1st March 2026

The old kirk at Croik in Strath Cuileannach is forever tied to the Highland Clearances when the residents of Glen Calvie were driven from their homes by landlords replacing people with sheep. They took up residence in the kirkyard here, fearing that setting up home within the church itself would be a sacrilegious act.

This is just one of a number of inscriptions scratched into the glass of the church, and reads "Glencalvie people was in the churchyard here May 24 1845"

It is quite a poingiant place to visit, and somewhat off the beaten path.

2nd March 2026

It has been a bright and blustery day today - a nice start to the working month!

Now I just need some more work to come in!

My car is in for work today so I am driving around in a little Ford Puma - it’s actually quite nice! I am off to look at electric Fords tomorrow again I think.

4th March 2026

It’s been one of those ducking days… self doubt has been running ragged in my mind and I have been struggling internally a wee bit. Which I shouldn’t have been as it has actually been a reasonably productive kind of a day!

Tomorrow will, hopefully, be a fresh start. Plus I have some things afoot that may perk me up a little!

3rd March 2026

Spring is slowly creeping in to the landscape!

I spent today charging around the place having meetings, doing jobs and testing out a possible new car.

So productive then!

6th March 2026

Bit of a disaster today… but that is another story.

Out to the Cairngorms and stopped off at Slochd on the way home for a viaduct shot!

8th March 2026

Just a quick photo from the canal today, but it’s been a day of concentrating on the website which needed a bit of a refresh and overhaul. I have spent a lot of time on SEO updates as well as the portfolios and a general spruce up elsewhere.

I have been a bit of a victim of the AI boom lately so it’s time to start really buckling down and building my exposure further through the north of Scotland. Phase one is here, with the commercial work… phase two will be the fine art and workshop market over on the other site (which is currently a quick and dirty build to get it up - so now it’s time to build the refinement!)

10th March 2026

Today has not gone to plan… I bought a new controller for my rather specialist drone only to discover that it is incompatible with another part of the set up. You fly this one looking through goggles, the controller it came with is a bit of a blunt instrument and not ideal for cinematic or thoughtful flying (although it is a LOT of fun!) so I bought something considerably more precise.

And now I have bought new goggles so that I can use it! Which are not cheap…

Anyway, a bit more poking around under the hood of my new website and marketing strategies has been going on today and I think it is now easier to navigate and the information that clients look for is more forthcoming. I want everything to be transparent before anyone books and honestly believe that I offer not only some of the finest results - but I do so at one of the most competitive price points in the Highlands.

12th March 2026

It's been a wet and wild day... perfect for a test job for a new client then!

I think it came off okay, much to my amazement, it has been submitted and now just waiting for feedback!

14th March 2026

What better way to spend a Saturday than gutting your office space entirely and re-arranging everything so that it is considerably less of a midden and a calmer, more creative, space?

I can think of many things, truth be told. But it needed doing, and I need to space to be less chaotic to help the creative process as I start to really buckle down over the rest of the month on developing client relationships and winning more work. I also intend to create some much higher quality video so wanted everything to be in easy reach for any opportunities that come along! The usual camera bag and drone box have always been to hand, but now I can also grab the big gimbal and extended pole and Avata 2 without having to remember where I put them! My flash bag is also locatable but I don’t really have a great deal of love for flash in interior photography… working with natural light just conveys so much more of the character of a property I find.

So all set for a new week then, with new challenges and new opportunities!

22nd March 2026

Today has been a quiet Sunday - with a bit of prep work ready for tomorrow and another attempt to pull something out the bag.

I have plans, much bigger and bolder plans, but I need to start recovering something now so will continue along the current path to build the business base back up first.

My psychology is so much like my late brothers - I entirely recognise it in both of us - we get knocked down and take it REALLY personally, then come back with a new plan, a new approach and a new energy. I tend to bounce back a bit quicker than he ever did - and I don’t sink quite so low either - but then my rebounds are not on the epic level that his were either.

At times like this I do miss him.

5th March 2026

Some old ruins in Strath Carron, Easter Ross.

I took this photograph a while ago - it was one I didn't expect to come out, the exposure was wrong (I thought it was 400 ISO film, it was 100), I forgot the ground glass to focus and compose so went for a guess....

