We travel to the Cairngorms in Scotland for an adventure in some stunning wintery snow conditions to capture some wildlife and landscape photography.
See how a real wildlife photographer does things - https://www.instagram.com/lyle_mccalmont/
Last week I missed uploading a video for the first time in two and half years and it’s good to be back. I head up to Scotland to visit the Cairngorms with my very good friend Lyle McCalmont, to shoot some landscape photography and wildlife photography. Lyle is an expert wildlife photographer and is my sole inspiration to go out and capture our animal friends. In this video he takes me deep into the Cairngorm woods to shoot the Crested Tit, known locally as the ‘Crestie’. A small and interesting bird that moves incredibly quickly and is pretty shy compared to the other locals.
Best laid plans
The day did not go exactly according to plan. Every time I travel to Scotland I am overwhelmed by the scale of the place. I am often associated with the Lake District, it is truly an incredible place and dear to my heart but Scotland takes things to a whole other level. The mountains are taller and the lochs are bigger than the lakes, but the highlands are so very huge and isolated in a way that will humble any person. The scale of the place is so very impressive but it makes it difficult to capture your best landscape photography. When you do not know a place, photographing it is a real challenge. Travelling to a new location and trying to find a good composition can be frustrating when you know something amazing could be round the next corner but you just can’t see it. I did my best to overcome this and find some nice shots. I succeeded in one sense but failed in another when I could not make a picture out of the incredible trees that were on offer. It was very good fun capturing some wildlife photography though. I am not always a big fan but I do enjoy the challenge of a bit of bird capture. The crested tit turned out to be very shy but I still managed to grab a couple of decent snaps of the bird that only shows itself in the Cairngorms.
Winter Landscapes
The snowy and wintery landscape provided some superb opportunities for some top draw drone footage that was immensely enjoyable. The frozen water of Loch Morlich was also an incredible sight to witness. I feel incredibly privileged to have seen it and it will be something I never forget.
