Top 5 Photographers of the Cairngorms
Along with these 5 great photographers, I offer some guided photography days around the Cairngorms National Park. I divide my guided sessions based on what subject you want to capture most. I offer Landscape Photography and Wildlife Photography days that are tailored to each person. I’m sure we will have some good fun chatting photography and seeing what this area has to offer…
These 5 photographers live or work around the Cairngorm National Park. They are huge inspirations for me as I begin my path to becoming a professional photographer.
In this article I’m going to introduce you to these photographers, discuss their style and their work, and give you links to their websites.
Some of them regularly run workshops or guided sessions, which you should definitely consider doing! A day with them will give you invaluable knowledge of their respective specialities.
Not only that, but they will also get you to the hidden spots around this fascinating National Park.
As I don’t have permission to reproduce their images here, instead I have included a couple of my own of subjects that they will help you capture in the Cairngorms.
James Shooter
James Shooter trained in conservation with a Masters degree in Biological Photography and Imaging. Due to his interests, he has gotten involved in Scotland: The Big Picture, a society of professionals created by a couple of the other photographers in this article.
He has access to wildlife hides and offers guided visits and tours as well. The hides he has on offer are for Red Squirrels all year round, as well as black grouse and osprey hides during their respective seasons. Alongside the wildlife hides, he offers guided day visits for mountain hares, ptarmigan, red deer, red grouse and landscapes within the Cairngorm National Park. He also has photographic tour holidays that are based around the National Park and abroad.
On his website he has divided his portfolio into 4 galleries: wildlife, landscape, adventure and aerial. All have some interesting perspectives and approaches to images. His wildlife images have a unique take on perspective and colour. He has utilised the adverse conditions to capture unique images that would have otherwise been lost to time. Very intriguing and inspiring!
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Mark Hamblin
Mark Hamblin has been working as a nature photographer for more than 20 years and has had recognition of his work in many competitions, including the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year. He has written a couple of books, such as: Wild Peak; Wild Land - Images of Nature from the Cairngorms; and Tooth & Claw - Living Alongside Britain’s Predators. He helped form society Scotland: The Big Picture with the next photographer on the list: Peter Cairns.
Like James, Mark also has access to black grouse and red squirrel hides, offering unique views of the red squirrels at a reflecting pool and in flowering heather during the summer. He also offers guiding for individuals or couples at different times of the year, getting you to the spots for the best images possible.
His image style is largely conventional, with amazing landscape vistas and wildlife portraits. There is so much of his work to look through for inspiration that it can be a bit overwhelming, after all he has been a photographer for over 20 years. His website is a little outdated, if I’m honest, and I think this is because he has been focusing his time on Scotland: The Big Picture.
Peter Cairns
Peter Cairns, like Mark Hamblin, has over 20 years experience as a photographer, specialising in nature and conservation. He is the driving force behind Scotland: The Big Picture, which is focusing on producing visual media advocating conservation of Scotland’s wildlife, wild places, and habitats.
Peter offers only a couple of photography retreats a year, unlike the 2 photographers above who have several options throughout the year. Instead he focuses his time on taking pictures, writing, film making, and giving talks about conservation and how photography can help with education about conservation and wild places.
His showcase images have some really fascinating examples and includes examples of wildlife interacting with humans. Not only that, he has managed to get a superb shot of Scotland’s rarest animal: the Scottish wild cat. He has images from around the world, but with such a large collection it means looking through everything is almost impossible. His searchable image library has close to 10,000 images, luckily he has created some smaller galleries with specific subjects or themes. His message and his body of work are true inspirations for everyone.
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Andy Howard
Andy Howard is relatively new to the world of professional photography when compared to Peter Cairns and Mark Hamblin, but he has made great strides and has an inspired vision for wildlife photography. His most recent work is the book, Secret Life of the Mountain Hare, which took him 7 years to gather all of the images that explores the behaviour of this iconic Scottish mammal. His handle on Twitter and Instagram directly relate to his passion for these animals with the monicker of the Hare Whisperer.
Andy offers many tours and masterclasses, which are species specific short tours, focusing on animals such as the famous mountain hare, ospreys, otters on the Isle of Mull, and White Tailed Eagles. His tours are a week-long and are divided into Winter Wildlife, Spring in the Cairngorms, and tours on the Isle of Mull.
His image library is divided by species and features a multitude of examples of behaviour for each species. His style is often very intimate, capturing behaviours that would otherwise go unobserved due to his patience and knowledge of the species. Portraits of animals are big category for him, along with using snow for dramatic effect.
Neil McIntyre
Neil McIntyre is a prolific wildlife photographer around the Cairngorm National Park. Many of the postcards and prints that you may see in gift shops are his work. In fact my family have a print of a Grizzly Bear taken in Canada by Neil hanging in our apartment in the National Park. Neil is also involved in Scotland: The Big Picture and has achieved one of his life goals, by publishing a book with Scotland: The Big Picture about Red Squirrels - The Red Squirrel: A Future in the Forest.
Neil offers a couple of photo tours a year, focusing on wildlife around the Cairngorms National Park and other important areas of Scotland, such as the Isle of Mull and Shetland. In between the tours Neil offers the possibility for 1 to 1 sessions focusing on specific species, including a red squirrel hide, red deer days, crested tit days, ptarmigan, mountain hare, red grouse, otters, and roe deer!
His galleries have been easily divided into species making browsing easy and great sources of inspiration to target your own species. For each species featured in his galleries, Neil has managed to capture some unique behaviour or postures, which clearly show his dedication to wildlife photography. His images are great!
Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook
Along with these 5 great photographers, I offer some guided photography days around the Cairngorms National Park. I divide my guided sessions based on what subject you want to capture most. I offer Landscape Photography and Wildlife Photography days that are tailored to each person. I’m sure we will have some good fun chatting photography and seeing what this area has to offer…
Conclusion
These 5 photographers are true inspirations for the Cairngorm National Park, especially for wildlife. Their collective work has been featured in over 100 books and articles. They have all won or come highly in national and international competitions and it is clear to see why when exploring their galleries.
I will need many years to gather as many images as each of them have on offer. They are dedicated to the conservation of the area and I will always be aspiring to have images like them.
Don’t forget that the images featured here are not theirs as I can’t use their images without their permission, so instead I’ve featured images of my own that are subjects in which they specialise, such as mountain hares and crested tits.
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Written by Daniel Long
Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.