Today I processed the film, finally... and was absolutely astonished at what came out!

This counts as today's photograph as it was processed today and scanned today (I also hand printed it, but I haven't scanned that yet)

Da Yi 617, adapted to 6x12 format. FPP Wolfman 120 film.

7th March 2026

Roki today having a bit of a pose!

16th March 2026

I went for a wee bit of an explore along the Culnakirk road this afternoon after a morning of marketing, there are a few side roads that don't really go anywhere but I had never been up to investigate. This one ended with a parking area and path off into the forest that may be worth an explore at some stage.

Bit of a fruitless day on the marketing front so far… so onwards! I do have a test job on for tomorrow though so fingers crossed!

18th March 2026

Today has been a bit of a disaster - but this photo of the old bothy at Eassich was something of a nice moment at least!

Tomorrow is another day, and my quest to shake out some work will continue!

20th March 2026

It’s spring, it’s sunny… and I have a plan. Well, a plan may be too grand a title at this stage… but an idea or an inspiration perhaps!

So - I am working on something to change things up. At the moment I am in the research phase of an adjacent market - it’s more time consuming work but with better rates although possibly a smaller pool locally so it may require a degree of flexibility and travel.

But yes - when I have an idea, a goal… something to aim for… I can feel more positive again!

At the same time I am pushing for more work in the current sphere too, as that is where my current portfolio sits and it isn’t something that I am planning on casting aside. In the engineering days there were two areas of work, installations and servicing. The former was higher value, the latter was regular income - and I think that model fits here - the things I am investigating now would be my “installs” whilst my current work would be my “service”, but sit together nicely, provide greater variety and build into a more complete business model.

Perhaps there will be a silver lining to this current (very stormy) cloud!

24th March 2026

Just a selfie for today - I was playing with some lighting ideas on a particularly miserable day whilst taking a break from some video edits!

Things are turning around! This year went down hill rapidly after a good January. February was okay… March was rock bottom (near enough) as the full impact of the AI thing really kicked in. I really don’t like the results that they are getting from the system, and that isn’t just because it took away 70% of my work and income overnight, they look horrible. There is no soul or character to the properties which look more like hospital waiting rooms - too white, too bright and with no definition. This is, probably, not really suprising as they use a small sensor (akin to that in a decentish 360 camera) which automatically limits the light collecting potential (you cannae beat the laws of physics). The system then uses AI processing to try and hide these short comings, the result… an over processed mess. It is cheaper than me, which is the draw, but not by that much. And it can’t fly a drone.

So, anyway, it looks like things are coming together really well so that the set back should start to remedy itself over the next few months. The crisis has not been without merit though as it has forced me to investigate where I plan to build my business further and perhaps look at breaking into a more specialist market which I have the skills for… so as of tomorrow I will be looking for opportunities to build a new section to my portfolio to start attracting those clients too!

Onwards and upwards!

26th March 2026

I was testing out a new product that I have launched today on a live job, the new “basic” package which is designed for low cost properties needing only a few images, or as a companion for other media where the budget won’t stretch to a full shoot ontop of other fees. It seems to have gone well, the proof will be if more orders come in for it! The idea is that its a much, much smaller shoot with a very limited deliverable which can be achieved in a short time on site and a fairly quick edit with no video component. It’s a way to capture some additional work that would otherwise be done in house and, hopefully, will bump things up a little on the order books!

I have a few other things up my sleeve to really boost the video side of things too - including a Gimboom that arrived today which should allow some more creative shots both for properties but also wider commercial shoots… infact… probably more for those!

29th March 2026

The weather has been rubbish again today, but we popped in to town on some errands and I went for a grab shot of the Cathedral. I wasn’t rocking the wide angle so had to get a little creative to get the whole thing to fit in!

The clocks went forward last night so I am a bit of a zombie today… as Angus’ internal clock hasn’t changed and I stayed up way too late last night! It always takes a week or so to switch to the new rythm after the GMT/BST/GMT shenanigans - I think we should just stick to BST and make it a Western Europe Time Zone myself!

