Photographing Scotland: How To Open Up And See

Travel and photography are natural partners and whether you’re carrying a sophisticated DSLR, a pocket-sized point-and-shoot or an iPhone, today’s technology has made it easier than ever to look, snap, and share.

But seldom does a photograph succeed because of technology. It succeeds for one reason: because the person behind the camera took the time to see. If you’re like most travelers, you want to bring back memorable photographs of your trips. Yet how many of us are packing everything but time to see into our vacations?

On a recent business trip to Scotland I discovered a one-day photography workshop on the Isle of Mull, an island off the country’s west coast boasting some of the finest and most varied scenery in the Inner Hebrides. Traveling solo and without a car, the opportunity to visually explore with a local photographer sounded like the perfect compliment to a week of indoor meetings.

Who knew it would be pouring and blowing a gale on the one day I had available for the excursion. But despite the conditions, photographer Sam Jones of Islandscape Photography met me, and two other intrepid travelers enrolled in the workshop, at the ferry, prepared to either tough it out in the rain or shuttle us to the local distillery for a tasting tour.

Read my full story on photographing Scotland at National Geographic Traveler…

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