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I am a part-time 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.
Photo of the Week: Amazing Textures of an Old Oak Tree
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The Kyle Line is world famous and is ranked as one of the top ten railway journeys. The section from Achnasheen to Kyle is particularly spectacular, especially where it hugs the coast, an amazing feat of engineering at the time it was created. This shot was captured at the level crossing at Duirinish Station, looking into the setting sun with the amber light reflected perfectly on the converging lines of the rails disappearing into the distance. It was a challenge to balance the exposure, looking straight at the sun, but I under-exposed the image knowing I could recover some of the detail in the darker areas since I was shooting in RAW and it worked out well.
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The Kyle Line at Duinrinish Station
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Updated -- 15th February 2021