Anyway, next week is looking like it will be off to a reasonable start before Good Friday and then the probably quiet Easter period. Hopefully once we get to the far side of that all the recent changes that are in the pipeline will start providing some new income streams!

9th March 2026

Loch Pityoulish sits on the road between Colmybridge and Grantown-on-Spey on the edge of the Cairngorms. It's not somewhere I have stopped off before, but today it just caught my eye on the way back to Inverness (I took the back road as I was not in a particular rush for once!)

Loch Pityoulish is an old Pictish name that has been translated through to Loch of the Settlement of the Bright Place - which is somewhat at odds with it's more turbulent history since then, with a clan battle between the Cummings and the Shaws seeing something of a slaughter of the former, and a legend of a Water Kelpie that dwells within the loch and is said to have lured 9 children to their deaths in the cold water.

For all that, it is quite a scenic and calm place, and one that I plan on exploring more on a brighter, warmer day!

11th March 2026

The fightback against the AI has started and is ramping up! I may go down, but I won’t go quietly!

Today I was out on the Destitution Road, appropriately enough, to shoot a property near Aultbea. The video and stills have come out really nicely, despite the wind trying to force the drone out of the sky!

I got home to the new goggles for the little drone to really get to grips with the flythroughs so that system is now fully operational and waiting for a test run!

13th March 2026

Friday 13th started with a shout... the first of the year... and I just happened to have extended my duty this morning so was on call. I did manage to send the drone out before that all kicked off though to go and get a wintery photograph of Daffodil Cottage over in the once village of Eskart. The daffodils that surround the old ruin are just starting to make their appearance. Sometimes I think I should head up and add more bulbs so it becomes a sea of yellow....

I have an extension piece arrived for the big gimbal today which will hopefully assist in getting some of those wow shots on interiors. I am wondering if it may help when using the little Osmo Pocket as well? I sometimes find that is so compact that getting it where I want it is a bit of a challenge - although really the best addition would be a tilting screen so that I can see what I am doing when holding it low!

More video then - that is the key take away from life at the moment! I have the FPV drone now running better for interior/exterior flying so looking forward to trying that on a client job soon. I have the big gimbal enhanced so I can get the mirrorless camera with ultrawide in on the action, my process with that is still a little slow for basic jobs, but I am working on it - and then there are the new pocket gimbal cameras on the horizon which may be worth investigating if they have a wider native lens for interior work - the Pocket Osmo is just so quick and intuitive to use afterall!

15th March 2026

It certainly doesn’t feel like a week until the start of spring just now - another cold, wet and windy day with bands of snow, sleet and hail pushing through. On days like this it can be hard to stay positive, and I must admit to a bit of a slump last night and through today. Tomorrow is the start of a new week though!

This is the challenge of all artists though - the self doubt and self sabotage is real! I need to hit next week running and do some selling of myself, something I am absolutely terrible at!

17th March 2026

In an act of extreme overconfidence I decided to suggest a test shoot on a property I photographed aerially for today. Full shoot and full video. The decision to do a test shoot wasn’t the foolish part… choosing a massive old manse house probably was! It took forever and my arms were telling me that I had worked hard on the video by the time I finished!

The edit has begun, but it is a fairly huge task - the video is done, at least as “first draft”, the photos will wait for tomorrow after I have the car in for it’s MOT.

So today’s photo is my cat Haggis, because I couldn’t think of anything more artistic to shoot and haven’t even started on todays work photographs!

19th March 2026

It has been a glorious day here in the Highlands!

A last minute wee job came in this morning so I decided to head over to Kishorn for a same day turn around (it wasn’t needed, but the weather is perfect and unlikely to remain that way).

Tonight we have a big and compulsory RNLI training session so I am glad to have everything wrapped up before the school run!

21st March 2026

The final animal of the merangerie is now represented in March! Pickles the Cat - just slightly illuminated in the dark tonight.

I had a productive(ish) morning of chicken and duck coop cleaning, the pressure washer has had a tizz though so it had to be done old school manual, as a result not much else got done today! But to be honest after the last couple of weeks I need a day off just to get my head back in the right space.

