Image Credit: Glencoe, Scotland - Ian Meechan
My family in Scotland came from a poor background, and as a child, I didn't have the opportunity to travel much. I regularly visited the library to bury my head in books about travelling to other countries and imagined what it would be like to see them. The only exposure to landscapes was the imagery in these books. It didn't occur to me at the time about the process of creating images until my art teacher introduced me to photography.
Starting my photographic passion for travelling and seeing other places and cultures didn't spark a desire to do landscape photography. I enjoyed Elliot Erwitt's style in capturing the sights and atmosphere of places and people. I did enjoy school trips, visiting the lochs just outside Glasgow and the beauty of the landscape surrounding them. Even then, I still didn't aspire to create any landscapes. I was more interested in the shapes and patterns of nature and shadows and light.
As I got older, I, fortunately, was able to travel to other countries and pursue my photographic interests. At this time, I became more aware and appreciative of landscapes. Work commitments took me to Asia, primarily China, but later to South Korea, Thailand and Bhutan. These countries were the epiphany for me when I truly appreciated the skill of landscape photography.
I attempted to capture the vistas I'd seen in these countries but never seemed to capture them in the same way as the landscape photographers in coffee table books.
Living and working in an indigenous community in the beautiful Dampier Peninsula, Australia, and at age 57, I took up the challenge of taking this course to learn about landscape and challenge myself to achieve the landscape image I've sought to create after all these years.