who is this for?

Whether you are a novice or well experienced, the common factor is a desire to learn, to explore, and to experiment. You’ll be an active participant, not one of many tagging along.

Maybe you’ve already photographed Skye’s “trophy” sites and want to explore some of the hidden delights of the island. You want to get the most out of yourself and your equipment and move up to a new skill level. There may be technical things you’ve always wanted to know about but haven’t had anyone to ask. Or you want to photograph at night and need to know how to get started.

If you’re inquisitive, interested and enthusiastic, this is for you.

what to expect

planning & Portfolio call

• A 1-1 video call with you to understand what you want to get out of the experience. This means you’ll get a 100% tailored itinerary. Do you just want one day, or three? Up mountains or by the coast, or both?

• This will include shortlisting locations, understanding what you want from the technical side e.g. camera techniques, processing approaches and composition guidance.

• A look through some of your images that you’re most proud of, and some of those that you got wrong. This builds up my appreciation for how best to help when we meet, and you can guide me as to what you’d like to improve on.

• Agreeing an initial itinerary. Are we photographing at night, at dawn or at sunset, or all three? What is the best route from location one to two? Where can we get something to eat? Where are the toilets? I can also suggest accommodation.

• Help with clothing requirements, gear and equipment to make sure you’ve got everything you need.

meeting up

• I’ll come and pick you up from your accommodation on the Isle of Skye in my Defender. We’ll go through the plan and check it is still feasible.

• We will adjust according to the weather. The weather on Skye is entertaining. No plan survives the first encounter with Skye’s weather. One advantage of knowing the island so well is the ability to adapt to conditions. We’ll also adjust according to the tide times if we’re going coastal, and the celestial conditions if we are planning to be out at night.

• I’ll brief you in detail on what we’ll be doing. You’ll need to sign a waiver form to confirm you’ve been briefed and understand the risks involved.

out in the field

• A big advantage of not sharing the experience with anyone else is that we can stop whenever you want. On group workshops people can be reticent to speak up or stop for a particular shot, and then it’s gone. Not so here. This whole experience is for you, so if you want to stop and photograph a red phone box or a power pole, that’s what we’ll do.

• Depending on the itinerary you’ve decided on, we could spend the majority of time in one hard-to-reach location maximising the opportunities available to us. Or we could split our time across multiple locations as efficiently as possible. Skye is quite a large island, and travel can be slow in peak season, so I will ensure we maximise the time we have.

• Key to success is that we meet your goals. Whether it be camera operation, seeing compositions, or mastering techniques like long exposures, I’ll be alongside to guide, instruct and show you.

• You should be prepared to get rained, snowed and hailed upon. If it’s the summer we’ll need to watch out for midges, and hunt for locations that are breezier to keep them away. We’ll adapt if it is too boggy or the wind is blowing a 100mph hoolie. You’ll need to be comfortable with “wild-weeing” as toilets are few & far between in the middle of nowhere.

• We’ll have chosen an itinerary to suit your physical fitness. If it is a more active itinerary, you should be ready for the terrain and capable of dealing with it. We could have a two hour walk to our chosen location, but you’ll know all about that as we’ll have planned it beforehand.

• If you’ve asked to do some highly specialised photography, such as for otters, we’ll meet up with the expert I’ve selected and they’ll ensure we’ve got the best chance of stalking their territory to get into position.

• I carry a satellite messaging GPS transceiver. Mobile coverage on Skye can be non-existent so having an independent means to summon help is vital.

Back Indoors

• I’ll take you back to your accommodation. You’ll likely be knackered and elated. You’ll have had a huge dose of fresh Skye air and seen the most incredible places.

• There’s nothing better than relaxing in the bar with a laptop and looking through the photographs taken during the day. If you’ve asked me to, I’ll stick with you to work on processing your images. This is always fantastic fun as you find out if the portfolio shot you think you’ve got is the real deal.

• Once all the excitement has died down, I’ll ask you to share your top ten images with me once you’ve had time to go through them all, and I’ll provide written feedback on each of them.

other things

Leica specialisation

I’m an unapologetic Leica fan. I’ve owned Leica M9, M240, M10, T, CL, Q-P and currently use a Q3 28. I’ve used them for for professional work, and the majority of the environmental portraits in my Skye At Night book were taken with my Leica Q3, often with off-camera flash.

If you’re a Leica owner, I’ll help you get the most out of these wonderful cameras. Did you know how brilliant the M-series is for landscape photography for example? And how capable the little CL-series is?

If you want to use your Leica to the maximum extent, I’ll show you how.

cameras and drones

No Leica, no problem. Aside from my Leicas, I use a Sony A7III for night photography and anything needing more than 75mm focal length. I’ve also had the pleasure of being deep into Canon professional cameras for my sports work, and Fujifilm including the lovely X100 series. Whatever your gear you’ll get the same service.

If you’ve got a drone I’ll help you to ensure you are able to fly it legally on Skye. There are some no fly zones, and almost the entire island is under an enhanced warning zone. This is because of military fast jet training flights that operate in the area.

There are also areas where it’s just not sensible to fly. For example, there are many seabird colonies along the cliffs. During breeding season these should be left well alone. Even outside breeding season, disturbance to wildlife should be avoided.

I fly a DJI Mavic Mini 4 Pro. At under 250g there are fewer restrictions to flight, but in any event I’m always extremely cautious and respectful of other people and the wildlife here.

Insurance and risk

• I carry £3m liability insurance.

• You must have your own travel insurance.

• You will be required to sign a waiver stating you accept the risks of photographing and moving around Skye, and confirming that you have been briefed on the risk assessment for your itinerary.

cancellation

• You cancel. No cancellation fee if you cancel up to 7 days prior to our first meeting.

• I cancel. You’ll get a full refund, no questions asked.

• The weather, landslides or other natural phenomena cancel us. You’ll get a full refund, no questions asked.

food and drink

I don’t supply food and drink as I’m not equipped or trained to be responsible for allergies and food intolerances. You’ll therefore need to be self-sufficient.

Most hotels will make a packed lunch, or just bring your own. If we are in a remote location all day, you’ll need to ensure you have sufficient sustenance to keep you going. We will likely go past shops en-route but this is not guaranteed, and they may be shut, so plan ahead and bring your own.

Hot drinks in flasks are a good idea. Plenty of water is always good - you’ll be surprised how thirsty you get even if it’s cold.

best time of year

I love the winter on Skye. It is my favourite time to photograph. It is quieter, and once the mountains have snow on them they are spectacular. The nights are deeply dark and filled with stars There’s a lot less open though so accommodation and restaurants will be harder to come by. And the weather can be wild.

Spring is beautiful. It takes a long time which makes it even more enjoyable. The woods particularly on the Sleat peninsula are carpeted in bluebells and the white flowers of wild garlic.

Autumn is serene as the bracken takes on a golden hue and the days gradually get shorter. The migrating birds head south once more and things start to calm down.

Summer is extremely busy. The days are long, offering many photographic opportunities, but it’s my least favourite of the four seasons. And midges.