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May: Sunset over Isle of Rum, Scotland.

It's all down to conditions. I even bore myself the number of times I say this to photo tour guests. You can go to the most exotic locations on Earth but photographically speaking, it all comes down to conditions. Weather - in all its manifestations - is what governs life on Scotland's west coast and predicting it is notoriously unpredictable. And so it was I came to be standing on a remote Hebridean beach waiting for conditions. Cloud structure, tide state, even moisture content in the air - they all contribute to the right - or wrong - conditions. If truth be told, I'd have liked more cloud and a bit thinner and a bit higher and a bit to the right and a bit...you get what you get and try to make the most of it. Conditions can be found anywhere, but Scotland has its fair share.

BEHIND THE LENS: Perched on a rocky outcrop in the half-light of dusk with an incoming tide needs a bit of care but so does the execution of these types of images. Shooting straight into the sun, I waited for a bit of cloud cover to calm the brightness in the sky and used a 0.9 ND grad over the top of the image. As the light was fading fast, a 3-stop ND filter slowed the motion of the sea over a 30 second exposure. It goes without saying that a sturdy tripod is essential.

Newsletter: May 2013

Sat, 6 May 2013 00:00:01 GMT

The Northshots monthly newsletter. May 2013

Newsletter: April 2013

Tue, 2 April 2013 00:00:01 GMT

The Northshots monthly newsletter. April 2013

Newsletter: March 2013

Mon, 1 March 2013 00:00:01 GMT

The Northshots monthly newsletter. March 2013

Podcasts: featuring Andy Parkinson

Wed, 10 January 2012 00:00:01 GMT

Specialist subject: Wildlife

Podcasts: featuring Danny Green

Thu, 11 November 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Specialist subject: All kinds of natural history, from mammals, birds, insects and reptiles.

Podcasts: featuring John MacPherson

Tue, 23 August 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Specialist subject: Landscape, environmental, natural history and the involvement of people with the natural world.

Podcasts: featuring Mark Hamblin

Mon, 15 June 2011 00:00:01 GMT

Specialist subject: Wildlife and landscapes of northern Europe

e-Xhibition gallery

e-Xhibition

This online photography exhibition by Peter Cairns will change regularly reflecting themed image showcases.

2020VISION

Sometimes it's difficult to differentiate between images you 'like' and images that have mass appeal. For this selection, I've not gone for mass appeal. These are all images taken over the last two years for the 2020VISION project and are amongst my favourites, not because they necessarily have mass appeal but because they are 'personal'. In every case I can remember 'being there'; I can remember the sounds and smells around me; I can remember the weather, the time of day, the time of year; I can remember if I was cold, hot, wet or dry; I can remember being there. I hope you enjoy this 'being there' collection.

All images taken on commission for 2020VISION and are available for licensing through Nature Picture Library.

Click on any of the images below to view the e-Xhibition.

Tours: Midsummer birds, beaches and big skies!, Iceland

Guides: Peter Cairns & Mark Hamblin.
Monday, Jun 10, 2013 to Wednesday, Jun 19, 2013

Tours: Midsummer sea eagles, Norway

Guides: Ole Martin Dahle.
Monday, Jun 17, 2013 to Saturday, Jun 22, 2013

Tours: The Ultimate Puffin Bootcamp, Fair Isle, Shetland

Guides: Peter Cairns & Mark Hamblin.
Friday, Jun 28, 2013 to Thursday, Jul 04, 2013

Tours: Seals, Seabirds and Sunsets, Shetland Isles

Guides: Andrew Parkinson & Brydon Thomason.
Friday, Jul 05, 2013 to Friday, Jul 12, 2013

Tours: Fish Eaters of the North, Ospreys and dolphins, Scotland

Guides: Peter Cairns.
Saturday, Jul 06, 2013 to Wednesday, Jul 10, 2013

Tours: Fish Eaters of the North, Ospreys and dolphins, Scotland

Guides: Peter Cairns.
Sunday, Jul 14, 2013 to Thursday, Jul 18, 2013

Tours: Fish Eaters of the North, Ospreys and dolphins, Scotland

Guides: Peter Cairns.
Sunday, Jul 21, 2013 to Thursday, Jul 25, 2013

Tours: Kingdom of the Ice Bear, Svalbard

Guides: Peter Cairns & Arctic guide.
Sunday, Aug 04, 2013 to Tuesday, Aug 13, 2013

