I moved to the north-west Highlands on January 1, 2020, after a few years working in Boston. As the world went into the turmoil of the Covid pandemic, I felt lucky to be out of the eye of the storm, in the beautiful area of Wester Ross.
Over the year, I have enjoyed being able to work on my skills as a landscape photographer. Here are ten of my favourite photos from 2020. For my favourite 2021 landscape pictures please see this page.
CMF
This photo was taken in January before I had even heard of Covid. It is a couple of hours walk up to Loch Coire Mhic Fhearchair (pronounced Corrie Vick Eracker). This translates as “Corrie of the Son of Farquhar” . Farquhar is the Gaelic rendering of the Norse name Erikur and ‘Mhic’ means son of. Above the corrie stands the triple buttresses of Ben Eighe (pronounced Ben Ai).
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--
Deerstalker
On an evening wander in January, I suddenly became aware I was being watched – I turned to see this stag posing gracefully, waiting to be photographed. Behind him is the distinctive shape of Mullach an Rathain (Mool-ach-an Rine), which means ‘Summit of the Pinnacles’, one of Litahach’s (Lee-a-gach’s) two Munros.
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--
Robert’s Burns
I took this photo on a very wet day in spring. I was trying out filters that make the water look darker, and which allow me to use a longer exposure - about half a second. I won’t say exactly where this is because I found some Chanterelles growing nearby. Mushroom hunters will know that you don’t reveal your sites, not even to your nearest and dearest.
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--
Roaming in the Gloaming
During the first lockdown, the highlight of the week was our Friday tea-time visit to the community centre in the “big village” for excellent fish and chips. My wife, Jackie, and I would eat them by the shores of Upper Loch Torridon. This was taken while wandering after the meal; a low shaft of light caught the island. Jackie wanted to title this picture “roaming in the gloaming” but we have a disagreement about when the gloaming starts. She argues that it includes the crepuscular light as day shades into night. I think it means the period between sunset and full darkness, like twilight. Anyway, the photograph was taken at about 7pm in May. Imagine us a pair of shadowy figures, bickering quietly as we walk along the shore.
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--
A country seat
This is an increasingly rare example of a traditional Highland cottage with the distinctive red-oxide coloured tin roof. Unfortunately, most people who buy these immediately knock them down and replace them with glass-fronted structures designed for sitting in and looking out at the view. I imagine the original occupants had less time for that - they would take in the view in the course of their working day. There are a couple of cottages in the area with similar-looking synthetic roofs but they are the wrong shade of red, which annoys some locals. A photo of this cottage was on the cover of an edition of Vogue last year.
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--
What we see in the shadows
The sunsets in the north-west Highlands are always extraordinary but on clear nights they are spectacular. Because of the latitude, these sunsets last longer than they do almost anywhere else in the UK. The weather is generally good in spring and early summer so we enjoyed many of these magnificent solar events. I particularly like this photograph because the shapes in the foreground remind me of the Rorschach inkblot test.
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--
Girl with pearly ear-ringer
This is definitely one of my favourite photos of 2020 and beyond - it is of my daughter Mary. It also reminds me that 2020 was the year of the elaborate Zoom quiz. Like most people, we dabbled in this as a way of keeping in touch remotely although we only managed a couple as a family. My sister asked me to create a replica of the famous Vermeer ‘Girl With A Pearl Earring’ for an art round she was putting together. The AirPod was Mary’s idea.
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--
Apprentice Climb
In late summer, things opened up again. Many people who had spent lockdown in cities were keen to get out into the countryside and the Highlands were busy. We had a few different groups of visitors. This photo shows our friend, talented young climber Robert Igoe, ascending a route called “Apprentice Bhoys” with the amazing jack of all trades and talented wordsmith Walter Kemp Bruce holding the ropes at the base (thanks for the proofreading Walter!). Our other son William is not there because he was at home working on the cottage. You can’t see the midges which fairly deaved us through July and August. Some readers may have seen this image already as it was used for a Sceptical Scot fundraiser to raise money to pay young journalists.
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--
Highdays and holidays
I took this photo the day before my birthday in September. Despite being 54, I was able to show the young ‘uns that there’s still life in the old dog - I gave them one of the local classic tours. My fourth on Liathach in 2020. In the foreground are Mary and Walter Kemp Bruce and Daniel and Rachel Gracie Cheng.
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--
Deep Water HOrizon
In October, I left the Highlands temporarily for France, after being invited to work from a holiday home belonging to friends for a few weeks. I took this shot as I drove south early one morning, a shaft of light from the low autumn sun falling across Glen Doherty and glinting off Loch Maree.
--click on image to show/hide caption--
--click on image to show/hide caption--