Photographing Argyll and Bute
Scotland is loved by landscape photographers. Be it the drama of Glencoe or Skye, the snowy peaks of the Cairngorms, or the lochs and glens of the Trossachs, there’s just so much to go at. Throw in the volatile weather conditions and no two images of the same location will ever be identical. Infinite variables. Breathtaking beauty.
The more adventurous (i.e. fit) photographers will hike, climb, and camp on mountain tops, capturing fantastic images of places that many of us mere mortals are unlikely ever to witness. Others use amazing drone shots to create stunning cinematography, showcasing the land in which we’re so lucky to live or visit.
Let’s be realistic though, I’m a little too old (and unfit) for all that. So I try to capture images that most people might see for themselves; images of locations for which they might have a particular fondness or a connection. My photos will generally be from locations that are reasonably accessible. Some images, perish the thought, might include a building, or even people. Is that landscape photography? Travel photography? Street photography? Typically, I’m not one for being painted into a neatly labelled corner. I’ll just try to capture what I love.
Argyll is my home and I love it here. Driving south from Fort William, Glen Coe, Ballachulish, the landscape begins to take on a slightly more benign personality. The road sign for Argyll and Bute gets a happy wave from the car. The pretty inlets and bays with their orange lichens and black rocks. Lismore slumbering in the calm waters of the Lynn of Lorn. Castle Stalker. Mull across the water, Connell, Oban… This could, and does, continue for another 100 miles past Southend on the Mull of Kintyre. We could cross the water to Jura or Islay, or venture inland to Inveraray, Loch Lomond, Loch Eck. Loch Goil even.
I think there’s a project here; to focus some photographic effort on capturing the less celebrated beauty of Argyll and the islands. I’ve already combined 25 of my favourite Argyll images into a first edition of my coffee table book - now available in my shop. I’d like to do more.
Where in Argyll and Bute would you like me to photograph for inclusion in my next book, or perhaps to make available as a print?
