As 'The Shore' was claiming Oscar glory last weekend, an Ederney man was enjoying basking in the success of the short film.

Aidan Monaghan, a former pupil of St. Joseph's PS Ederney, St. Mary's College, Irvinestown and St. Michael's College, Enniskillen, provided the stills for Terry George's Academy award winning film.

The self-taught photographer has shot the still photographs for a number of theatre productions but 'The Shore', which was shot in 2010, was his first taste of film work.

Landing the job came after Aidan had emailed various film companies his existing photography portfolio which at that stage consisted mainly of theatre productions and landscape work.

"I managed to get in contact with Oorlagh George, the film director Terry George's daughter and co-producer on 'The Shore'. As It happened Oorlagh was very impressed with my work, particularly my landscape photography. She indicated that it suited the feel and mood of 'The Shore' which was set in Coney Island beneath the Mourne mountains," explained Aidan.

The film focuses on the relationship between two old friends separated by 25 years of conflict and emigration who rediscover their friendship through the home coming of the main character played by Ciaran Hinds.

Although it was his first film, the Ederney men felt that there was something special about 'The Shore.' "It felt like a special film from the outset. Firstly it was shot during a week of beautiful sunshine in late August 2010. Also the location of the film set beneath the Mourne mountains at Coney island; this small tidal inlet constantly changed with the rise and fall of the tides and created a certain pace and rhythm to the shoot.

"Furthermore, there was the fact that the film was produced on the scale of a family enterprise and was shot on a shoestring. Everyone that was there - cast and crew - wanted to contribute their skills and could see that the was a very personal project for director Terry George and his family," he said.

So was it a surprise on Monday morning to discover that the film had won the Oscar for the best short film?

"I was delighted to hear in January that the film had been nominated for an Ocsar. This was an exceptional achievement in itself. At this time I was preoccupied preparing images for Oorlagh to go into to creating a new poster for the film and accompanying press pack for the Oscars," commented Aidan.

He added: "To actually win the Oscar this week, I think caught everyone by surprise. You always assume LA is so far removed from here, particularly Coney Island, County Down where the film was shot. However, I think Terry's real skill as a writer and director is creating relationships and shared stories between the characters of 'The Shore', which are universal and anyone can relate to." And the photographer feels that 'The Shore' has opened the door for him with regards the film industry. Since that he has worked on 'Keith Lemon - The Film' starring Keith Lemon, Kelly Brooke and Verne Troyer as well as 'Whole Lotta Sole', another Terry George directed film, shot in Belfast and Downpatrick, which centres on a botched fish market robbery that leads to the involvement of the local police and a gangster out for revenge.

"The film was shot nearly two years ago and I am delighted to have been involved with it, particularly because it was my first film as stills photographer. It opened the door for me into the film industry. I feel lucky to have had the opportunity work on these projects and with the people who are involved in producing them," he said. Aidan is a qualified chartered architect having completed his first degree in architecture at Queen's University Belfast in 2001 and graduated from the Glasgow School of Art with a Diploma in Architecture in 2005, but he always maintained had a keen interest in photography.

"As an architecture student, and as an architect, I continued to use photography as part of my work. I always saw photography as an extension of my creative thinking process, helping me to describe and articulate ideas and concepts.

"When I returned home in 2005 from Glasgow I started to do a lot of landscape photography. This began as a hobby to get me out and about in my free time. However, it quickly turned into an obsession as I rediscovered our beautiful landscape, which I had missed while away from home." This evolved into doing theatre production shots for Belfast based theatre companies, and as the construction industry dried up and projects were postponed or cancelled, Aidan decided to take up photography full time.

And the photographer is now looking forward to seeing a number of projects being released in the near future.

"I am looking forward to seeing the release of a number of films I have been involved with last year, in particular 'Keith Lemon the Movie', 'Whole Lotta of Sole' and 'Limbo'."