It’s been a busy, photography-filled few weeks here in the Scottish Highlands where I’ve taken guests to meet my red squirrels, the dolphins, osprey and dragonflies as well as spending many evenings in the company of my garden badgers.
read more A week in Perthshire, hot weather workshops and garden badgers
May and June have been busy months for me in the Scottish Highlands photographing and guiding clients to a wide variety of subjects including mountain hares, osprey, dolphins, common seals, badgers and pine marten.
Autumn was late to arrive in the Scottish Highlands this year but once it did the colours were stunning and the wildlife fantastic, as always!
It was great to spend a week in Perthshire in July where not only did I conduct a workshop but also visited a wonderful photography hide as well as seeing mountain hares, osprey, marsh harrier and much much more.
The final part of my whistle-stop tour of Scotland saw me in Aviemore for a challenging attempt to photograph ospreys in the mist and mountain hares in the rain.
read more Aviemore: Ospreys in the Mist, Mountain Hares in the Rain
What a year! I’ve already written about the first 6 months, so I won’t repeat myself, but it’s fair to say that from a photographic/wildlife watching perspective 2017 has been brilliant. From the bucket list I’ve now landed on the Bass Rock amongst the gannets and photographed fishing ospreys – both unforgettable experiences. I’ve learnt a lot: photographic techniques, field craft and wildlife behaviours. My ambition for 2017 was to focus entirely (okay… so I did venture South of the border to the Farne Islands), on Scottish wildlife, learning as much as I could about a small number of locations and the animals living there. Personally I don’t want to be the kind of photographer who just ticks species off, I want to get to know them intimately and in doing so take better images that capture the essence of the animal I’m photographing. On top of all this I just love being out sharing airspace with these amazing creatures, it’s a real honour. If anything my love of wildlife, Scotland, the outdoors and photography has increased during 2017.
Photographing fishing ospreys for the first time with a brand new (to me) Nikon D500 was a gamble – but one that paid off.
Karen Miller's Wildlife photography blog 