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I took this shot, which I was delighted was selected as the overall winner of the Scottish Nature Photographer of the Year competition 2019, from the lighthouse at the Butt of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides in October. I was staying in Aird Uig which in itself is spectacular and fascinating due to its connections with the Cold war. Located on the west of the island, Uig (also known as West Uig and in Gaelic, Sgir Uig) has a multitude of breath-taking beaches, bays and coves on the doorstep. However, the weather forecast was for wind and heavy showers so where better to experience and capture these conditions than at a lighthouse?

The lighthouse at the Butt of Lewis marks the most northerly point of Lewis. The drive from Uig to the Butt of Lewis took me past the Callanish Stones. The stone circles here are captivating and awe-inspiring. Dating back to around 3400 BC, they, of course, raise the questions of Why? Why here? How? What for? The sense of past and present being inextricably linked is palpable here. But for the photographer, the stones provide both opportunities and challenges. Trying to capture – and do justice to- the overall scene is very difficult. Instead, focusing on detail and pattern within the groupings often produces some striking results. However, it takes time to really capture the essence of this place, and this was not the day for such an endeavour.

Moving on took me across a flat and in places, quite desolate landscape, but with small roads off to the left leading down to rocky coves such as at Borve (not to be mistaken with Borve on Harris). A wide sandy bay with smooth sand dunes at Eoropie/Eoropaidh beach was also enticing and is certainly worth exploring. But the wind was picking up and with it my determination to reach The Butt, recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the windiest place in the UK.

The lighthouse was built in the mid 1800s and is unusual in that it is of red brick rather than painted white as is more common in Scotland. At the time of building, there was no road access and so all materials had to be brought in by ship.

One such ship came to grief on the rocks before the lighthouse was completed. In fact, until as relatively recently as 1960 all supplies for the lighthouse still came in by sea. The lighthouse only became automated in 1998 finally losing its last lighthouse keeper. To take a shot of the lighthouse itself, there is a spot beyond the lighthouse from which you can look back. From here you see it standing as a protector atop the cliffs, still warning unwary sailors of the treacherous rocks that lie waiting to wreck.

However, for me, the starring role is played not by the lighthouse but by the rocks themselves rising up from the tumultuous waters below. These are ancient rocks, Lewisian Gneiss, formed 3000 million years ago and some of the oldest rocks in Europe. The textures and patterns, angles and structures are visible amid the many seabirds that cling to the rocks and swoop in and out of the waves. The cliffs on which the lighthouse stands are between 60 and 80 feet high so are not the highest of cliffs, but looking down from them and across to the surrounding rock formations, is nevertheless a highly vertiginous experience. I cautiously approached the edge to find a suitable spot from which to shoot, wary of the gusting wind which threatened to take me towards, and perhaps over the edge. Fortunately, there were some safe flat spots to set up my tripod and begin to consider composition. The Butt of Lewis is wild and unforgiving. It is here that the raw force of nature is truly evident.

Trying to capture this essence is a challenging task.

This was especially the case as due to heavy showers blowing in, much of my time was spent performing the photographer’s Cha Cha Cha: cover-uncover-wipe, cover-uncover-wipe!!! However, standing through these bursts of rain gave me time to look for the shooting angle where the texture of the sea and the rocks complemented each other but where the rocks were also clearly distinct in their own right rather than merging together. The three rocks seemed to me to do just this. For those of you interested, the photo was taken on a Nikon 810 with Nikkor 24-70mm lens at iso 64 f11 exp 1.30 with a 0.9 medium lee grad plus a 1.2 hitech ND filter and Gitzo systematic tripod.

A range of other shots were of course taken during the day spent at this iconic spot which accompanies this article.

Driving back, I stopped off at the Comunn Eachdraidh Nis, a museum, gallery and café set up to collect and preserve local history and to create a community hub. This has fascinating photographs and other materials relating to the history of the area and its inhabitants and is well worth visiting. While enjoying my tea and home-made cake, I had no idea whether any of the many shots I had taken would be of any quality given the ferocious conditions. Despite this, I felt the warm satisfaction that comes from spending a day truly getting to know and appreciating a location, which of itself is a wonderful experience.