I used to be as soon as charged – fortuitously, I may run quicker than the photographer I used to be with…

What impressed you to get into wildlife pictures 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 vast display, it blew me away.

If not Scotland, the place would you reside?

Somewhere chilly and snowy. Maybe Norway. 

Red squirrel or lynx?

You’ve bought to like a crimson squirrel. But we’re one in every of only a handful of European international locations refusing to dwell with giant 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 keep in mind the solar burning by way of the mist. Photography delivers each nice photographs and lasting recollections.

What’s been your closest shave?

I used to be as soon as charged by a musk ox – they usually can shift. Fortunately, I may shift quicker 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 digicam lure. It was 150km away and an hour’s trek throughout open hill floor. I made round 40 journeys solely to seek 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 package?

Just earlier than drones had been mass produced, I paid £6,000 for a bespoke rig. I flew it 3 times after which couldn’t even give it away.

Have you misplaced a lot gear within the subject?

Yes. Note to self: don’t go away a digicam 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