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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: Trotternish Ridge from the Quiraing Footpath
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I have previously vowed not to follow the hoardes and take this shot from the Quiraing footpath looking south. However, I had the chance of the place to my self - entirely - today and that has to be pretty rare so I took the opportunity for my first visit in over 30 years. Despite the cliche, I am very happy with the result. I opted for a desaturated finish, which I feel reflects the winter colour pallete more accurately than the more common over-saturated approach. This one worked for me and has produced a really dramatic image. The sad lonely tree does beg the question of what the landscape might look like if there had been less grazing by sheep over the years?
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The Classic View from the Quiraing Path
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Updated -- 19th January 2021