Mountain & Upland

Although it has both ups and downs, mountain and upland nature photography has a lot more to offer than just the photographs you end up with. Who can argue against the fact that mountainscapes are some of the most spectacular views to behold? Where will you find a more serene and introspect habitat? Sure, there’s the burden of having to haul heavy loads of expensive equipment up often steep and rocky terrain and occasionally deal with rapidly changing weather conditions, but with all that out of the way, it’s a beautiful place to just be while you work on getting the next shot set up.

Over my career, I’ve been lucky enough to visit and photograph nature in mountains and uplands across the globe. Most of the photos in this portfolio were taken in mountains and uplands here in the UK. I’ve travelled to and done shoots at Cairngorms National Park in Scotland and Peak District National Park near Sheffield on multiple occasions.

Some of the species you can expect to encounter in the UK highlands include red deer, the largest UK land mammal; mountain hares that change from brown to white fur in the winter; pine martins, a small and voracious predator; red grouse; and many more.

The terrain isn’t as unforgiving as some other mountainous areas, but they’re no less impressive or beautiful than the higher mountain ranges. I’ve also spent some time photographing wildlife in India and in the Kashmir region of the Himalayas.

Needless to say, these are very different trips to the Scottish highlands. Some of the highlights of shooting in Ranthambore National Park, where the Aravali and Vindhya hill ranges meet, include getting shots of a leopard looking straight at me and vultures high up on a rocky outcrop. Getting to photograph snow leopards in the Himalayas was the fulfilment of every nature photographer’s dreams.