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Hot shot Highlanders in the frame for top awards in nature photography competition


By Hector MacKenzie

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HEAD-turning images of Scottish wildlife and landscapes put Highland photographers in the frame for accolades in a prestigious competition.

The Scottish Nature Photography Awards inspired Toby Houlton of Kildary who said he sensed "a special moment" on his beloved Loch Fleet observing a Eurasian curlew with shore crab. "I might have been wet and covered in sand but it was well worth it!" said the winner of the Scottish Wildlife behaviour award.

He said: "My wife and I made north east Scotland our home in November 2017 and live a few miles inland of Tain. Wildlife is our major passion and what better place to be than the Highlands of Scotland? I take every opportunity I can to be out with the camera and can often be found on the shores of Loch Fleet, Sutherland, where this image was captured.

"As I was taking the images I could see I was experiencing a special moment. The late afternoon sun was dropping behind the hills, creating a perfect angle of golden light that fell on the bird's head as it searched for a meal. I was well hidden, laid flat in the weed and stones at low tide, my low angle affording an intimate view at eye level with the bird. When it found the crab, there were a couple of fleeting seconds as it stood and held its prize in the sunlight and my image captures that moment."

Eight-year-old Kaitlyn Clark of Inverness was named Junior Nature Photographer of the Year with her shot of a red squirrel in Lossiemouth Wood.

Colin Campbell from Beauly watched and waited in changing conditions on An Teallach near Dundonnell and was rewarded with a Scottish Landscape – The Land award.

He said: "I'm delighted to have won this award. It's not often I go out to photograph a particular landscape and the pleasure is in just being out there and seeing what happens. This was one of those special days where wintry showers are blasting in through the glens. We'd started walking up to An Teallach from Dundonell and a wee bit up the path was enough, just to wait and watch, as one minute the mountains were bathed in winter sunshine and then just as suddenly they would disappear in whiteout conditions."

Tomasz Szatewicz snapped up second place in the Environmental section for a shot of a confused lone deer in Glen Etive Forest. He said: “This is a special and memorable scene of a lone deer looking lost and confused among the cut down Glen Etive forest, with dark clouds and rain over Buachaille Etive Mor in the background adding an even more dramatic and sad feel to it.

“I was deeply saddened to see the entire forest was cut down in one of the most beautiful glens in the Scottish Highlands, and unfortunately it's not the only place where significant deforestation is happening. As a human being I was also feeling guilty looking at the scene and felt like this is something I have to capture and show to others, hoping it will maybe open few eyes and make someone think more about the human impact on natural environment...”

More on the awards can be found Scottish Nature Photography Awards at www.scottishnaturephotographyawards.com

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He said looking at the deer made him feel guilty and wanting to capture the moment so others could see the impact of changes to the natural environment.

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