Wild about the highlands

Despite my love of good composition, sometimes the most spontaneous shots are the most fun to take, such as one I took of a sheep giving me a funny look from the top of his hill. Coming across wildlife is an added bonus to photographic forays, and my favourite was probably when I spotted a majestic stag. He waited while I changed my lens for a Nikon 70200mm and then pulled a lovely pose – a very helpful model.

My landscapes aren’t always as idyllic as they seem. I love this shot of Loch More in Caithness [3], and the colour of the foxgloves against the sunset. When I went to take it, though, there were so many midges that I was getting bitten to pieces. I had to run into position, set

I spend ages thinking about composition. If I’m shooting a classic landscape, I’ll try to get something of interest in the foreground

up the camera, focus, press the remote release and then jump up and down like a maniac to keep the midges away during the long exposure. My wife Sarah sensibly chose to sit in the car and laugh at me throughout.

I always shoot in RAW, as it means I can tweak my shots to my heart’s content. I want to continue shooting landscapes and experiment with different techniques, and I’m branching out into portrait and wedding work – mainly so I can justify my recent purchase of a lovely new Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 lens.