0:00:04 > 0:00:07I was lucky to discover photography fairly early on.
0:00:10 > 0:00:16I had my father's box Brownie in my hands when I was 12.
0:00:16 > 0:00:21From that moment, I have to say, it's kind of weird,
0:00:21 > 0:00:23but I knew that that's what I wanted to do.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00Perfect.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02Now it's closer.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05'I've never really settled down to one genre.'
0:01:07 > 0:01:11Over the years, I think I've taken millions of pictures.
0:01:18 > 0:01:22'When you spend the first 25 years of your life in a particular place,
0:01:22 > 0:01:24'it never really leaves you.
0:01:24 > 0:01:28'So, Scotland's never far from my thoughts.
0:01:29 > 0:01:34'About six months ago, we decided we'd do this project on Skye.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38'I'm of course really excited.
0:01:38 > 0:01:42'It's the first fine art project that I've done back in Scotland.'
0:01:49 > 0:01:51The next project is in the Caribbean.
0:02:12 > 0:02:17I have fond memories of camping up here with my mum and dad
0:02:17 > 0:02:20and tents and my sisters and so on in wild weather.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23And it was always a sense of mystery here.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29The weather is... For this project, it's vital.
0:02:29 > 0:02:30That's why we're here in October,
0:02:30 > 0:02:32because the weather is more aggressive.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36You know, in Skye...
0:02:36 > 0:02:38In Skye, you never quite know what you're getting.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40You can look out and it's sunny,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43by the time you get in your car it's already raining.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47The light is quite unique here.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51And, basically, the sun's the same all over the planet,
0:02:51 > 0:02:55but when you have these humidity patterns that come through,
0:02:55 > 0:02:56clouds and so on,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58it's very, very unusual light sometimes
0:02:58 > 0:03:00and it's changing every second almost.
0:03:03 > 0:03:05Beautiful.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Yeah, I think we should go.
0:03:17 > 0:03:21- Enjoy.- Good, thank you. All right. - We'll follow you.
0:03:46 > 0:03:47Every time I pull out here,
0:03:47 > 0:03:51I've got to make sure I'm driving on the left here.
0:03:51 > 0:03:54This kind of looks like a broken steering wheel here,
0:03:54 > 0:03:56but in fact that piece of white tape
0:03:56 > 0:03:58just reminds me to drive on the left here.
0:04:08 > 0:04:10When you begin a job like this,
0:04:10 > 0:04:13you put into your head a lot of different words to try
0:04:13 > 0:04:17and give you a guidance as to what, intellectually,
0:04:17 > 0:04:18the project should be.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20And...
0:04:23 > 0:04:25..Lord Of The Rings came to mind.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29A different, surreal landscape comes to mind.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37The words I have tattooed on my brain are "mysticism"
0:04:37 > 0:04:42and "romanticism" and "Victorian romanticism".
0:04:49 > 0:04:53You come off the mainland and you hit the silence.
0:04:53 > 0:04:54It's hard to know why...
0:04:56 > 0:04:58Why is it different?
0:05:03 > 0:05:05It's a...it's a strange place.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23A lot of photographers, they get sucked into the landscape,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26so the landscape dominates you.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29You have to make sure that in the end you dominate the landscape.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33That idea, you know, as a photographer...
0:05:35 > 0:05:37Sorry, Jon.
0:05:40 > 0:05:41Sorry to pull over.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45That's probably worth shooting. Sorry about that.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05This is almost too pretty for me.
0:06:05 > 0:06:07The central section here, where you see the rain
0:06:07 > 0:06:13coming down on the horizon line there, is very minimal.
0:06:13 > 0:06:18But I need some pictures that are quite minimal and simple.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Mystery is the biggest,
0:06:22 > 0:06:24is the most important thing on this trip.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28I'll give you a second. I'm going to hit that again, because...
0:06:28 > 0:06:30I won't get the water there.
0:06:31 > 0:06:33I'm using quite a long lens here,
0:06:33 > 0:06:37and we actually stitch these together.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41I can nowadays with computers splice the shots together,
0:06:41 > 0:06:44and it gives me a very, very high megapixel count,
0:06:44 > 0:06:45which means sharper.