Tours: Autumn and Aurora!, Northern Iceland

Guides: Peter Cairns.
Monday, Sep 23, 2013 to Sunday, Sep 29, 2013

Tours: Highland Odyssey, Landscape special in Scotland�s wildest country

Guides: Peter Cairns & Mark Hamblin.
Tuesday, Oct 22, 2013 to Thursday, Oct 31, 2013

Tours: Frozen Finland, Finland

Guides: T�a Karvinen.
Tuesday, Jan 14, 2014 to Sunday, Jan 19, 2014

Tours: Wilderness Winter Wonder, Yellowstone & Grand Tetons, USA

Guides: Mark Hamblin & Andy Parkinson.
Saturday, Jan 18, 2014 to Wednesday, Jan 29, 2014

Tours: Red Squirrel Bootcamp, Cairngorms, Scotland

Guides: Peter Cairns & Neil McIntyre.
Friday, Jan 24, 2014 to Monday, Jan 27, 2014

Tours: Winter Wildlife, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

Guides: Peter Cairns and Richard Peters.
Saturday, Feb 01, 2014 to Friday, Feb 07, 2014

Tours: Winter Wildlife, Cairngorms National Park, Scotland

Guides: Rob Jordan and Richard Peters.
Saturday, Feb 08, 2014 to Friday, Feb 14, 2014

Tours: Winter at 68� North, Lofoten Islands, Norway

Guides: Peter Cairns.
Saturday, Feb 15, 2014 to Thursday, Feb 20, 2014

Tours: Ultimate Winter Iceland, Iceland

Guides: Peter Cairns with assistance from Einar Sigur�sson.
Monday, Feb 24, 2014 to Sunday, Mar 09, 2014

Tours: Glaciers, Guanacos and drama! , Patagonia

Guides: Andy Parkinson.
Friday, Apr 04, 2014 to Monday, Apr 14, 2014

Tours: Island Trilogy, Harris, Skye & Eigg

Guides: Peter Cairns.
Tuesday, Apr 15, 2014 to Thursday, Apr 24, 2014

Tours: The Ultimate Puffin Bootcamp, Fair Isle, Shetland

Guides: Peter Cairns or Rob Jordan.
Friday, Jun 27, 2014 to Thursday, Jul 03, 2014

Tours: Fish Eaters of the North, Ospreys and dolphins, Scotland

Guides: Mark Hamblin.
Saturday, Jul 05, 2014 to Wednesday, Jul 09, 2014

Tours: Fish Eaters of the North, Ospreys and dolphins, Scotland

Guides: Peter Cairns.
Saturday, Jul 12, 2014 to Wednesday, Jul 16, 2014

Tours: Fish Eaters of the North, Ospreys and dolphins, Scotland

Guides: Peter Cairns.
Saturday, Jul 19, 2014 to Wednesday, Jul 23, 2014

Tours: Face to Face Grizzlies!, Alaska, USA

Guides: Mark Hamblin.
Saturday, Jul 26, 2014 to Sunday, Aug 03, 2014

Tours: From Summit to Sea, Cairngorms National Park & Orkney, Scotland

Guides: Peter Cairns & Mark Hamblin.
Saturday, Oct 25, 2014 to Monday, Nov 03, 2014

Video: The Adventure Show

Footage of Pete's appearance on The Adventure Show in February 2012, alongside Cameron Mcneish.

Video: Caledonia - Scotland's Heart of Pine

A beautiful slideshow of images taken from Peter Cairns' new book "Caledonia - Scotland's Heart of Pine" and set against a specially commissioned soundtrack.

Video: Behind the Scenes

Go behind the scenes at Go Wild with Peter Cairns and find out what it really takes to be a nature photographer!

Video: Peter Cairns in Lapland

Footage of Peter Cairns in Lapland for Wild Wonders of Europe, plus Staffan Widstrand getting up close with Finland's carnivores.

Video: Peter Cairns on BBC Landward

Peter Cairns interviewed on BBC Scotland "Landward" about the Tooth & Claw project.