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I am a part-time Royal Photographic Society Licentiate (LRPS) photographer who is also a Chartered Geographer with his own part-time consultancy business. I also work as an estate manager for a national conservation charity in Scotland, and I am based in Lochalsh, Wester Ross, just next to the Isle of Skye.
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My main interest, photographically, reflects my career working in conservation in the west Highlands of Scotland. However, my focus lies more in the cultural landscape than the concept of wild land. I seek to capture a unique photographic perspective of the Highlands & Islands as a cultural landscape and to offer the opportunity for people to experience that through my images.
I got my first camera, a medium format twin reflex model (I can't remember the make and model), when I was in my early teens. With only 12 images per film it led to a frugal attitude to creating exposures. I was soon to inherit a Praktika 35mm with a variety of lenses which served me well for a good number of years, despite being driven over by a dormobile on the Isle of Skye. I was always inspired by the rugged landscapes, the coastline and mountains, the croft lands and the lochs of the Highlands, even as a young child when my relationship with this wonderful land was shaped during my excursions north from central Scotland during our family holidays. One of my early passions was taking photographs of flowers and other plants using my Praktika with a 135mm macro lens on an old bellows system. I was also inspired by the images of Colin Baxter, who brought in an entirely new era in Scottish landscape photography. Suddenly postcards and calendars had artistic and dramatic images that captured a sense of the atmosphere of Scotland. Later I was to discover other photographers from further afield, most notably Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and Michael Kenna. Perhaps unsruprisingly I have developed a deep love of black & white imagery and many of my shots today, even the digital ones, are processed as monochrome. |
I hope you enjoy browsing my website. My Portfolio pages include a range of my favourite photographs although I have many more, most of which have featured in my Blog which I have maintained since 2015. In the blog I try to describe some of my motivations and photographic process and also include some experiments, successful and otherwise. If you enjoy readng my blog please feel free to add a comment. You can also buy my images, either for digital use or in a range of printed formats, via my Sales page.
Image of the Month
Female Stonechat
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Female Stonechat in Snow
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So, it is early in the month to post any image(s) of the month, but I am not sure I'll beat these ones. If so I'll replace them later in the month. However, I found it difficult to choose just one image so decided to post these two for slightly different reasons.
The images are of the same female stonechat which I photographed on 3rd January at Kirkton when it was snowing quite heavily. The image on the left is pin sharp and I was particularly pleased with how well the bird's markings show up against the snowy background. The one on the right is probably my preferred image but is not quite so pin sharp, but it is a wonderful composition with the snow flakes making it a truly lovely image. I suspect this will be my Christmas card image for this year's festive season.
These little birds are really hardy, remaining here throughout the winter. I remember them being particularly hard hit by the two long cold winters of 2010 and 2011. Following those harsh winters I did not see a single stonechat locally for amost three years. They have made a strong recovery, thankfully, and remain one of my favourite species with their bright colourful plummage (especially the males) and distinctive chack call that gives them their name.
The images are of the same female stonechat which I photographed on 3rd January at Kirkton when it was snowing quite heavily. The image on the left is pin sharp and I was particularly pleased with how well the bird's markings show up against the snowy background. The one on the right is probably my preferred image but is not quite so pin sharp, but it is a wonderful composition with the snow flakes making it a truly lovely image. I suspect this will be my Christmas card image for this year's festive season.
These little birds are really hardy, remaining here throughout the winter. I remember them being particularly hard hit by the two long cold winters of 2010 and 2011. Following those harsh winters I did not see a single stonechat locally for amost three years. They have made a strong recovery, thankfully, and remain one of my favourite species with their bright colourful plummage (especially the males) and distinctive chack call that gives them their name.
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Updated -- 18th January 2026