“SPENDING TIME ALONE

“SPENDING TIME ALONE IN THE LANDSCAPE IS ESSENTIAL FOR ANYONE, I THINK” Above: The coast of Elgol shows itself at its windiest best in one of Calverley’s signature photos. Below: Calverley and the Discovery take on one of Skye’s many hidden tracks; Right: a look at Calverley’s carefully selected equipment for his trip to Skye, featuring his bespoke cameras from Swiss manufacturer Alpa 70

THE ALL-NEW DISCOVERY PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN COTTAM “JMW Turner is said to have strapped himself to the mast of a boat in a storm. It was his way of fully experiencing the conditions.” Landscape photographer Julian Calverley is talking about one of the greatest inspirations behind his own work. Julian has been returning to North West Scotland, and the Isle of Skye in particular, for the past 11 years in order to capture the essence of what he experiences in this majestic environment. But you won’t find his images on tins of Scottish shortbread. “I don’t want to capture the chocolate box image of Skye,” he says. “I chase bad conditions.” He’s come to the right place. The weather out here can be ferocious. The Isle of Skye is a series of peninsulas stretching like tentacles into the waters of the Minch, interspersed by long sea lochs. When weather comes in off the Atlantic, it is ensnared on the forbidding peaks of the Cuillin mountain range. The serrated gabbro rock edges of the Black Cuillin ridge tear at the clouds as they roll in, leaving strands of vapour to gather on the rounded granite cones of the Red Cuillin to their east. This almost treeless landscape of sweeping glens, clear, rushing rivers and near vertical rock faces has drawn artists and mountaineers since the dawn of the Romantic age, when people first began to view such places with excitement rather than fear. To Julian, this trip is different than his earlier returns to Skye, as it is his first time driving the All-New Land Rover Discovery through this impressive, humbling Scottish outpost. “Every time I’d driven the 12-hour trip to this region from my home near London, it’s always been in a Discovery,” Julian explains. “But this is the first time I’ve driven the new Discovery so I’m pretty excited.” Much of Julian’s time is spent as an advertising photographer, working with large teams. His landscape work is a chance to leave all that behind and go solo. “I like to come here in the winter, between September and March,” he says. “The lower light means I can shoot all day. I set out each morning well before dawn, so I can be pretty sure I will be alone. Spending time alone in the landscape is essential for anyone, I think. That solitude plays a big part in the process of making landscape pictures – being alone, feeling perhaps a little vulnerable in these big spaces, witnessing the power of the weather.” ALARM CALL “My initial impulse was simply to come to Scotland and try to capture this amazing landscape,” says Julian. “But I quickly realised I needed to embrace the atmospherics of the place. I’ve made a commitment. I’ve made an effort to be here. I’m not going to stay in the hotel just because it’s raining and the clouds are down.” INNOVATIVE ISLANDERS TOM EVELING & CRAIG STEELE CAFÉ SIA WITH SKYE ROASTERY “All our produce is local but our theme is Scottish-Italian. I drove a van to Pisa to collect a wood-fired pizza oven and bring it back here. Craig drove to Hampshire to collect his bright red 1984 French Samiac coffee roaster. It’s a wonderful vintage piece of technology in which he roasts single origin, specialty grade coffee beans from as far afield as Tanzania, Indonesia and Honduras. We’ve caused quite a stir on the island.” www.cafesia.co.uk 71