A collection of stunning photography by some of the country’s most awarded landscape photographers is on display at a new exhibition.
Dylan Nardini, David Queenan and Grant Bulloch have all emerged into the photography scene with their own distinct styles and interpretations of Scotland’s scenery, from “grand vistas” of the country’s wild landscapes, to the textures and patterns of more sheltered and urban spaces.
Some of their work is available to see at an exhibition at Eleven41 Gallery in Kingussie, near Aviemore, in the Highlands.
The show, called 'That Other Landscape', launched over the weekend and will be running for a fortnight.
Eleven41 Gallery is a dedicated photography gallery in the highland town of Kingussie named after the 1,141m Cairn often used for navigation by those exploring the northern Cairngorms.
Curated by Ed Smith, a renowned photographer himself, the gallery was refitted from the old Kingussie Co-op in the town’s high street.
Among the exhibitors is Mr Nardini, who won the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Award and the British Photography Awards Landscape Category in 2021.
He uses traditional film photography for much of his work, including both 35mm and medium format cameras, saying: “Seeing something develop in front of my eyes as it gets put on paper means the process is far more than just capturing an image.”
Describing one of his own photographs from the exhibition, Mr Bulloch said his work ‘Aberfeldy Snowstorm’ was the result of waiting for a cold front to hit whilst in the Birks of Aberfeldy in Perthshire.
“We climbed to the top of the glen hoping to be there to meet the forecasted incoming snow, but it was on our way down that the first flurries appeared,” he said.
“I was still able to shoot across the ‘Birks’ towards the lichen-covered trees as they swayed and moved in the snow laden winds. The resultant image feels more like a tapestry than a photograph.”
Mr Bulloch, who has been commended twice in the UK Landscape Photographer of the Year Competition, has photographed locations such as Assynt, Glencoe and the Northumberland coast, as well as capturing images of a rock cut basin in the Cairngorms and the rusty hulls of yachts in East Lothian.
1. Arran Light
A picture of a setting on the isle of Arran by Dylan Nardini, one of the photographers whose work is being showcased in the exhibition. Nardini's love of the outdoors led him to become one of the country's multi award-winning landscape photographers in the UK. He won both the Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year Award and the British Photography Awards Landscape Category in 2021. He was also commended in the UK Landscape Photographer of the Year and Outdoor Photographer of the Year Awards on more than one occasion. | Dylan Nardini
2. First Light
Revisiting familiar locations is a recurring theme of Nardini's work. The knowledge of how familiar places change with the seasons and the micro climate have made a huge impact on his photography as he returns time after time to the less clichéd and honey pot locations. In many cases, you would struggle to recognise the locations of his work. | Dylan Nardini
3. Bailaora Statue
As well as his digital work, Nardini often returns to traditional film photography, using both 35mm and medium format cameras. He feels this allows him to slow down when in the field and to relish the uncertainty and anticipation of what he has captured. This uncertainty is only revealed once he has processed the film, which could be weeks later. The Bailaora Statue, which this appears to be named after, is of a female flamenco dancer. | Dylan Nardini
4. Swanning Around
David Queenan has collected a number of accolades, initially winning the Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year competition in 2015 and then more recently the 2023 Wex Photographer of the Year competition. Alongside these awards, he has been annually recognised in both the Scottish and UK Landscape Photographer of the Year competitions and was the runner up in the former on one occasion. Queenan photographed these swans in the river Forth with the Wallace Monument in the background, near Stirling. | David Queenan