Welcome to DRL Photography
I’m Daniel Long and I hope you enjoy my photos!
I’m Daniel Long and I hope you enjoy my photos!
1-1 Photography Days
I offer a range of 1-1 photography days including both wildlife and landscape experiences. For a landscape photography day I’ve arranged the experiences according to a particular environment, such as forests and lochs, mountains and the Moray coast. Whereas for a wildlife experience we will focus the day on one particular species, such as mountain hares, ptarmigan or red grouse.
For both experiences we will work with the weather of the day and we will not be put off by something as trivial as Scottish rain! We will go ahead and get some unique and interesting pictures.
That being said there are some rare occasions when an activity you have chosen may not be able to go ahead due to dangerous weather conditions, particularly in the mountains. So for Mountain landscapes and ptarmigan photography days we will have to have a back up plan, just in case the weather proves to beat us.
We will try and get some unique and interesting images every day. To be honest, I have never had a day working with wildlife where the results were the same.
I will always be at your side, often with my own camera, and I’ll give you as much tuition and advice about camera settings that you require to get the image that you are after. We will also talk about composition, weather, ideas for possible images, and photography in general!
Below are brief descriptions of each of the one to one sessions that I offer with links to a more detailed description.
Every tour includes transportation to/from Aviemore and surrounding areas, and can be extended to Inverness.
As well as transportation, there will be bottles of water, some fresh fruit and chocolate bars, and a flask of hot water for coffee/tea or even hot chocolate available in the car!
I will be guiding you to locations and can provide as much tuition as you ask for, don’t be shy there are no bad questions and I will do my best to answer them.
As well as tuition, I am sure that we will have a good time and talk a lot about photography!
Prices are £200 for one to one per day and £300 for one to two per day.
Please familiarise yourself with the Health and Safety Policy regarding Guided Photography days and in particular the Risk Assessment for your chosen activity. By booking a guided session, you agree to the Terms and Conditions set out in the booking form.
On a landscape photography guided day out we will spend the day looking for the best conditions to capture some amazing pictures of the Scottish countryside. Depending on which type of experience you decide to choose, I will take you to some locations that will hopefully result in some good images.
Currently I offer experiences centred around a particular environment, such as forest and lochs or the Moray Coast, and I will endeavour to take you around those environments and talk to you about the ways that you can capture that environment.
Available Year Round, Prices from £200 1-1 and £300 1-2 per day
For a day of Forests and Lochs landscape photography we will be based close to Aviemore for the majority of the day and we will endeavour to capture pictures of the various lochs and forests of the Cairngorms National Park. On some days, we may even venture a bit further outside of the National Park to make the most of the weather conditions.
Forests and lochs are suitable for most weather conditions and it would be very rare for me to suggest we change from this subject, if this is what you choose.
This tour is particularly interesting in the Autumn, when the birches and larches of the local forests turn a vibrant golden yellow, and in Spring, when there are still the remnants of last year’s autumn foliage on the ground and the pastel coloured greens emerging on the trees.
The Cairngorms area has some of the most beautiful lochs in Scotland and it is definitely worth exploring the Ancient Caledonian forest that survives in this unique area!
For more information follow this link.
Forests and Lochs
Available Year Round, Prices from £200 1-1 and £300 1-2 per day
The Moray Coast tour will be a day in the car moving from location to location along the jagged and varied coast line. There are many different landscape photography opportunities, from rocky, craggy cliffs to sandy beaches and even a coastal forest planted to stabilise the sand.
The sea will of course play a key part to this tour and we can explore different ways of capturing it. The most challenging weather conditions for this tour will be a bright, cloudless day over-saturating the sky and voiding it of interest, but if you are up for the challenge then we will definitely keep to our schedule!
Personally I find the coast particularly haunting on winter days and I love to try and capture that sense, but this location is particularly good throughout the year. And as long as you haven’t photographed it before, Bow Fiddle Rock will definitely be on any itinerary as it is such a fantastic location to explore and photograph!
For More information follow this link.
Moray Coast
Available Year Round, Prices from £200 1-1 and £300 1-2 per day
The Great Glen tour is inspired by my Loch Ness Location Guide as that guide describes a day that I took exploring around the Great Glen and Loch Ness area. Depending on the day and where you have photographed before, we will explore some of these locations as well as others that are around the Loch Ness area.