0:06:48 > 0:06:53A few years ago, I was really much quicker than I am now.
0:06:53 > 0:06:56Coming down the road, this just seemed right.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58The cloud, it seemed at the right level,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00the light seemed the right level, and...
0:07:02 > 0:07:05..once again, it's quite romantic-looking, in a way, for me.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30I'd never photographed anybody famous before,
0:07:30 > 0:07:33so to get Alfred Hitchcock as the first one is not easy.
0:07:33 > 0:07:37And...I have to say I was really sweating.
0:07:41 > 0:07:43Alfred Hitchcock was a gourmet chef.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47And the magazine were getting his recipe for the Christmas issue.
0:07:49 > 0:07:54And they wanted Hitchcock to hold this plate with a goose on it.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58I said it's much better if it's kind of a raw goose, plucked, but raw,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01and he can look like he's strangling it, it was much more Hitchcock.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07At that point, that just shifted me up the ladder
0:08:07 > 0:08:09a little bit, that shot.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13And they began to give me regular assignments after I did that image.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34For me, a day like today is perfection.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38It doesn't bother me that there's rain around.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43It's a little bit on the cold side,
0:08:43 > 0:08:45there are shafts of light everywhere.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57These clouds that come off of the Atlantic are just...
0:08:57 > 0:08:59They're really amazing.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12Tonight, were heading up to the Quiraing.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17I first saw the Quiraing when I was...
0:09:17 > 0:09:21Let me see, I would have been about 12, I think.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24It's amazing, I still, from all these years ago,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26I still remember it.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37It's a...
0:09:37 > 0:09:42really magnificent piece of landscape.
0:09:54 > 0:09:56I wouldn't want to cycle up this road.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07Up into the clouds here.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13So here we are. Look at the colour.
0:10:16 > 0:10:17Good.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28I'm just going to have to do it. One second.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32It's going to be... Obviously, I'm going to hit this...
0:10:34 > 0:10:38- ..when the sun is right.- OK.- So there'll be delays between shots.
0:10:38 > 0:10:39OK.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47I was kind of terrified coming to Skye
0:10:47 > 0:10:49and ending up with picture postcards,
0:10:49 > 0:10:51which is not the reason to come here.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56I wanted to create landscapes and images that were quite mysterious
0:10:56 > 0:10:57and strange.
0:11:04 > 0:11:07The real difficulty here, of this shot, is just the wind.
0:11:07 > 0:11:12The wind is pretty much about 35-40mph right now.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14It gives us a lot of technical problems,
0:11:14 > 0:11:16and that's why we use the umbrella.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19The umbrella's not for the rain, the umbrella's for the wind.
0:11:19 > 0:11:23Now the sharpness, how is the sharpness in the foreground, though?
0:11:23 > 0:11:25Cleaning lens.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27- Not great.- Not great. OK.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30- You want the timer, or do you want to hit it twice?- I'll hit it twice.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34Just waiting for the sun.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37That last one was good, that you gave me. It just came in.
0:11:40 > 0:11:41I quite like these conditions.
0:11:42 > 0:11:48I think it challenges you and I quite like it when it's,
0:11:48 > 0:11:51you know, you're in darkest Africa and it's hot as hell,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55but also I like it that we're here.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58And...it's pretty cold right now.
0:11:58 > 0:12:00So, I like the contrast.
0:12:21 > 0:12:23Handling models is its own thing
0:12:23 > 0:12:26that you have to learn how to do, you know.
0:12:32 > 0:12:34I've photographed hundreds of models,
0:12:34 > 0:12:36and they always present their own challenges.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39But I'm comfortable with all kinds of people.
0:12:47 > 0:12:48Of course, working with models
0:12:48 > 0:12:51and celebrities is miles away from what I'm doing here on Skye.
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Landscape photography isn't easy.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03There are so many factors to deal with.
0:13:03 > 0:13:05Weather being the main one.
0:13:12 > 0:13:15But, of course, finding ways to bring my style to landscapes
0:13:15 > 0:13:17is what I love.
0:13:35 > 0:13:38Let's see, we have a little rush hour here...
0:13:44 > 0:13:46I don't know what the etiquette is here,
0:13:46 > 0:13:49if you overtake on the left or the right here.
