Bonnie shots of top beauty spots

THEY’VE taken up to countless thousands of years to form – and the blink of a shutter lens to capture.

These vibrant vistas and perfect panoramas are some of the most stunning sights our nation has to offer. And our exclusive selection is the cream of the crop of the some of the best shots of Scotland ever caught on film.

For the past decade the Landscape Photographer of the Year award has been attracting entries that show off the beauties, urban as well as rural, of Britain.

It’s one of the UK’s most prestigious photography competitions and attracts freeze-framed snapshots of cliffs and crags, mountains and glens, villages and cities in all their glory.

Now, to celebrate the 10th anniversary, a book with 250 images from the first decade has just been published.

The Landscape Photographer of the Year: 10 Year Special Edition (AA Publishing hardback, £35) features the winners from all categories over that time as well as every overall winner.

The awards founder is Charlie Waite, one of the world’s top photographers. He has exhibited all over Europe, USA, Japan and Australia and his work is prized by galleries and private collectors.

“Landscape photographers will know of the great reward in identifying their subject,” says Charlie.

“I know one photographer who says that his happiest moment is when he is standing in the landscape with his camera atop his tripod, waiting, simply waiting. I am sure that many a photographer will identify with that experience.”

As our super selection shows, there is something special about what can be seen north of the border. Charlie has been savouring that by shooting in the wilds here all week. But 2011 overall winner Robert Fulton, from Cumbernauld, gets to experience our landscapes much more regularly.

Robert, 72, only switched to photography from flower displays when he turned 50 and triumphed with his moody shot of a copse of trees in a field near Stirling.

“It took me a year to get the proper misty, early-morning conditions,” said Robert. “I only really take pictures in autumn and winter when the light is right. We have so many wonderful landscapes on our doorstep.

“I can be in the Trossachs in no time and you can find everything you want there.”

Held in association with Visit Britain and the GREAT Britain campaign, the 2017 competition closes for entries on July 8. Details at take-a-view.co.uk

”Shooting this landmark in early spring when the sun lights up the rocks, patience paid off. A small crack between clouds gave me magical light that I will never forget. A few minutes of perfection! Scotland’s landscape is simply incredible.” Sebastian Kraus - Sgurr an Fhidhleir, Highlands

“The mist kept coming and going all morning. Only as the temperature rose did it begin to retreat, allowing the distant mountain tops to become visible.” Paul Sutton - Tay Trees And Mountain Tops, Loch Tay

“The scene wasn’t living up to expectations until the stars aligned in my favour when a canoeist paddled towards the island tip, just where I needed him!” Dave Bowman - Autumn On Loch Leven, Highlands

“Taken at around 6am in the middle of summer, the sun still low in the sky. I used the shadow to block the sun and create a halo effect around Danny.” Chris Prescott - Danny MacAskill On The Inaccessible Pinnace, Skye

“It was a beautiful evening. Perfect light and clouds. The long exposure shows perfectly every detail of the stones against the softer background.” Wojciech Kruczynski - Callanish Shadows, Isle of Lewis