30 yards in any direction. However, as we got closer to the Small Skellig, the fog began to thin out, and sure enough it ended up being exactly what I hoped - not so clear that the island was just set against a gray background, but exactly thick enough to show the layers of  rock receding into the distance, and emphasise the drama and ruggedness of this incredible rock.

Capturing the image on a small boat while it was pitching and rolling was difficult - especially as I'm prone to sea sickness (despite spending a lot of time on the water for my coastal work)! It's made all the worse when the camera decides to have a tantrum and refuses to work properly at the critical moment! However, between my friend's expert boat handling and my loud curses at the camera, and suppression of my rebellious stomach while I carefully framed and exposed the image, I was able to achieve my goal and I couldn't be happier with this image.

My own copy hanging on my wall at home brings me a lot of joy and I know yours will too!

The finest lighthouse on the Irish coast, the Fastnet stands proud on an unusually calm fine Summer's evening.
A granite tower constructed of interlocking blocks, it's a virtual monolith which presents itself like the bow of a ship to the incoming Atlantic swells, dissipating their energy before they reach peak force.
So effective is the design and construction that it has survived the worst the Atlantic can throw at it for over a century with nary a scratch. In 1985, it was struck by a 48m rogue wave (the same height as the focal plane of the lantern). This stove in the glass of the lantern room and overturned the vat of mercury on which the lantern turns, but the structure took no other damage.

Inch Beach is beloved of anyone who's holidayed there - and indeed many families return year after year.
I've long wanted a photograph of it, but it had always eluded me until this one. I chose an elevated viewpoint so you can see the shape of the beach itself and the matching shapes of the waves as they advance in from Dingle Bay.
In a large print, you can see individual surfers in the water, as well as people enjoying their time on the beach on this early Spring day.

The famous Skellig islands, Skellig Michael (on the left) and the Small Skellig are seen on a calm evening near the Vernal Equinox at sunset.

Inis Tuaisceart (Inishtooskert in English) is the northernmost of the Blasket Islands off the tip of the Dingle peninsula. In fact, the name means 'Northern Island', perhaps a little unimaginatively.
The official name may be somewhat lacking, but it's known colloquially in Irish as 'an Fear Marbh', or the Dead Man. It does look uncannily like a man lying on his back. Also known in English as 'the Sleeping Giant' or 'the Sleeping Monk'.
Photographed here at sunset on a fine summer's evening, it's hard to imagine a more beautiful location.

The Conor Pass is the highest mountain pass in Ireland and offers the most dramatic way to enter the western part of the Dingle peninsula.
On the eastern side, an incredible narrow and winding road clings to the cliff face making it interesting for the unwary when meeting traffic coming the other way!
Once at the top of the pass, the views are quite literally breathtaking. This image was made as the sun was rising on a Summer's morning. Brandon Mountain (Cnoc Bréanainn) shows off its rugged eastern face across the Owenmore (An Abha Mhór) valley. The lakes visible are, from left to right, An Loch Geal, Loch Uí Fiannachta and Loch Neil Phádraig. Loch Cruite is just visible nestling at the base of the mountain. Brandon Bay can be seen in the right of frame in the distance.
It's from Brandon Creek on the western side of the mountain that St. Brendan is said to have begun his legendary voyage to America around the year 512 AD.

Ross Castle is one of Killarney's most popular tourist attractions. Probably built around the 15th century, it was restored in 1979 and is open to the public.
Seen here from Rien Pier by the Workmen's Rowing Club boathouse on a fine summer's morning, it's easy to see why it's such a popular place to visit.

A panoramic view of the Maharees with Brandon Mountain in the early morning haze in the background. 

Clogher is the place to be in a westerly storm. It's a fairly narrow bay and the wind and waves coming through it are always amplified. Never more so than on this stormy afternoon in January 2014. The wind was so fierce that it was a challenge to stand, let alone make photographs and the spray was constant.
Inis Tuaisceart, the Sleeping Giant, is visible on the horizon just past the breaking wave.

The Plassey is a cargo vessel that came aground in 1960 on the Carraig na Finnise reef off the east cost of Inis Oirr, the smallest and most easterly of the Aran Islands. All hands were rescued by the islanders in difficult conditions by firing grapnels to the ship and roping the crew to shore.
The ship was since driven ashore onto the island proper, and has been moved higher up the beach by subsequent violent storms. It sits well above the high tide mark, which speaks volumes of the power of the storms necessary to shift it. It's remarkable after the battering it's had over the years that the ship is still intact and upright.
From my conversations with the islanders, they believe that the next big sea to hit it (the last was sometime in the mid-90s) will destroy it, as it's in an advanced state of decay now. This will be a shame, as right now it's a big tourist draw for the island. I was told by one man, tongue in cheek, that they're looking for a replacement.
This image was made on a rather beautiful dawn, looking south towards the lighthouse.

Slea Head is by far the most iconic of Dingle locations. On the very fringes of our island, it's an incredibly rugged and wild place. Even the roads have difficulty here - a section of the nearby Slea Head drive slipped into the sea some years ago. The new section is a little further inland now!
This image was made shortly after sunset on a stormy December day. The clouds, which had been stubbornly persistent on the horizon, cleared for a few seconds to give a glimpse of the glorious colours behind them, before closing again just as quickly.
From left to right, the islands visible are, Inishvickallaun, Inishnabro and the Great Blasket.

Torc Waterfall is one of the jewels of the Killarney area. A majestic cascade through a leafy valley, it's a place of wonderful calm.
Photographed here on an overcast day, the colours and tones of the scene really shine through.

Morning mists rise above a calm Gougane Barra.

Another beloved location for holidaymakers and surfers is the Maharees, a 5 kilometre long peninsula off the north coast of the Dingle peninsula. It’s actually a tombolo, a landform that occurs when an island or islands becomes attached to the shore by a spit of sand.

The first rays of sunlight glance the top of the Macgillycuddy's Reeks with Lough Leane in the foreground. Inishfallen island with its monastery is the the left of the frame.