Natural wonders: from the waters and the wild

It took Mike Brown several four-hour round trips from west Cork to the wilds of the Tipperary-Waterford border to make sure he had the right place.

Then, one muggy midsummer's night, he left his sleeping family to make the journey for the last time. The road ended some distance from his chosen location, so he was forced to trudge through the undergrowth, clambering over rocks with a heavy load on his back. The weather had changed, which worried him a little, but he was determined that tonight was the night. He arrived at the place at 3 a.m. The air was damp and thick with biting midges. He settled himself down among the shading ferns and waited. Shortly after first light his determination and long hours of patient waiting were rewarded. The female merlin rose from her nest and he had his shot.

Such is the unwavering dedication Mike Brown brings to his photography throughout his book, Ireland's Wildlife.

"That was one very uncomfortable night. The weather didn't do what it was supposed to do, the midges were killing me but when the bird finally came along, it made the picture worthwhile," Brown says.

It took three years of wading through streams, waiting for hours in joint-crippling hides and even taking to the open seas to get the shots that would perfectly reflect the natural beauty of Ireland's flora and fauna.

The resulting book is alive with vivid flowers and plants and almost impossibly intimate portraits of birds and animals.

"There's so much there we literally pass by. A simple, common plant, close up can have incredible architecture, structure, beauty colour and shape," he says.

"I sought to photograph the subjects in a way that would show their natural beauty and the point of the book is that most subjects are accessible, they're growing in or visiting our gardens and they're there to be enjoyed."

• Ireland's Wildlife, by Mike Brown, is published by Mike Brown Photography, €39.95. It is available from bookshops or at www.mikebrownphotography.com