COOL VISTAS

One man with a camera against the elements, photographer Ian Lawson explores Britain’s wildest corners in winter to capture thrilling landscapes

Intrepid photographer Ian Lawson presents some of his finest scenes of frozen landscapes.

Seeking solace in wide open spaces inspires me. So many of my best days are spent drifting through wild landscapes, responding to both external surroundings and internal environments, always without expectation, aiming simply to be.

My work has always been an intimate study of remote places, a patient exploration of their geography. But as I got older, and further in my journey, I realised my desire was to create pictures that connect to this natural world and to the wilderness.

My love affairs with the Outer Hebrides and the Lake District fells have played out in the slowest of motions. There is a constant cycle of life that never ceases to amaze me. Every season repeats as the years pass but it is humbling to return to a landscape time and again only to see old miracles born anew. As winter again takes hold, it is a good time to be a landscape photographer.

FROM THE CROFT, UIG, ISLE OF LEWIS

“When I’m unable to be productive anywhere else, a winter trip to the Hebrides rekindles my creativity. From far across Uig’s tidal sands, the breakwater hills of Suainaval, Mealisval and Griomaval bar the path of freezing nimbus blown eastward on Atlantic winds. Snow-dusted peaks puncture leaks in the pregnant grey cloud-mass, sending sheets of sleet on to the land below. I often think this landscape was created just for photographers and artists.”