0:13:51 > 0:13:54OK...
0:13:54 > 0:13:57- Big, aren't they? - They are pretty big.
0:13:57 > 0:13:59Must be the grass here.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06HE LAUGHS
0:14:16 > 0:14:18They're overtaking on the outside!
0:14:21 > 0:14:24We could be here for some time, absolutely, you know.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28I'm wondering if I can get by them here...maybe.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35OK, overtaking on the right.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38Only on Skye.
0:15:01 > 0:15:03Three miles to coffee.
0:15:17 > 0:15:22Just for the purpose of just seeing it as a sketch, you can
0:15:22 > 0:15:25always open up the road just a little bit for me.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27So, you can go to the darker exposure.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31It's not really a stop to have a coffee, it's a
0:15:31 > 0:15:33stop to have a coffee and do some work
0:15:33 > 0:15:36because we're going to have a look at some of the things we've
0:15:36 > 0:15:40shot already just to have a look at what we've done.
0:15:40 > 0:15:43I mean, you do this and you put it together, just gives you a rough
0:15:43 > 0:15:46idea of what you've done, you know,
0:15:46 > 0:15:49what you've achieved in the previous one, two, three hours,
0:15:49 > 0:15:51and to make sure that I'm on track here.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56A technician also allows me to really look into the imagery
0:15:56 > 0:16:00and bit by bit I can really, erm,
0:16:00 > 0:16:03think about what I'm doing here, without me
0:16:03 > 0:16:06having to take part of my brain and work out the technical side of that.
0:16:32 > 0:16:38So, next, we're going to go up to a place called the Fairy Glen.
0:16:43 > 0:16:46It's a strange, little pocket.
0:16:46 > 0:16:51It almost looks like a burial ground or something.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Stuart, it's Albert here.
0:17:13 > 0:17:15Could you bring up a couple of sparklers?
0:17:15 > 0:17:17And don't forget the matches.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39What I'm looking for is...
0:17:42 > 0:17:44..just some of the trees here that grow next
0:17:44 > 0:17:46to or into the walls.
0:17:46 > 0:17:49And the kind of place that fairies hide, you know?
0:17:49 > 0:17:55So, I'm just going to run a test here with some sparklers I got
0:17:55 > 0:17:58and maybe some Roman candles
0:17:58 > 0:18:03and see if we can work some of that sparkle into the shots here.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14Be creative. Two macho guys with sparklers, there we go.
0:18:14 > 0:18:18All done? Wait one second, that was not good, Joe, will you hold on?
0:18:18 > 0:18:21And coming in now, OK.
0:18:21 > 0:18:25You should have that, Joe, you right? And there it is.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30More energy, Stuart. Don't wimp out on me.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32Here we go.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Look at these two fairies working with the lights here.
0:18:34 > 0:18:36OK, all done?
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Now, so, just you don't have any qualms about manipulating
0:18:42 > 0:18:44nature to get the shot, do you?
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Not at all.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50I mean, when a painter...if Monet's painting his lily pond, guess what?
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Those colours aren't exactly what was in the lily pond.
0:18:53 > 0:18:58So, I mean, you're doing impressions of things, you're creating images.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02You think it's going to go up?
0:19:02 > 0:19:06And what we're just adding on top here is a little bit of,
0:19:06 > 0:19:08we hope, mystery.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11A little bit of suggesting some magic here, which fireworks are.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16Basically, when you do something like this it's all experimentation.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25FIREWORK CRACKLES
0:19:28 > 0:19:30Sometimes, shots like this are not so easy.
0:19:30 > 0:19:35And in this case here, the firework is very, very bright.
0:19:35 > 0:19:41And the tree is quite dark. Right, wait until it comes in.
0:19:41 > 0:19:43There you go...hit it!
0:19:43 > 0:19:44Hit one more.
0:19:44 > 0:19:46Easy on the camera.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00Now, Stuart, a little bit to your left.
0:20:10 > 0:20:14Good...all right, we can drop the camera right here.
0:20:16 > 0:20:18I'm sure there are times in the year
0:20:18 > 0:20:20where there's some mist coming through here
0:20:20 > 0:20:23but I'm not really able to sit here for 365 days
0:20:23 > 0:20:26until that mist drifts through exactly where I want it.
