Shot at Loch Cill Chriosd (or Loch Kilchrist), on the Isle of Skye. This beautiful loch is about half way between Broadford and Elgol which had been the original journey plan but a snow capped Blaven and the delicate layer of ice with those fragile reeds popping through prompted a welcome detour.

Shot on a chilly winter’s night in Glencoe. I woke very early after sampling a share of the sherry cask malt at the King’s House Hotel and was thrilled to find snow falling on Buachaille Etive Mor… Driving wasn’t possible, so I gathered my gear and hiked, still half asleep, to Black Rock Cottage while the stars and clouds danced, then parted, illuminating the famous cottage and iconic mountain. These moments are fleeting and my pulse was racing… I chose a wide aperture, set manually to infinity, and cranked up the ISO, so I could keep the exposure length down and limit the movement in the stars. There was still a real risk of overexposing the snow but Nikon retains great shadow detail, so I underexposed the RAW (to bring the light back into the shadows in Lightroom). Within seconds, the ‘Buckle’ (Buachaille Etive Mor) was shrouded in cloud and the stars had disappeared. One of those occasions when you feel you might have captured a special moment…. The after-glow was still with me as I returned to the King’s House for a hearty “Climbers Breakfast”