Northern Lights, Outer Hebrides & Bow Fiddle Rock Moray Coast, Shortlisted in the Scottish Nature Photography Awards

The final results of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards are announced today. Back in February this year, we were delighted to learn that we had two images shortlisted in the sea & coast category of the competition. Four years ago when i first discovered the competition, i decided to pluck up enough courage to submit a selection of images and was absolutely blown away to find out that we had an image shortlisted. Since then i have continued to enter the competition and have been fortunate to have had some success every year, achieving third place in the landscape category in 2022.

What was especially nice this year was to have two images shortlisted, Midnight Light, Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides and More than Pebbles, Moray Coast, North East Scotland, images below. The fact that we had an image of the northern lights shortlisted was an absolute honour, I remember watching a TV show featuring Joanna Lumley head out to the Arctic Circle to fulfil a lifelong dream to see the illusive northern lights, i was mesmerised, hooked and also dreamt of standing under a dark sky with the lights dancing above. Since learning this was actually possible from the UK and understanding how to photograph them, we embarked on what can only be described as an obsession. We actually drove from East Lancashire to Loch Lomond and back in the same day in the hope of seeing them but sadly without any joy, we spent many nights in the Yorkshire Dales hoping to catch a glimpse without any luck until we found ourselves in 2018 on the Isle of Skye in October for a weeks holiday when everything finally alligned. We had a clear sky, barely any light pollution and a good forecast, at around 8pm in the pitch black we made our way down to Staffin Bay, before we even got there we could see a huge arc of muted green in the sky. We were beyond elated, pulled the car over to check we weren’t seeing things and took a quick couple of images….seeing the green on the back of the camera was insane….it had been years of hoping to see them. I remember the uncontrollable joy that could probably be heard all over the island, the sheer excitement and utter disbelief at what we were seeing. We made our way down to the bay and set up the camera, withing ten minutes huge pillars & structures started to appear lighting up the sky and we were the only ones stood there experiencing it, its a feeling like no other, wonder, joy, exhilaration and elation. Since that night we’ve headed out to see them at every opportunity, even down to planning holidays around the new moon during aurora season to maximise the possibility. During our time in Aberdeenshire we made the most of the dark skies and were fortunate to photograph the lights five or six times in one season. One of my favorite memories of living in Aberdeenshire was during major solar activity, I’d received a notification on my phone indicating a red alert, i instantly went to the front door of the house and popped my head out, even above the street lights i could see the colour in the sky. We’d only been in the house around five months and had met a lovely lady who lived in the next street at our local camera club (which i’d only been going to for around two months at this point). In my full on dressing gown, pajamas and slippers i raced around to her house knocking on the door jumping up and down in excitement… i was greeted by Ilene’s husband who might I add must have wondered who on earth he’d opened the door to as we’d never met. We all stood for a few minutes looking up at the sky in amazement with shrieks of joy before deciding to head out in the car to get a better view…..It’s a night we wont forget.

You’ve probably got the idea that it’s become something that we love, witnessing the aurora never becomes boring. In September last year whilst touring the Outer Hebrides we were treated to what can only be described as the best show we’ve ever had the privilege of experiencing and is where & when our shortlisted image was created. The dark skies of the Western Isles make viewing the aurora an even better experience. We could actually see the colours & curtains of light forming & moving, softly and beautifully lighting up the night sky, the display went on for hours well into the early hours of the morning. For anyone new or interested in viewing the northern lights our advice would be this…. Aurora season is usually from September though to around April, download an app specific for aurora activity and track the forecast, head for an area without light pollution away from towns/cities and look north. Ideally you will need a clear sky for optimum viewing but even between the gaps in the clouds it’s a privilege to see. Mobile phones can be used to take photographs using night mode, use a tripod for best results. It’s also worth baring in mind that the camera sees the light far better than the naked eye. During red or major alerts you may be lucky enough to see the colour red and muted greens without the camera but quite often what you see is a glow of light in a clear sky. I’ve included an image below to try & give more of an indication of what you might see in the night sky. The other thing to take into account is the moon, the light from the moon can make viewing aroura difficult so its always better during a new moon or when the moon isn’t as bright. We’re fortunate to now live in the Outer Hebrides and were treated to a lovely display a few weeks ago, the lights can be seen from our back garden which is an absolute dream. We appreciate that seeing the northern lights isn’t always possible for some people, we were so pleased last year when my sister visited us in Aberdeenshire to have solar activity taking place during a clear night. We headed out to Portsoy and were lucky enough to have a display taking place in front of our eyes, I took some photographs of her under the northern lights which will always be a memory of our fantastic wonderful time together. There was also a couple on holiday staying in Portsoy who i offered to take a photograph of and emailed it across for them, again as memory of their trip to Scotland. Witnessing the northern lights can be an emotional experience and can also bring back memories for others of their time under the night skies. For us it’s a privilege to share our photographs.

