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!

Made while staying overnight on the island in 2012, this image shows the taller of the two peaks, the south peak, from the northern peak, just above the monastery.

Looking over the Spit from the narrow and precipitous South Peak across to the monastery on Skellig Michael, with the Small Skellig in the distance. The triangular shadow of the peak itself is visible on the water as well.

Skellig Michael is perhaps Ireland's most alluring location. Wild and untamed, it was home to a monastery of ascetic monks from about the 6th to the 13th century.
This image was made from across Christ's Saddle between the two peaks of the island, looking towards the North Peak, which is where the monastery is located.

The classic aerial shot of the island showing the active lighthouse (bottom right) and the decommissioned one (top left), along with the hermitage (on the larger peak) and the monastery (on the lower peak).

A lone figure lights the way to the monastery on the peak of Skellig Michael on a calm night.

The ridge of the north peak sweeps through the frame with the monastery sheltering in its lee at sunrise.

The Skellig monastery shelters beneath the jagged precipice of the North Peak at sunrise.

Skellig Michael (Sceilig Mhichíl) is one of the jewels of Ireland's landscape and heritage. Seen here from a helicopter, the Small Skellig and Lemon Rock are also visible. Puffin Island, Valentia and Portmagee are all visible in the distance.
A double-pyramid of rock soaring up from the surface of the Atlantic, it houses two lighthouses (one decommissioned), a 6th century monastery and a hermitage from the same era.

An aerial view of the hermitage clinging to the south peak of Skellig Michael.

The Skellig Islands seen at sunset on an autumn day as a gannet flies overhead.

This view of Skellig from an aircraft overhead reveals the entire island like a map. The eastern side is on the left. The boat landing can be made out as a pale area just above the eastern point, and you can follow the whole path from there to the monastery on the left peak.

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.

Photographed just after sunrise, this view from the western end of Skellig Michael shows the two lighthouses very effectively. As shafts of sunlight penetrate the clouds and light up the sea, the abandoned northern lighthouse sits high on its ridge in the centre of the frame. The still-operational southern light is very visible with its white painted walls.

The sun rises over the North Peak of Skellig Michael with the monastery huddled on its shoulder.

A rarely seen angle on Skellig Michael, looking from the northeast. The monastery is just behind the ridge of the leftmost peak, while the lone hermitage clings to the slopes just under the summit of the right peak.

Rarely seen, the hermitage clings to the narrow South Peak of Skellig Michael with a 700 foot drop on either side. The main monastery can be seen on the North Peak in the middle distance, and the Small Skellig and the Kerry coast lie beyond.