Get your rocks off

Ant Boothman takes a minimalistic approach to capturing the tranquil lochs of Scotland

Ifirst remember picking up a camera at the age of seven: it was my dad’s Minolta 35mm, and I used to go around taking photos wherever we went together. I think this must have planted the seed for what was to come: a true passion for photography. My digital camera journey has always featured Nikon, and this has now progressed into the mirrorless range with the Nikon Z 6.

Photography (automotive, specifically) took root with me when I got the opportunity to go to the 2006 Cyprus Rally, then part of the World Rally Championship. Taking photos of Sébastian Loeb full-throttle through a water splash around the stone-ridden country lanes of small villages was something else – a memory that I’ll never forget. After that, I continued to take automotive photos.

Having lived in the Middle East for some time, I had the opportunity to attend some of the Formula 1 grands prix at Abu Dhabi and Bahrain. Like most shutter-happy photographers, I would attempt to take panning photos of F1 cars doing 200mph down the straights from any angle I could get, with mixed results and full memory cards.

Since then my photography has calmed down somewhat, progressing into portraits and landscapes. I’ve taken inspiration from photographers across multiple disciplines to really focus on capturing the scene and story with my work. My camera is never far from reach, especially when we visit family on the edge of the Scottish Highlands.

Take a chance Do it for yourself A number of scenic beauty locations come up around Loch Lomond. An important takeaway for me from the outing was: just because it’s a common location doesn’t mean everyone has seen it – and it certainly doesn’t mean that the shot won’t be a great addition to your landscape portfolio. This single-shot image was taken at Milarrochy Bay, Loch Lomond. Just 24 hours earlier, I wasn’t sure where I was heading that morning. The forecast had predicted fog, but we all know the weather in the UK can be unpredictable, so you do need to take a chance sometimes. I drove through the night in the hope of foggy conditions when I arrived.

Lead your viewer in Strong and sturdy Lengthen your exposures I found the half-submerged rocks like a line of stepping stones leading into the loch, bringing the viewer into the centre of the image to discover the fog-covered hills running across the back of the image. The angle is chosen to capture the vast water that lies ahead of you, with the background compression to bring the epic hills into the scene. This shot was taken on a tripod with a variable ND filter. The filter is only a recent addition to my camera bag but is now something I never leave the house without. The ability to take long-exposure photos during the day, to capture movement in a scene, has resulted in the most dramatic and eye-pleasing photos I’ve ever taken. My tripod was a critical component in achieving this shot, and I bought a model that offers strength as well as lightness. I also use an L-bracket on my Nikon Z 6 – this enables effortless switching from landscape to portrait orientation when using a tripod.