A visit to Urquhart Castle is included if you would like to visit and it can be a nice stop to get some pictures of this ruined castle on the banks of the loch (although there will be other tourists in the way, so this is up to you). There are some amazing vistas around the Great Glen and we will have a full day of exploration to get some great images.
We will be able to see everything from mountains to lochs, river to castles, and I am sure you will not be bored!
Like the Moray Coast tour, this requires quite a lot of driving and we will be moving from location to location. But it is amazing what goes unnoticed around Loch Ness, and you never know maybe we will spot the elusive monster…
For more information follow this link.
Loch Ness & Great Glen
Available Summer Months Only, Prices from £200 1-1 and £300 1-2 per day
The last landscape photography tour that I offer is an exploration into the Cairngorm Mountains themselves.
This is a hard day out during which we will most likely climb a Munro, so it can be a very physically demanding day out.
Often on the approach path we will have photographic opportunities including forests, river and lochs before we actually enter the montane environment. The mountains environment can be quite challenging for photography, but we will do our best to find a composition that works.
Our day out will involve a hike out into the mountains and the return journey, there are many different routes that we could tackle and knowing which you have scaled in the past will be the best way to determine which route we will be taking on any given day.
This is also the tour during which weather can play the biggest determining factor on weather a tour category will need to be changed. Your safety is paramount in my thoughts and I will not guide you into the mountains in conditions that I feel could put your or my own safety at risk. Therefore on the day before our tour is due to start I will be examining the weather predictions and conditions meticulously before I decide whether it may be unwise to continue.
Scottish weather can be highly variable, I try to predict the best I can but it is not always easy.
Furthermore, I do not feel comfortable guiding someone into the mountains in the winter as this is a very dangerous time of year to be in the hills. This tour is only available through the summer months, until I have completed a winter skills course to ensure our safety in the mountains.
For more information follow this link.
Mountain Landscapes
Available Year Round, Prices from £400 1-1 and £700 1-2, overnight for 2 days
This landscape photography tour involves a hike into the remote wilderness and a night out under the stars. Please be aware that you need to have your own equipment for camping and photography, and be able to carry everything that you need for a night out.
With that being said, this is a wonderful 2 days of photography.
It will begin in the morning and we will head to the starting point of our route. Camera equipment should be easily accessible because along the way we will undoubtedly have photographic opportunities. We will eventually come to our camping spot for the night, and after setting up camp we will explore the area for some more photography before heading to our sunset location.
If we have the rare clear Scottish night, then we might even be able to have a go at some astro-photography, the opportunities for which are few and far between up here!
We will rise early to take some sunrise images before breakfast and packing up camp to head back to the car, again taking pictures along the route. This is an overnight trip lasting 1.5 to 2 days of photography.
There is an extensive recommended kit list and you will need to be sure that you have all the necessary equipment.
For more information follow this link.
Wild Camping Overnight
On a wildlife photography guided day we will spend the day attempting to photograph a specific species of your choice, although if we come across another one we will surely make use of that subject as well! The location will depend on which animal you wish to photograph but it shall be centred around the Cairngorms National Park and occasionally just beyond its borders.
The first part of the experience is getting to the location, some species are easily photographed from the car and others will require a hike to get into their habitat. Once we are in their habitat we will begin our search for an individual, this can be quite difficult but also extremely rewarding, the animals often rely on camouflage for their protection but I will show you some techniques to allow us to find a subject.
Once we have located an animal I will talk you through our approach and we will attempt to get close enough for some unique images. We will repeat this process until the day ends and hopefully you will have a range of images that showcase the unique species you have chosen. We will always try to work with the light and the animal, and be respectful of their comfort zone, as we do not want to distress them.
Available Year Round, Prices from £200 1-1 and £300 1-2 per day
Red grouse is a fairly easy day without a strenuous hike, we will focus on an area in which we can easily approach them and even photograph them from the car. There are a couple of areas in the Cairngorms and we may visit several areas in the same day.
As well as photographing them from the car we will, attempt to get closer with stalking and may have a short hike across the heather moors. They can be quite skittish and nervous of humans, so we will take care when approaching them not to scare them. If they do fly away we will track their movements and hopefully be able to get closer again.
