Mountain Hares & Landscapes: Winter Photography In The Scottish Highlands

A winter trip to the Scottish Highlands where I experience the good and the bad of Scottish weather but get up the the high plateau to watch and photograph the amazing Mountain Hares. Cold and tiring but exhilarating and a privilege to observe . Being in the mountains makes me smile !

My Instagram account:   / nigelpmorley  
My website: www.nigelmorley.co.uk

I hadn't intended to vlog this trip but at the least minute packed the gear in my backpack. My hope it that is conveys the feeling of the remoteness and freezing conditions of this amazing part of the UK.

On this trip, with the exception of two days, the winner was the weather!! And the first few minutes just show a huge "FAIL" as I attempt a late afternoon landscape image on a loch as the blizzard kicks in ! I think it's healthy to show the wipe outs occasionally :-) .

Wildlife is somewhat tougher to vlog “artistically” than say landscapes as the subjects have a habit of running or flying off (!!) On several occasions I simply couldn’t film, take stills AND set up the vlogging camera and audio either in time or without disturbing the Hare which always has to be the number one priority as they need to conserve as much energy as possible

I’m a conservationist as much as a photographer I feel (though the two are totally complimentary in my opinion) and I’m passionate about protecting our native wildlife and it staggers me that grouse shooting estates kill thousands of Mountain Hares each year but fortunately the wave of publicity about it has recently spiked noticeably with local politicians now wading in. When combined with the evidence of gamekeepers killing Birds of Prey, often on the same estates, maybe things will change soon.

Techie stuff: Fairly simple as all Hare shots on 500mm lens at f/4 or f/5.6 at 1/500th to 1/2500th sec with . Manual exposure as mentioned in the video.

I’m looking to do a Part Two where I show the day on the hills when the weather beat me up and i’ll discuss the techniques and clothing/gear I use in what can be such a hostile environment.

Hope you enjoy the video and thanks for watching.

CAMERA GEAR USED IN THIS VLOG:
Nikon D810
Nikon 24-70mm F/2.8 VR
Nikon 500mm VRII
Canon G7x Mark II
GoPro Hero5 Black
Manfrotto 055MF4 tripod and Markins Q10ballhead
Lowepro backpacks
Lots of bits and pieces !! (audio recorder, separate lav microphone, Gorillapod tripod etc etc)..if anyone wants to know specifics please feel free to ask
Layers and layers of warm clothing, gloves etcs


POST PROCESSING
-Video created on Adobe Premiere Pro
-Images edited on Lightroom CC

MUSIC:
Dawn by Sappheiros @sappheirosmusic
Music provided by Free Music for Vlogs    • (Free Music for Vlogs) Sappheiros - Dawn