Evening, Coumeenoole Beach, Dingle, Kerry

I think this might be my favourite photograph. After all these years and all these places, that's a big call. But every time I come back to it, I feel the same way I did standing there.

Coumeenoole is a remarkable beach. You drop down a narrow road off the Slea Head drive, cliffs closing in on either side, and suddenly you're on this small crescent of sand with the Atlantic ahead and the land falling away behind you. I've been here when the swell was at head height and I couldn't get near the waterline. I've been here when I had to brace the tripod with my body weight. Neither trip produced anything worth keeping.

This evening was different. Calm. Almost suspiciously calm for this coast. I set up a long exposure and let the sea go smooth and milky around the moss-covered boulder in the foreground. Deep greens against pale sand, no rough water competing for attention. Heavy cloud diffused the light perfectly. The wet sand picked up a pink tone, and the water held these pale blues and greens I find endlessly appealing. The Blaskets were barely distinguishable from the cloud sitting on them.

I'd been shooting for forty minutes before I realised I hadn't checked a single frame on the back of the camera. That's usually a good sign. The dramatic evenings here make for exciting pictures, but this quiet one turned out to be the one I wanted on my own wall!