scottish highlands, november 2005
This was my second trip to the highlands of Scotland, with professional photographer Neil McIntyre. I spent 5 days in the highlands with fellow photographer Peter Hale, two of which were with Neil.
Those of you who read the tour report for my previous trip to Scotland, will know what a fantastic time I had, and the superb opportunities that Neil presented me to photograph. This trip had a lot to live up-to, and did not fail one little bit.
The weather conditions for this trip were a tad more challenging than the previous, and rain was a fairly common theme. However, as most professional photographers will tell you, that is not an excuse to put the camera away. So, water-proofed from top-to-toe we slung our cameras and lenses over our shoulders and braved the Scottish weather.
At the beginning of our time with Neil, we got to visit 'his' Red Squirrels again. This was undoubtably one of the highlights of the previous trip, and was no less-so this time around. Neil has been feeding the squirrels for about 15 years, and they regular reward him with some fabulous photographs. Pete and I were lucky enough to benefit from this, and these are amongst my favourite shots from the trip.
I had never seen a seal in it's natural habitat before, and this was one of the treats that Neil had lined up for us. We went to the Moray Firth in Inverness at low tide, climbed down the banks and waded out to through the mud and sea-weed to the water line. When we got there we found some groups of common seal on the waters-edge resting and sleeping. By carefully and slowly edging forward we were able to get within about 10-15 meters of the animals, and it was a superb experience. The weather conditions were not pleasant, and the light was very harsh. This made the photography somewhat tricky, but a few frames were acceptable.
Neil also has a permanent hide, which he built himself. This is an extremely comfortable and roomy affair, and had plenty of room for both Pete and myself to be seated inside. Again, Neil's careful preparation brought dividends and within minutes of arriving we were photographing Great Spotted Woodpeckers, blue-tits and various other birds.
Our trip also included a visit to an area where Crested tits are known to live and visit. Again, the conditions were on the tricky side, but one of my favourite shots from the trip was the only decent Crested tit picture I got.
The whole trip was extremely enjoyable, and I cannot wait to go again! Accommodation was, as last time, at the beautiful Rowan Tree Hotel, Aviemore.
Click here to view some photographs from this trip.