Next week I have another meeting lined up for Monday to see if I can generate some new leads, and hopefully one of my other clients will start to bring a little more my way too. It’s been a bit of a bloodbath this month in terms of workload vanishing, but I am working on some ideas - I need some more client work in though to build a little more of a specific portfolio to move that forward as I start a concerted push up the foodchain. If AI is coming for photographers it is going to be starting in the cheapseats where cost is more of a driving force than quality.

I sometimes need to remind myself (and it’s nice when others join in) that I am not just “good enough”. I am better than that.

Not sure that this positive re-enforcement stuff works for me mind! The inner workings of artists are always a little… broken!

23rd March 2026

It’s been a miserable day outside today, I was glad not to be shooting! This morning was spent knocking my annual spreadsheet into shape. It’s more or less a diary but with all the info as to where/who/what/how much so that I keep track of everything between billing cycles.

This afternoon was a meeting with a new client, which went well, so that has lifted my spirits no end! We are still a long way adrift of where we were at the start of the year, but it’s no longer in disaster territory, I think we are looking at about a 12 month set back now rather than 3 years! I also had some good news from another client about a bit of an upgrade to what I am doing for them which figures into all of this.

It is still early days on all these things, but I am feeling a little more secure and a little more confident now than I did when I woke up this morning, and a lot more so than I did at the start of last week!

And I haven’t even started working on the big picture plan as yet either!

31st March 2026

It’s a wrap… the worst month of work in a few years is put to bed… and I am glad to see the back of it! This is not how I thought I would be wrapping up the last full month of the tax year, although the official end of the year isn’t until the 6th so I have a couple of days left in hand before it is actually put to bed.

So the big seismic shock has settled and I have spent a fair bit of time since on damage limitation. It’s gone quite well, I think. There are some upgrades to some existing clients and two new ones on board (both smaller than the one that is gone, one is really a micro client for the moment, but that may build). I don’t think I have replaced the income that has been lost, but the feared scope of the loss has, hopefully, been reduced fairly substantially. March is usually the start of the busy season so it couldn’t have come at a worse time. It looked like a 70% hit initially, but I think we have reduced that down to probably around 50/55%. Which is amazing… my marketing skills are terrible!

Anyway - the new work is to be celebrated and it’s given me an impetus to grow into new areas and spread the work more widely after getting too tied up with a single client which left me wide open to this kind of an event. Yes… I am still quite sore about it… I think mainly because there was no heads up, it feels a bit too personal as a result!

But also to be celebrated tonight are my two older boys who both played in the school concert tonight, and Hamish had some art on display too in the foyer - a self portrait which was instantly recognisable as him. I am very impressed, and really glad he is keeping on with art next year (hopefully - it’s one of his first choice subjects). I photographed his piece as my photo for today whilst he wasn’t looking!

So April then - new work, new people and moving on up the foodchain as it were. It’s going to be interesting that is for sure! I have the next week and a half mapped out fairly fully as it stands with a few confirmed jobs and a few pencilled in ones so I am feeling a little more confident about the future.

Next up I am going to start really putting together my architecture and design portfolios… and a few other things too….

25th March 2026

I think we are getting back to some semblence of normal service. I was even out working today - way up north and by the seaside.

In the rain.

And snow.

And hail.

And occasionally sunshine.

Did I mention the wind???

28th March 2026

The last day of GMT, tomorrow we move to BST… I think we should stay there come the end of October myself rather than the back and forth - that switch at the end of autumn is always a bit of a downer on the old mood.

Today was a big tidy up day though as we start slowly trawling through the house room by room to attempt to get it in some kind of tidy state! It was particularly grim out most of the day though!

30th March 2026

Today was pretty grim weather wise, with the odd break of not too bad… which is shocking as this is probably the best weather of the week! Not ideal for late March!

Anyway, I was over to Beauly and Farr this morning and then home via Fort Augustus and Invermorrison and stopped off for a quick dramatic landscape photo which fits in with an ongoing project I am running at the moment, although not quite directly… but only as it is located in the wrong region! I love this old bothy though!

Things are starting to look a bit better for next month after more or less writing March off as a lost cause! Fingers crossed for the future, but it looks like everything is starting to come together!