A Summer in Shetland

Shetland is a magical place to live and produces endless photo opportunities. This summer certainly disappoint so here are a few of my favourite images.

Hard to believe that a year has gone by since my last post....

During this time I travelled to Vancouver Island and the Chilcotin Mountains in Canada . It was a great experience and produced many memorable encounters with sea otters, humpback whales and grizzly bears. It is definitely a country that I would love to revisit.

I’ve had surgery on my left eye which was successful. My vision in that eye is far from perfect but luckily both eyes work well together. The operation was carried out in Edinburgh so I made of the most of the days prior to surgery to get out and about and photograph what was available.

Since then I have been making the most of what Shetland has to offer. I have lived here for over five years now but it still feels like being on holiday, safe to say that I wouldn’t move back down South. I do miss bluebells and deer but otters, otters and puffins more that make up for them.

The end of the Puffin season

Sadly the puffins have left Shetland to spend the next 8 months on their own bobbing around in the ocean.

These are a few of my favourite images taken this year.

British Wildlife Photography Awards 11

I had three images shortlisted in this year’s BWPA and was delighted that my goose barnacle image made it into the book.

Wild Art Photographer of the Year (Abstract)

Fair Isle

Since moving to Shetland I have been eager to visit Fair Isle. It is a tiny Island situated halfway between Orkney and the Shetland Mainland and is home to around 50 people. You can get to Fair Isle by boat or plane but due to fog and strong winds there is no guarantee that either of these will be running so planning a trip is very much hit and miss. Another obstacle is that there is hardly anywhere to stay as the Bird Observatory burnt down a few years ago.

A friend sugguested a day trip so a few days ago Peter and I climbed aboard a small 8 seater plane and flew to Fair Isle. It was a truely magical day and we cannot wait to return next year.

Scottish Nature Photography Awards

I'm really pleased that my image of icicles taken in Shetland last year has been Shortlisted in the Natural Abstract category for the Scottish Nature Photography Awards and will feature in the 2021 Photobook.

Orcas

Last Sunday (22nd March) Peter and I were out searching for otters when I suddenly noticed a splash out of the corner of my eye. I turned round and noticed a pod of ocras a short distance away. It was so exciting it was difficult to decide which animal to focus on as my lens was way too big……..

Wave Therapy February 2022

Shetland in the Winter can be a really magical. Huge winds, great light and beautiful coastlines to walk along. It may be hard to stand up but the wind certainly blows a few cobwebs away……

Merry Christmas Everyone x

Freya the Walrus and Goose Barnacles

A really exciting weekend taking photos of a walrus and goose barnacles. My first ever walrus and my first ever goose barnacles.

Freya had been seen in Germany at the beginning of the year, and then the Netherlands and Northumberland before making her way to Shetland. She covered a journey of around 1050 miles to get to Shetland and has another 1350 miles to travel if she is planning to return to Svalbard.

I was so lucky as a lovely man called Hamish noticed me taking photos from the shore and gave me a lift in his boat so that I could get closer to Freya.

The barnacles were washed ashore by Storm Barra.

2020

If there is a good place to be during a pandemic then I think that Shetland is as good as it gets. Vast empty spaces and few people make it possible to immerse yourself in nature without meeting a soul. Such great therapy when the World is in crisis.

Images taken during the lockdown which hopefully show the beauty of Shetland.

Storm Brendan

If you love stormy weather then Shetland is a great place to be. There are virtually no trees, no large panelled fences, no trains and most houses are single storey so despite 70mph winds there isn’t a trail of destruction left behind. The most challenging aspect is trying to open the car door and then remain standing once outside….

Twelve Months in Shetland....

It’s hard to believe that we have been living in Shetland for 12 months. It certainly isn’t the dark and cold island that friends warned us about. In fact we seem to have had far better weather than down South.

