Highland light

Tom travels north of the border to the Scottish Highlands, and shows you how to make the most of different lighting conditions

- Tom Mackie

The very first time I went to Scotland, over 30 years ago, I immediately fell in love with the place. What captivated me about the Scottish landscape was how wild and unpredictable it was. It's one of the only places I've been to in the world where it's not unusual to experience all four seasons in one day.

For that reason, even if I go to the same location every year, I know I will come away with a completely different image. This is especially good when I'm photographing classic locations, such as Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe.

There have been times when I've photographed this castle where all the elements have come together - great light, mirror-like reflections, dramatic clouds, and a dusting of snow on the mountaintops - but, unfortunately, that was not the case on this occasion. I only had one out of these four elements working for me, apart from a bit of mist that strangely hung in a line just above the castle.

There was no point including the milky white sky: it would just have been a distraction. Instead, the sky provided soft, even lighting. Some would say it's bad light, but there's no such thing as bad light: just the wrong subject for the existing light.