2026 / 365

Tim Parkin

Tim Parkin is a British landscape photographer, writer, and editor best known as the co-founder of On Landscape magazine, where he explores the art and practice of photographing the natural world. His work is thoughtful and carefully crafted, often focusing on subtle details and quiet moments in the landscape rather than dramatic vistas. Alongside his photography and writing, he co-founded the Natural Landscape Photography Awards, serves as a judge for other international competitions. Through all these projects, Parkin has become a respected and influential voice in contemporary landscape photography.

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I’ve mentioned before that I haven’t had much dedicated time for landscape photography over the last couple of years. That’s mainly because I’ve been spending a lot of time in the mountains, where photography was still happening, but usually as a secondary concern to whatever I was out there doing.

After Matt Payne’s visit last year, I realised I probably needed a project, something with enough structure to nudge me out the door more regularly. So I’ve restarted a practice I first tried about five years ago, taking one photograph a day for the whole of 2026. January has gone reasonably well so far, although a bout of Covid made me miss a day and also led to one slightly questionable “photo through the bedroom window” attempt, which felt a bit like cheating.

I thought it might be interesting to share how the project unfolds, so I’m going to post a monthly update with a small selection along the way. Each month, I’ll include eight photographs with captions.

Achtriochtan Snow Storm - 2nd January

A tourist vantage point, but one with so much photographic potential in the right conditions. Around 3 pm, a series of snow/rain bands was due to pass. I went to the edge of the lochan and I found a satisfying clump of reeds to provide a foreground ready for the front to arrive. Just as the squall was blowing in, I had time to capture three frames before the wind hit the water. Shortly after, the view disappeared and so did the feeling in my fingers.

A critical part of making this photo was finding a clean area of water in the foreground, which was just as important as finding a complementary grouping of reeds. I wasn't 100% successful; a couple of the foreground reeds stood out. However, a bit of contrast reduction in Photoshop/Lightroom did the trick. The same processing was applied to a couple of car headlights in the background. The key to post-processing this image was to enhance the contrast between the cool blues and the warm reeds/lower hillside.