Life is definitely different here, for us it is perfect but if you are into high street shopping then it isn’t the place for you….. There are virtually no clothes shops to speak of but rather strangely a huge number of car showrooms. When it comes to food shopping you need to adopt a more flexible approach as you cannot always get what you want. We have a Co-op and Tesco in Lerwick but if the weather is bad and the boats cannot sail the shelves empty quickly. Saying that Tescos delivers which is handy and the other day I popped in for some mushrooms and had a choice of chestnut, closed cup, wild , portobella, forestiere, shitake and porcini……

Wildlife is superb and we have been lucky enough to spend hours in the company of puffins, gannets, orcas, seals and otters. One of the highlights was a bearded seal that visited Shetland for a couple of a days in November.

Shetland

Well, after an extremely stressful couple of weeks we finally moved into our new home in Shetland just before Christmas. For the first few nights all we had were a couple of camping chairs, a pump up mattress, our camera equipment and a few bottles of red wine so it was a splendid sight when the Britannia furniture lorry pulled onto the drive.

Since then we have been invited to a Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve party, experienced 70mph winds, one power cut, the Scalloway Fire Festival, snow and the most amazing ever changing light. The weather here is so varied and isn’t a bit like the BBC forecast. The only problem we have encountered so far is that we are always out exploring when we should be painting and searching for jobs….

LPOTY and Brighton & Hove Calender

I’ve had a great couple of weeks. Peter and I spent a night in London for LPOTY award ceremony and then the following week met up with fellow Brighton photographers who have contributed to the 2019 Brighton & Hove Calender.

In London we had a great lunch at “Roast” accompanied with an historic bottle of Malbec before we headed off to Waterloo Station. Apart from entertaining speeches from Charlie Waite and Ray Meers it was very special to see my image “Sand, Light & Shadow” displayed on the huge screen at the station alongside images from photographers that I have admired for years.

In Brighton it was far more low key but just as good to chat over a few beers at the Brighton Tavern. The photos chosen for the 2019 calender are particulary good and I was really proud to have my firework photo chosen for November.

Landscape Photographer Of The Year

A few months I was really excited when I received an email saying that two of my images had been shortlisted in LPOTY. Last week I was even more excited when I received another email saying that one of those images had been “Commended” and would be appearing in the exhibition and book.

I can’t wait for the award ceremony next month….

Camargue

I have just spent four wonderful days in the Camargue on a photography tour with Jonathan Chritchley. The Camargue is famous for it’s beautiful wild white horses that roam the area and Jonathan made it possible to capture these horses running together through lagoons and marshes.

Shetland

Shetland is stunning and don't believe about what they say about the weather!!!  Peter and I have just returned from a 10 night stay and we had blue skies and 18 degrees. What is even better is there are hardly any cars, only 2 sets of  traffic lights and no litter. It feels a million miles away from the South East where we currently live. 

We spent a week on a guided photo tour with Richard Shucksmith and Josh Jaggard from Shetland Nature and then a few days on our own house hunting. We have been planning a move to Sheland for over a year now and so it was time to start making the dream a reality....

We found the perfect home and with the help of Richard and Josh returned home with an portfolio of great images showing the range of wildlife that Shetland has to offer. All in all it was a great success and we can't wait to return. Now all we have to do is sell our house........

Svalbard

Nine days aboard MS Origo 

Svalbard in the winter is beautiful, isolated, atmospheric and damned cold.....It never gets dark so deciding when to catch a few hours sleep is difficult as you feel certain that you will miss something in the ever changing landscape. The noise of the ship’s engine, the cracking of the ice and the gliding northern fulmars were all part of the magic.

We were lucky to have six polar bear sightings as well as two orcas that swam alongside the ship for an hour or so. It was midnight when we spotted them and it was the first night of the midnight sun. We were sailing at 80˚37’’ along the pack ice with a steaming ocean that looked like it was on fire which made this such an unforgettable encounter. I have travelled to some beautiful destinations but Svalbard is really special and definitely needs to be revisited.......