Last Friday, I received an email. This email contained some good news but came with a stipulation that I couldn’t tell anyone until Friday 9th of April. For those of you who know me, keeping my mouth shut for an extended period of time is not something that comes easily. But I succeeded and now that it’s official, here goes.

I am very proud to announce that my image ‘Gaillean’ received a Highly Commended award in the Landscape Category of the 2020 Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year competition. I am quite blown away and extremely proud that my image was recognised by the judges, especially considering this was the first time I had entered this competition and that I don’t get to Scotland very often to photograph.

There is a bit of a story behind the image that I thought I’d share:

The Trotternish Ridge is pretty true to the definition of dramatic. This part of the ridge is characterised by huge craggy cliffs, pinnacles and expansive plateaus brought about by one of the biggest landslips ever recorded in the UK. My vision for an image somewhere along this extensive ridge was to harness the drama and complement it with some equally dramatic weather. My first excursion at 4:30am gave me great views of the ridge, but blue skies.

I returned a few days later with the promise of more suitable weather. Walking the 30 minutes or so up the boggy hill I was greeted by cloud. A lot of it. Then rain. In my head I was cursing. But to the north I caught a glimpse of a break in the weather. As the storm began to dissipate, it revealed the imposing mass of Beinn Edra with sweeping lines rising from the coast and the rocky ridge; the early morning sunlight casting on its craggy northeast slopes and remnant clouds swirling around. This is the resulting image.

I would like to extend my congratulations to all the winners and everyone who had their images commended or highly commended in this year’s competition. There are some absolutely fantastic shots.

My image, and all the other commended and winning images, will be on display at the Bonnie & Wild Scottish Marketplace at the St. James Quarter in Edinburgh. If you are in the area, go have a look at the exhibition. It should be really great.

Go and have a look at this image and the other succesful shots of the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year website. Link on the button below: