I used to be as soon as charged by a musk ox – they usually can shift. Fortunately, I might shift sooner than the photographer I used to be with…

What impressed you to get into wildlife images within the first place?

I went to a lecture by the photographer Laurie Campbell. His first slide was a robin on a spade – a cliched shot, however on that massive display screen, it blew me away.

If not Scotland, the place would you reside?

Somewhere chilly and snowy. Maybe Norway. 

Red squirrel or lynx?

You’ve acquired to like a purple squirrel. But we’re one among only a handful of European international locations refusing to stay with massive predators. There’s an ecological, financial and ethical case for bringing again the lynx.

What shot is most necessary to you?

A easy silhouette of a whooper swan standing on a frozen loch at daybreak in winter. 

I can nonetheless bear in mind the solar burning by the mist. Photography delivers each nice pictures and lasting reminiscences.

What’s been your closest shave?

I used to be as soon as charged by a musk ox – they usually can shift. Fortunately, I might shift sooner than the photographer I used to be with.

What’s the poorest funding of your time on a shoot?

I spent three months making an attempt to seize a golden eagle on a digital camera lure. It was 150km away and an hour’s trek throughout open hill floor. I made round 40 journeys solely to search out that rain or snow had fogged the lens, mice had chewed the cable or the sunshine was too low. I ended up with one picture. 

What’s your most ineffective piece of equipment?

Just earlier than drones had been mass produced, I paid £6,000 for a bespoke rig. I flew it thrice after which couldn’t even give it away.

Have you misplaced a lot gear within the discipline?

Yes. Note to self: don’t depart a digital camera bag on a seaside when the tide is coming in.

Do you might have any recommendation to budding wildlife photographers?

Trends come and go, however inform highly effective visible tales and you’ll all the time have
an viewers.

Pete Cairns is a conservation photographer and founding father of Scotland: The Big Picture.

Main picture: Getty