I am an avid consumer of all types of landscape photography content on Youtube. Some are much better than others, and I get the occasional spark of inspiration to create something new,  or just to try harder and stop being so lazy.

In pretty much all the videos I watch, I find that the presenter, however photogenic or not they may be, distracts from the feeling and atmosphere of being out in a stunning location. Too much talk to the camera, overexcited chatter, and plinky plonky music detracts from the sensation of a dawn shoot down by the sea or a beautifully quiet woodland. And I hate it when they use a super narrow depth of field and their vlogging camera's face detection doesn't work and they go all blurry. Stop it!

I do relish those bits of videos where a presenter isn't talking, flying their drone, or describing f-stops. Where they are just out there, quietly looking for pictures. They are generally few and far between. So I decided I'd have a go myself. Could it be possible to make some engaging, quiet, gentle "slow TV" type content, with no hubris or ego? No pieces to camera. No music. No hype. To share an exploration of a new place and make it feel like you are there yourself, experiencing the sights, textures, and squishy mud. Nothing to detract from the feeling so you can almost smell it. With the occasional photograph thrown in.I've been thinking about this for a while, and a few weeks ago I finally decided to get on with it.  And I have the perfect opportunity.

Mrs T and I are in the process of moving to the Isle of Skye off the north west coast of Scotland. We have just completed quite major renovations on our house there, with the final job of new carpets now finished, so it's rather comfortably liveable. So here we are, in a beautiful place overlooking the sea, and with walks everywhere, and now we find ourselves unable to leave (not that I'd want to) due to the virus lockdown.What began a few weeks ago as me capturing video on my photographic explorations of the less well known parts of Skye has now become something different.

I'm hoping that the calmness and quietness of these videos can help those who are stuck in less photogenic spaces, to help them escape the claustrophobia and feel like they are elsewhere for 10 minutes or so.The focus of these videos is to capture the feeling and atmosphere of a place. There are long takes where nothing happens apart from what is happening in the environment. These may feel uncomfortable because we're all so used to being busy.

Resist the urge to do something, just relax into it. I'm aiming to release a video per week. The first four were recorded well before the lockdown started, and the following ones are all in the nearby area that I can reach easily on my daily exercise outing. We're not allowed to drive anywhere other than to do essential shopping, but cycling and walking is fine and there are very few people up here at the moment.

Without further ado, here are the first three videos. I'm intending to publish a video per week, conditions and lockdown permitting. Put your sound or headphones on, settle back, and relax. 

Quiet Life #1: Photography Without Words https://youtu.be/O3D3pKkAULo

Quiet Life #2: Photography Without Words https://youtu.be/xBiG8RwvkSg

Quiet Life #3: Photography Without Words https://youtu.be/93JNbq4apbY