One area I always like to visit is Glen Coe in the Scottish Highlands. There is so much photographic potential here that I could easily spend three months or more and still not shoot everything I would like. That's why I come back so often.

This time, I decided to stay for three weeks in order to satisfy my hunger for good photography of both Glen Coe and Glen Etive as well as venturing a bit further afield. The first week, however, didn't allow much photography as we experienced some of the worst weather I had known for a long time. Winds gusting in excess of 60mph complete with horizontal hail and rain made staying indoors an attractive proposition. I had chosen to stay at a caravan site at Bunree just a few miles north of Glen Coe and situated right on the edge of Loch Linnhe. Deffinitely one of my favourite sites. The pitch I chose was on the outer edge of the site with views down the loch but this had its downside - I took the full brunt of the wind and rain and was beginning to worry that my caravan wouldn't stay upright. Luckily it did.

When the spell of bad weather started to ease up the light quality started to improve. Even though there was still some light showers, the rain clouds associated with them produced some nice features in the sky and the evenings produced some good sunsets like this one.

I was quite fortunate with this particular shot as I didn't really have to go far to find it. I was sitting outside my caravan by the edge of Loch Linnhe supping a beer whilst watching this shot develop. Sometimes, but not often, with landscape photography the shot just comes to you.

A few days ago I took a drive down Glen Etive to Loch Etive. I remember there being the remains of a wooden jetty that I believe was used for boarding pleasure boats for trips down the loch. It had good potential for photogaphy with its old wooden texture and dilapidated structure against the backdrop of the surrounding mountains. Although I already have some shots of this ruined jetty, I thought would revisit the area and add a few more images from different viewpoints to my collection. Imagine my disappointment when I arrived at the spot and discovered it no longer exists, torn down and replaced by an ugly concrete slab and floating pontoon now used to load felled timber on to transport vessels for the timber trade. Oh well, at least that makes my photo's of the jetty unique.

On the way back from my disappointing visit to Loch Etive, I chanced upon a young red deer stag munching on some grass at the edge of the road. Careful not to disturb it, I stopped the car some way short of where he was, slowly reached over to the back of the car to get my camera then proceeded to slowly creep towards him careful not to rev the engine in case it spooked him. I took a few shots out of the car window whilst edging closer and closer then to my surprise, he lifted his head, looked at me and walked over and stuck his head through the open car window, presumably looking for food. So much for my careful stalking. I got out of the car and was able to get some better shots of him while he went about seeking out more tasty grass making sure I kept at a distance.

One thing I must say, though. These animals are wild and they must stay wild for their own safety. By encouraging them to approach vehicles for food may seem harmless but it only makes them less weary of people and vehicles. This could lead to them getting injured, accidentally or deliberate, and ultimately a slow and painful death. So please, do not feed wild animals and enjoy them for what they are - wild.