Our second shortlisted image from Bow Fiddle Rock, Moray Coast also made us smile as it’s where the interest in seascape photography started. We were on holiday in Spean Bridge which is located in the Western Highlands. I’d bought a photography book which featured an image of this magnificent sea arch and was totally fascinated by it. Again in typical us fashion we decided to drive from the West Highlands to the East Coast of Scotland for sunrise to experience the location. It didn’t disappoint, i was in absolute awe, it felt magical. Sea birds filled the air with dawn chorus, the smell of the ocean filled our lungs and the calmness was indescribable. I’d just invested in a set of ND filters and experimented with a few compositions, we felt incredibly lucky to be stood on the pebbled shoreline taking in subtle sunrise colours behind the arch. Our house in Aberdeenshire was just under an hour away from Bow Fiddle Rock so it was inevitable that we would spend many opportunities photographing the arch in a variety of conditions. It will always hold a special place in our hearts, despite it being classed as a honeypot location we continued to photograph and experiment with compositions & conditions.

If you’ve made it so far into the blog update thanks for sticking with us, we hope you have found it interesting. I just wanted to end the piece by talking about competitions in general…. We head out with the camera given any opportunity, we experience varied conditions, seasons and changeable light. Our journey of photography began just over 8 years ago but didn’t really properly start until 2018. It’s been something that has given us an immense amount of joy, direction, focus and passion. Photography for us is a way of life, we don’t head out to create award winning images, that is never the reason. We head out to experience the environment & nature, to feel alive, to see, to breathe, to relax and to feel elated by the experience. When it comes to submitting images into a competition i tend to select images that i feel a connection to. That’s probably not the best advice but that’s how what i do, that’s why it feels special to have an image of the northern lights and an image from Bow Fiddle Rock shortlisted. I also think its great to showcase Scotland and the beauty that this part of the UK has to offer, both images will also feature in the Scottish Nature Photography Awards portfolio year book to be published later this year alongside other shortlisted & winning images. Well done to everyone involved.

SNPA | Homepage (scottishnaturephotographyawards.com)

On a side note we’ve just launched our podcast.

It’s taken us months to get around to setting everything up, probably something to do with relocating :) We’ve titled the podcast Coastal Creations, which is in keeping with the launch of our 1-2-1 & small group photography tuition but the podcast won’t just be about seascape photography. We plan to invite photographers & creatives onto the podcast and hear more about their experiences and passions, we want to know more about the person behind the lens or paintbrush. Sharing their stories and inspiring others. Our first introduction episode is now live on Spotify and also available via our website, Podcast Page. I’ll include links below if you are interested in listening

You Can listen to the podcast here

Speaking of inspiration, it has been a great month for meeting up with exceptional female photographers. It was super lovely to have the opportunity to catch up and spend time with Alex whilst she enjoyed a week in her van on Harris. We’d planned to spend an hour or so on Luskentyre Beach but the weather had other ideas so the warmth of the Harris Hotel was well received. Also superb to briefly bump into Shona Perkins who was leading a photography workshop on Harris, very inspirational. We shared an evening of photography on the wee beach with Fiona Campbell, met Lunar her wonderful pup and experienced the most incredible sunset we’ve seen in a long time. Also massive thanks to Fiona for the BTS image from that night. Ruth Grindrod has also spent two weeks in the Outer Hebrides this month so it was a joy to catch up over a coffee and Banoffee Pie chatting and discussing all things photography and the Outer Hebrides. Last week it was an absolute honour to meet Jen Spiers & her husband Paul on his birthday alongside Angela O’Neil and her husband John. I’ve admired Jen & Angela’s work for many years. Jen was the first female photographer on Instagram who’s work literally made my jaw drop, her work still does. She’s a true inspiration. All links below if you’d like to follow their work.

https://www.instagram.com/creative_light_photos

https://www.instagram.com/my_beautiful_scotland

https://www.instagram.com/fiona.a.campbell

https://www.instagram.com/ruthgrindrodlandscapes_

https://www.instagram.com/jenspiersphotography

https://www.instagram.com/photographybyangelaoneill

As always thanks so much for all of your support via Instagram, Facebook and Youtube, we have released a new video recently, it was fantastic to be back.

Take lots of care, until next time Adele & Max

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