Scottish Landscape Photographer Of The Year 2021 ‘Commended’
I am delighted to be able to announce that my ‘Lichen On Coastal Cliffs, Butt of Lewis, Isle of Lewis’ image has received a ‘Commended’ award in the Seascape category in this year’s prestigious Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year 2021 competition.
The image was one of just eighteen to make it through to the final round in the Seascape category. I am particularly pleased that an image from the Outer Hebrides was chosen as both the isle of Harris and Lewis are some of the most remarkable scenery anywhere in the UK and beyond.
There will be a hardback book out shortly showcasing images from all the various categories. You may pre-order it here:
May I extend a warm congratulations to Dylan Nardini on his winning three images in the Portfolio category (to win the competition outright) and to my very good friend Tony Higginson on his outstanding ‘Storm Ciara At Elgol, Elgol, Isle of Skye’ winning image in the Seascapes category.
There are several categories that make up the competition, Portfolio, Landscape, Seascape and Treescapes being the main ones.
Here are the website links to each of the categories and the full winners list.
Full Winners List
https://slpoty.co.uk/winners-2021
Portfolio Winners Gallery 2021
https://slpoty.co.uk/2021-portfolio-winners-gallery
Landscape Winners Gallery 2021
https://slpoty.co.uk/2021-landscape-winners-gallery
Seascape Winner Gallery 2021
https://slpoty.co.uk/2021-seascape-winners-gallery
Treescapes Winners Gallery 2021
https://slpoty.co.uk/2021-treescapes-winners-gallery
Additional categories are also featured on the website.
I must also congratulate Stuart Low, the competition founder and head judge for his efforts in establishing a genuine and worthy competition for landscape photographers who capture Scotland looking at its finest. Well done Stuart. .
Thanks, Melvin
Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year 2021 book
For those who are interested in knowing a little more about my image and how I captured it, here are some details.
I took the photo back in November 2018 while leading a week long photography workshop on the Outer Hebrides. I drove my six clients 60 miles from our hotel base in Tarbert, on the Isle of Harris to the very tip of the Isle of Lewis. The Butt of Lewis is the most northerly point of the Outer Hebrides and is famous for its 37 metre, red brick lighthouse that was built in the 1860s.
The Butt of Lewis has some spectacular cliffs that are more often than not subject to the pounding waves of the Atlantic Ocean below. The wind can be somewhat ‘entertaining’ at The Butt and you have to be on your guard when standing near the edge of the cliffs.
One of the elements that interest me is the wonderful array of lichen that grow on the rocks. Their variety, textures and colours are outstanding and as part of a demonstration of how to compose a scene to focus on the lichen, I set up my camera and explained the process that I would take to capture a scene like this.
The strong diagonal lines from the bottom left hand corner influenced my composition immensely, but the real challenge was shooting wide enough to allow the large rock in the water on the right to be isolated from the edge of the frame. What I opted to do here was to wait for a large wave to surround the rock so that the smaller rocks to the right of the main base were far less visible, therefore isolating the main rock suitably enough.Â
The headland in the distance conveys a wonderful amount of depth of field and the sky was perfect for long exposure photography. I was very keen to try and have the blue patch of sky located within the image instead of it drifting out of the left hand side of the frame and great timing had that happen. I used a ten stop neutral density filter to slow the shutter speed down to thirty seconds as I wanted to smooth the water out to highlight everything that did not move in the image.Â
Here are my camera settings for those interested.Â
Canon 5D MK4
Canon EF 16-35mm f/4
f/13
30″
ISO50
Ten Stop ND Filter usedÂ
I hope that you like the image and if you are interested in attending one of my Outer Hebrides photography workshops, click the header below.Â
Beautiful images I can resonate with. Slovenia is the only country I have returned to more than once, but snowy Canada is my favourite. So many fond memories….Emerald Lake is unbelievably photogenic.
All the best for 2021, Melvin (apologies for being so familiar but Mr Nicholson sounded a bit toooo formal)
Dave Feaster
Hi Dave. Melvin is just fine. Mr Nicholson is far too formal, lol.
Slovenia caught me somewhat off guard I don’t mind saying. What was supposed to be a six-day trip turned into three months and what a glorious three months it has been. It is a staggeringly beautiful country matched by the friendliness of the locals. I very much look forward to returning in the autumn. As for Canada, well what a country. The Rockies is a stunning place, although too cold for me in the winter, or at least it was last January when the temps dropped to around -40°c. However, the beauty is undeniable and for me, Emerald Lake was my favourite place too. That gorgeous little cafe all lit up is a peach of a place and located in one of the most beautiful lakes in the world. Maybe I’ll return one day, who knows.
Have a great 2021 Dave and maybe our paths will cross in person one day. Take care.
Best wishes Melvin
Fantastic photos Melvin.
Thank you very much Roy. I hope you had an enjoyable New Year’s Eve. All the best for 2021 and to happier times ahead.
Best wishes Melvin
Absolutely brilliant Melvin! I always enjoy looking at your photos! Have missed the calendar this year!
Best wishes for the New Year and enjoy the rest of your time in beautiful Slovenia!
