“Sometimes I do get to places just when God’s ready to have somebody click the shutter.” – Ansel Adams This was one of those moments which was fleeting and I knew would never be repeated.  So being there and witnessing it was wonderful but realising I had to make an image that captured it required my full concentration and lessens the ability to just enjoy it a little. The sun behind me was setting and about to drop below high ridge, putting the valley floor into shadow. It was also dropping into a slim sliver of clear sky which I thought could produce some drama on the mountains opposite.  As it did, this razor like cut of light fell on the base of the mountain with the approaching squalls turning the rest of the sky an ominous dark black. Once again I felt I was realising years of contemplating another artists work,  the painter Tim Goulding, who's Mountain Fires paintings , I've long coveted and admired.  This was my mountain fire and it was a glorious sight.

I'm based and work mainly on the west coast of Ireland which is frequently battered by Atlantic storms in Autumn and Winter. I'm no storm chaser but sometimes I do find myself out when the weather takes a turn for worse and it can be both exhilarating and frightening to witness the power of nature up close. Here you can see Cromwell Point lighthouse on Valentia Island during a storm with Beginish Island in the background.

An iconic tourist destination and a wonderful place to visit any time of the year. I photographed this scene in winter, during a break in a cycle of storms on a rare still morning which afforded me the perfect reflections in the water to make this composition work perfectly. In winter time the grasses die off and lighten in colour, giving a more interest contrast against the dark rock.

Lauragh Moon Early morning at Lauragh with a full moon setting as first light hits the mountain tops.

Ireland’s highest mountain, and it’s most majestic mountain range. Carrauntoohill is nested in the McGillycuddys Reeks and is a hugely popular place for walkers, hikers, and climbers. Coming here mid week in winter, you are more than likely to have the entire place to yourself for most of your time. As always when photographing mountains, I aim to make an image putting the subject in the context of it’s surroundings.

One of my favourite trips in this area is to take the small road that runs from Kilgarvan, through the Borlin Valley towards Bantry. At the top of the pass, on remote and rugged bogland sits the ruins of this old cottage which I love to return to and wonder about those who lived here many years ago.

After spending two years photographing in the Killarney National Park I began to shift focus from ' recording ' the dramatic landscape to capturing the very essence and nature of the place and the very special sights you can witness within it. Early morning is always my preference, any time of year and during a particularly long dry spell the water levels on the lake drop to the point where you can walk out to locations rarely accessible. Here I choose to focus on this wonderfully still scene instead of the coming drama ahead as first light hits the Reeks behind.

The area known as Lamb’s Head at Caherdaniel is a beautiful and dramatic place to explore. Winter or Summer, the sunsets here can be glorious, but I prefer winter time when the lack of many other visitors gives the place a very special feeling when exploring it.

This Blood Moon rising on April 15, 2014 is as a result of a partial lunar eclipse, which in other parts of the world was a total eclipse. It is a 30 second exposure which should give an indication on how dark the moon actually was as it rose. It was more like a setting sun that I have seen in the far east and despite the cold, was a very beautiful couple of hours spent up on the Healy Pass watching this and making some images.

I'm surrounding by a wild and dramatic landscape that can sometimes be quite overwhelming and almost too much too photograph ! On mornings like this when a low fog softens the entire landscape and isolates wonderful details it's a great treat to be able to make quieter more reflective images. This is near Derrycunnihy on the Upper Lake in Killarney National Park, taken from a boat after travelling up along the Long Range from Muckross, one of the great water journeys you can do anywhere in Ireland.

Skellig Moon II The iconic Skellig Islands , off the west coast of Kerry with an April full moon setting in the morning. The once in a lifetime perfect image that took three years and 16 failed attempts to make is by far the most popular image sold in the gallery. This was made just before sunrise in April at 6.13 am as the moon sits just two degress above the horizon. It is the lowest I have witness the moon setting and is coloured yellow as most of the white light is filtered out as it travels through more atmosphere at that elevation. It was still quite dark so a 1 second exposure was required which gives the breaking wave that blurred effect. I had underexposed slightly to ensure the details of the moon were not blown out and used a hard graduated filter over the lens to make sure and balance the exposure. Often dismissed as a 'photoshopped' image.. I haven't grown tired of explaining it to visitors and reliving that wonderful morning again and again !   Skellig Moon II is an open edition available in three sizes.

The Cherry Drive The iconic Cherry Drive with it's wonderful avenue of Cherry Blossom trees in bloom on a crisp April morning. My main challenge in making this image was to have the location without the throng of walkers that visit it every morning combined with some mist to soften the scene and diffuse that early morning light. Thankfully, I had such a morning for a wonderfully colourful and evocative scene.