These birds are masters of camouflage and spotting them amongst heather will be our biggest challenge of the day. This activity is available year round and the habitat can provide us with some interesting contrast as the year goes on, from the light green shoots of heather in Spring to purple blankets of flowers in Summer to a snowy wonderland in Winter.
The weather does not play a huge part in this activity as we will be fairly close to the car for the majority of the day, moreover rain and snow can really make an image stand out!
So, no matter when you will be visiting, I’m sure we will get something unique!
For more information follow this link.
Red Grouse
Available Year Round, Prices from £200 1-1 and £300 1-2 per day
Mountain hare are an alpine specialist species only found in true montane habitat and therefore require a hike of about an hour to an hour and a half to get within their habitat.
There are a couple of locations across the Cairngorm and Monaidhliath mountain ranges and I will choose based on the conditions of the day. After the hike into their habitat we will take a short rest to catch our breath and have a drink, and while we do this we will scan the landscape looking for individual subjects.
Once we’ve located a subject we will attempt to get closer, the good news is that hares are quite docile if we approach them in the right way, which I will show you. If we unfortunately scare the hare, we will take a break and allow it to run off. We won’t pursue that particular individual as it will now be very nervous, and will instead try to find another individual.
This activity is available year round, not only does the environment that their hares live evolve through the year but also the hares change the pelage or coats throughout the year, turning completely white in winter and a lovely blue-grey colour in summer.
We will try to work with the weather, but in rare cases when the wind is very high or there is a very low cloud and fog we may need to change our plans, but this happens rarely and as long as you come well equipped we should not have any issues.
For more information follow this link.
Mountain Hares
Available Year Round, Prices from £200 1-1 and £300 1-2 per day
Ptarmigan, like mountain hares, are an alpine specialist living above 600 metres in the mountains across Scotland. The Cairngorm Mountains provide the perfect place for this elusive bird to call home.
As the birds live high in the mountains we will need to hike into their habitat, which will take about an hour, maybe a bit longer, and it is a mountain trail with some steep uphill sections. Once we have ascended a decent amount we will move off of the main path onto a side track that is uneven and leads to a boulder field where the Ptarmigan like to hide.
These little birds are beautiful all year round and they are great at camouflage, in winter they turn completely white to blend in to the snow and in summer the males are grey and white while the females are brown and white, both blend in to their surroundings exceptionally well.
Ptarmigan are a bit more relaxed than red grouse and are generally comfortable with a close approach, the hardest part of the day will be spotting some individuals as they hide amongst the boulders.
As this is a day in the mountains, the weather is going to play a huge part in whether the day can go ahead as planned. If there is a very strong wind then we will have to change our plans because not only is it dangerous but the birds themselves will be hidden away.
Furthermore if there is a lot of low cloud then it will be very difficult photographing the birds and it may be dangerous in the mountains. So I will keep an eye on the conditions and I feel that the conditions are too much for us, we can either do a different activity or I can offer to reschedule/refund the day.
More than likely the day will go ahead as planned and we will have a fantastic time photographing these wee birds!
For more information follow this link.
Ptarmigan
Available December to March Only, Prices from £200 1-1 and £300 1-2 per day
Red Deer are an iconic Scottish species, often called the Monarch of the Glen for their regal appearance.
During the winter months the male deer have their full rack of antlers and, after the testosterone fuelled Rut in Autumn, they congregate together without any hard feelings over the violent clashes they had when protecting their harems of females.
The males gather in large herds, sometimes numbering a couple hundred individuals and in winter they spend less time in the higher reaches and come down to the glens and valleys of the Highlands.
The day will mainly be in the car, making use of it as a mobile hide blocking our scent from them. We will go to several locations around the Highlands and we should hopefully have some great encounters with the largest mammal in Britain.
There is also the option to add a visit to the Alvie Estate during which they will feed the deer in a forest scene, creating very dramatic and interesting images, if you would like to add this to the day then mention it in your e-mail.
As well as photographing the deer from the car, we will occasionally make short walks and stalk the deer to get in to a more favourable position.
The weather should not play a huge part in our day, with rain actually helping dampen our scent, so we will head out no matter the weather.
For more information follow this link.
Red Deer
