Very often landscape photography feels like a chase; trying to read the signals of weather, light and landscape to put yourself in the right place and time to see something remarkable. Guessing, hoping, searching, trying, often failing. But it’s not always like that. Sometimes photography happens much more gently. Like sleep, it comes when youContinue reading “Meditative Photography”
Author Archives: David Russell
My First Wild Camp of the Year
The recent spell of fine weather here in the Highlands was a great opportunity to enjoy a relatively easy night out in a tent. After several good hill days on Cairngorm and Creag Meagaidh, I was very keen and eager to spend some more time among the mountains with my camera. I chose a fairlyContinue reading “My First Wild Camp of the Year”
Sunset on Cairngorm
I needed a moment to pause as I took in the ridge that I was about to climb. ‘Oh boy. Here we go.’ Sometimes I think it would be nice if these mountains would just stay the same size for once. But they seem to grow and they shrink. Tonight the ridge seems long. ‘NoContinue reading “Sunset on Cairngorm”
Walking at the Forest’s Edge
Despite having spent over a decade exploring the Caledonian Forests of the Rothiemurchus estate, there are some areas of these woods where I have very rarely set foot. The higher reaches of the forest, where it fades and blends into the mountainsides of the northern Cairngorms, is an area of huge photographic and emotional potentialContinue reading “Walking at the Forest’s Edge”
Thoughts on The Darkest Day
I’ve been trying to get my head in gear to write a new post for weeks now. This is the 5th draft I’ve started in ten minutes, but this is the one that’s going to stick. When I sat down and started writing I thought I’d go with the prevalent mood that I see online today – the mood of fury and disaster. I even drafted something apologising for my tendency to always seek a positive note, to give myself permission to wallow in the collective misery.
Today Was a Gift
A few days ago the first snows of winter arrived on the mountains. There was a hard edged clarity of light in the forest that I only know from winter – white edges and black shadows running along every branch. The remains of autumn colours clung to the tips of wind stripped birch trees, likeContinue reading “Today Was a Gift”
Come Further Up, Come Further In
“Over the garden fence, behind the railway and the cherry trees, the Cairngorms are waiting. They should be more than a mere background to life.”
Deer Eyes
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.”“The clearest way into the universe is through a forest wilderness.” John Muir A young deer was looking at me. I held the gaze of its dark and shiny eyes, its long eyelashes and dark snout. IContinue reading “Deer Eyes”
The Oaks of Sunart
As soon as the man on the phone stopped shouting at me and hung up, I made up my mind about going away. A few minutes later I had a self catering cottage booked in the village of Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan Peninsula. I reasoned that besides being a place I’d wanted to spend timeContinue reading “The Oaks of Sunart”
Land the Person
It occurred to me the other day, while I was walking up a hill through long grass beneath shady birch trees, that the most important and enduring relationship we have in our lives is the one we have with the land we live on. It then occurred to me that this should always have beenContinue reading “Land the Person”