Hazel. H
Thank you Hazel. I am so pleased that you enjoyed the images considering 2020 has been such a challenging year but photography has helped keep me sane.
Have a wonderful 2021 and here’s looking forward to better times ahead.
Best wishes Melvin
Just magic! Love the piano …..
Thank you Roslyn. That piano shot just had to be in my top ten. It’s so random but quite typical of the Icelandic way of life. I dearly love the country and cannot wait to return. Have a fantastic 2021 and thanks for all your support in 2020.
best wishes Melvin
I live in NZ which has the most amazing scenery but we can’t match ancient buildings and freezing temperatures that your locations have. Slovenia would be my pick for a trip if we ever have a chance again. Thanks for sharing your breath-taking images, Melvin.
Hi Carolyn
Having visited New Zealand on four occasions, my first being way back in 2003 while backpacking and my last visit in 2019, I can only sit here somewhat envious of you. New Zealand is my favourite country in the world and its beauty is matched by the kindness and friendliness of the people who live there. I cannot wait to return someday soon. Have yourself a wonderful 2021 and lets hope that it is a little kinder to us than 2020 was.
Best wishes Melvin
A beautiful set of images Melvin.
Best wishes for 2021.
Hi Alan. Happy New Year to you and let’s hope 2021 fares much better than 2020. Keep smiling and stay safe and sane my friend.
Best wishes Melvin
Wow! a superb set of images Melvin – truly to be proud of.
I would love to join one of your Workshops and have every intention of doing so once this ‘expletives!’ had done one!
Wishing you a very Happy New Year with every success for 2021!
Ali xx
HI Alison
Thank you very much for your very kind words. I am delighted that you enjoyed the images featured. In truth, I have so many more on my hard drive to process but these were my stand out ones and images I would be more than happy to have printed, framed, and hung on my wall at home and having just completely redecorated my home recently, that’s exactly what I shall be doing.
I hope to see you at some point this year and have a wonderful 2021.
best wishes Melvin
Really enjoyed seeing these great images this morning, although slightly disappointed that there weren’t any from our Tuscany trip, but perhaps the weather wasn’t as favourable as previous years. You have obviously really enjoyed Slovenia and the images that you have put on Facebook have been fantastic and cheered us up in these crazy times. I will put the trip on my list for the future. Best wihes for a more travelled 2021.
Hi Jill
Yes Tuscany was lovely and a couple of the images did make the shortlist but there were more replications that I had taken the year before and so new images of new locations appealed to me more for the blog at the end of 2020. Also having spent three months in Slovenia, I had a lot of images to choose from, and believe me when I say that all ten images could easily have been from just that one country but ultimately, I had to restrict it to just a few. It’s a lovely problem to have though, lol.
Here’s looking forward to 2021 and where life will take me/us all this year. All the best for the year ahead Karen and look forward to catching up with you soon on a workshop 🙂
Best wishes Melvin
Cracking set Melvin – and so pleased you were able to see the year out on a high in Slovenia with some stunning images.
Glad our night on the beach in Lofoten made it in – was magical indeed.
All the best for lots of tripod action in ‘21 !
Thanks Neale
How could I leave out the aurora shot from our time in Norway back in Feb 2020. It was a great couple of hours standing on the busy beach with dozens of other photographers and keen aurora spotters. I remember those evenings with fond memories. Here’s hoping we can get back to those days again soon.
Keep safe, sane, and shooting in 2021 Neale 🙂
Melvin
Fantastic selection, Melvin – I can only imagine how hard it is to narrow down.
Your #2 is my personal #1, depicting everything I love about winter (and everything I am missing time and time again in my neck of the woods). My #2 is your #4 and my #3 your #8. XD
Here’s to a fantastic 2021 with many more gorgeous pictures and locations to shoot!
Hi Nina
That’s the beauty of photography. We all have our favourite images and differing opinions. I cherish the views that other people offer as it often presents some clarity during the times when it is needed. It was a close call between my top two images (as you can imagine). Both hold a special place in my heart but ultimately, The Canadian Rockies won over Slovenia if only due to the tenacity and determination required to capture a good image from Morant’s Curve drove me on to visit that roadside location on numerous occasions and in frighteningly cold conditions too.
Have as best you can, a wonderful 2021 and here’s to things improving as the year rolls on.
Best wishes Melvin
Love, love, love your Slovenia captures – beautiful country! I loved it because it is so small and has such a diverse range of landscape from the mountains of the national park in the north, through the karst scenery with its castles and caves to the typical Mediterranean coast (Pirran on the coast, though busy in tourist season is gorgeous!). Your images brought back some happy memories!
Hi Jayne
I think you have hit the nail on the head perfectly. Slovenia, with its two million residents, is a perfectly sized country to navigate around fairly easily while offering up a huge diversity of locations and subjects to photograph. I have extremely fond memories of all the places I visited, some more so than others obviously but it is such a remarkable country that completely caught me off guard. I fell in love with it almost immediately, which is unusual for me. I cannot wait to return and I am delighted that my images brought back many wonderful memories for you.
Have a lovely 2021 and fingers crossed for brighter days ahead.
Best wishes Melvin