Scottish Nature Photography Book Vote 2014
The
Awards showcase quality Scottish nature photography and we recognise that books
are a great creative outlet for photographers and that they inspire, inform and
entertain the public.
We asked the public to vote online for their favourites
from seven shortlisted books, which highlighted a variety of Scottish nature subjects.
This is the third time the biennial poll has been conducted and we received
more votes than ever before. It was great to see the public's support for all
the books, and we're grateful to everyone who took part.
The winner
of the Scottish Nature Photography Awards Favourite Scottish Nature Photography
Book 2014 was.....
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Naturally
Orkney |
"I am really delighted that
Naturally Orkney has won this award. I loved working on the images, trying out
new techniques, observing animal behaviour and bringing Orkney's wildlife to a
wider audience so they can enjoy it too.
"A satisfying aspect has
been people's surprise at some of the species found here. Whilst lots of folk
know that Orkney is a great place to see Hen Harriers, it's less known that when
you've finished watching them you can stop off and observe something equally beautiful
like the Emerald Damselfly which is a new coloniser in Orkney.
"I'm
humbled that folk have taken to the book so much and if it helps or inspires them
to spend a bit more time searching for and enjoying Orkney's wildlife then so
much the better." - Raymond Besant
"We are absolutely
thrilled that Raymond's work has been recognised at a national level. He was born
and bred in the islands, where he developed a boyhood passion for nature and photography;
subsequently turning his hobby into a profession.
"When we first
started working on the book and he submitted the early photographs, it was crystal
clear that this was a highly skilled craftsman at work; someone who knew what
image he wanted to capture and had the ability to pull it off. He is still a relatively
young man, is obviously going places, and has the capacity to be among the best
on an international stage.
"The standard of entry for this award
was extremely high but there can only be one winner. As a small, parochial publisher
we are delighted it is us. Our design and printing teams have produced a top quality
book and we are both honoured and humbled by this award." - James
Miller, The Orcadian
2nd Place: Winter in Glen Lyon
Author: Jamie Grant
Publisher:
Aberfeldy Watermill
3rd Place: Otters: Return to the River
Authors: Laurie Campbell
&
Anna Levin
Publisher: Birlinn
Everyone who participated
in the online vote was entered into our free prize draw for one lucky winner
to win the entire shortlist of books. Our thanks go to the publishers for their
kind donations of books for the prize draw.
The lucky winner was....
Julian
Hall
Congratulations Julian. Happy browsing!
The
shortlisted books were:
Moray
Firth Dolphins
Author: Tim Stenton
Publisher: Bassman Books
Publisher's description: The Moray
Firth dolphins are one of Britain's greatest wildlife spectacles. This lavishly
illustrated book gives an insight into their world and that of the other marine
mammals living in the beautiful Moray Firth.
For more information about
this book, please visit:
www.russellturner.org/dolphins
104 pages, paperback.
Naturally Orkney
Author: Raymond Besant
Publisher: The Orcadian
Publisher's
description: Orcadian Raymond Besant has an instinctive knack of finding and photographing
Orkney nature as few have seen it. Naturally Orkney includes some unique images
from the islands' outdoors; a Red Throated Diver, sitting on her nest, being pestered
by midgies; an inquisitive young seal, nosing and nudging a hand-held underwater
camera; an otter, wrestling with a huge, freshly caught Conger Eel...they all
feature in this book.
For more information about this book, please visit:
www.orcadian.co.uk/shop
192 pages, hardback.
Otters: Return to the River
Authors: Laurie Campbell &
Anna Levin
Publisher: Birlinn
Publisher's description: This book
is a celebration of the return of the otter to our rivers and freshwater wetlands
after a drastic decline in the last century.
For more than two decades,
award-winning photographer Laurie Campbell has documented these lithe, elusive
predators on the River Tweed and its tributaries near his Berwickshire home. The
resulting photographs create an intimate portrait of their lives through the changing
seasons, including their riverside habitat and the other wildlife that shares
it.
Writer Anna Levin sets this work in the context of Laurie's own life's
story as she accompanies him to the riverbank. Her notebooks offer a vivid glimpse
of the photographer at work and of the otters that enchant them both.
For more information about this book, please visit:
www.birlinn.co.uk/Otters-Return-to-the-River
128 pages, paperback.
Scotland's
Still Light
Author: Andy Hall
Publisher: Luath Press
Publisher's description: Scotland's
Still Light explores the relationship beween photographic imagery and the words
of some of Scotland's most highly-respected writers. It is not an attempt to illustrate
the texts but to give a sense of place through the combination of words and images.
Sometimes it is a whole piece, sometimes a paragraph or verse, a few lines or
occasionally a single line that encapsulates the experience of trying to capture
'the moment' with a camera.
All of the photographic images have a evolved
from a study of the unique quality of light that prevails in the exquisite diversity
of Scotland's landscapes and cities.
For more information about this
book, please visit: www.luath.co.uk/scotland-s-still-light
96 pages, hardback.
The
Pool
Author: Iain Sarjeant
Publisher: Triplekite Publishing
Publisher's description: Iain's
book features images entirely from one small pool - no more than 2 meters wide,
close to his house. It is fringed by grasses and ferns, and surrounded by birch
trees. The images explore the layers of shapes and shadows reflected in the surface
of the pool - a hidden abstract world which is at first chaotic and lost to the
naked eye.
For more information about this book, please visit:
www.triplekite.co.uk/book-shop/iain-sarjeant-the-pool
60 pages, hardback.
Winter
in Glen Lyon
Author: Jamie Grant
Publisher: Aberfeldy Watermill
Publisher's
description: Over 100 black and white photographs revealing Glen Lyon in all its
winter glory. With landscapes of winter days and moody mists, the local people
at work and play, Scotland longest glen is brought to life through the eye of
local resident and photographer Jamie Grant.
For more information about
this book, please visit:
www.aberfeldywatermill.com/books
128 pages, hardback.
Zero
Footprint
Authors: Ted Leeming &
Morag Paterson
Publisher:
Leeming + Paterson
Publisher's description:
This portfolio consists of images taken over a five year (and counting) period
from precisely the same location our hillside studio in the Glenkens area of Dumfries
and Galloway. Having built a low carbon house on the hillside we were inspired
to see if we could apply some similar principles to our photography.
The restriction is a geographical one only - we can use any lens and point the
camera in any direction, taking advantage of the changes in season and dramatic
variances in natural light. Although it's a beautiful outlook, our view doesn't
necessarily lend itself to a good composition for a traditional landscape photograph
and we quickly realised that some of the bests shots we would get are those of
the banks of fog and mist that roll in and often spend the entire day moving like
a tide backwards and forwards in the glen.
For more information about
this book, please visit:
www.leemingpaterson.com/section736672
112
pages, hardback. Limited edition of 1250
Favourite
Scottish Nature Photography Book 2010
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Scottish Nature Photography Book 2012
Favourite
Scottish Nature Photography Book 2014
Favourite
Scottish Nature Photography Book 2016
Favourite
Scottish Nature Photography Book 2018
Favourite
Scottish Nature Photography Book 2020
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Scottish Nature Photography Book 2022