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Set up, good.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49Right, well, that's definitely worth doing, I think.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52It needs a little bit more space on the left-hand side.
0:20:54 > 0:20:59It'll take me a few minutes just to do the technical side.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Creatively, I think it's fine.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02Here it comes.
0:21:05 > 0:21:08- OK.- Cut.
0:21:08 > 0:21:10THEY LAUGH
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Just aged 50 years.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20That's about 20 packs of cigarettes you had there.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Do you ever think, what am I doing here,
0:21:38 > 0:21:43in bad weather conditions, or do you always have a will to work still?
0:21:43 > 0:21:45I never think, "What am I doing here?"
0:21:45 > 0:21:47I think I'm lucky to be here,
0:21:47 > 0:21:51so...erm, you know,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54as long as you have a camera in your hand or
0:21:54 > 0:21:56a tripod in front of you, there's never a problem.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I don't care how cold it is, how hot it is.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01Once a camera's in my hand, you forget everything.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03You don't even notice anything.
0:22:03 > 0:22:06You don't notice rain, you don't notice the cold.
0:22:06 > 0:22:08Basically, you just keep going.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12When you have a camera in your hand, as a photographer,
0:22:12 > 0:22:16you're not really...you don't notice anything, actually!
0:22:16 > 0:22:21I can easily work ten hours, I don't even need to eat anything.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24You can just keep going. So long as you have a camera.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27If you take away the camera, then suddenly you feel hungry,
0:22:27 > 0:22:29tired, thirsty, whatever, you know?
0:22:29 > 0:22:31But with a camera, that takes...
0:22:31 > 0:22:33Are you going to stop, for once, today, though?
0:22:33 > 0:22:36Well, we had coffee.
0:22:56 > 0:22:59I'm actually looking for some rain.
0:23:02 > 0:23:05So, I get some rain on the windshield of the car.
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Almost an impressionistic shot of what you're looking at.
0:23:12 > 0:23:16You're not just looking for one picture. You're trying to
0:23:16 > 0:23:18integrate the picture into one story.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22So, sometimes you'd just go out and shoot a lot of shots.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28Other photographers might be thinking more of a storyline.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35I think creativity is kind of an interesting thing.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40Lots of times, people say, "Well, where did that idea come from?"
0:23:40 > 0:23:44It kind of pops in from a secret place in your brain, I think.
0:23:49 > 0:23:52It's quite good here. It's quite desolate here.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57So, I'm going to have them just put some water on.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Keith...
0:24:02 > 0:24:08- Go for Keith.- You have a spritzer? - Yeah, coming in, one sec...
0:24:12 > 0:24:14Just give you a basic frame here.
0:24:18 > 0:24:21- Are you moving the camera?- Erm, not yet.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23It looks like there's motion blur.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25OK.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27There will be.
0:24:28 > 0:24:29Check this out.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33It just takes me a couple of exposures to find it, so hold on.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35The exposure's beautiful right now.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Right, that's a better shot.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41What's nice on Skye are these
0:24:41 > 0:24:46track roads, that are very, very...
0:24:46 > 0:24:50They're not bad roads but they're pretty rough at the same time.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55And...I just find them a little bit interesting,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57a little bit mysterious.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00- How's that?- It's great!
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Really good.
0:25:38 > 0:25:40Is that your optimum there?
0:25:42 > 0:25:44- That's a great shot.- This one?- Yes.
0:25:57 > 0:25:59Now, what I'm doing is,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03I'm using the headlights of the cars to light the grass here.
0:26:03 > 0:26:07So, if you look at the grass right now, the grass is really beautiful.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11So, the headlights light the grass, then I let it blend away...
0:26:13 > 0:26:17..into a little bit of darkness, so as it looks quite mysterious.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Yes, sorry...I need, actually, a little bit of height.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Is this normal for you to eke out the last possible light of day?
0:26:29 > 0:26:31Yes.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33If it looks like this, then it's worth doing.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43- So, that's great.- I think it looks pretty good.- Yeah.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10Today was excellent for me.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12You know, in the end, a good day for me is
0:27:12 > 0:27:15if I get one shot that I think is quite good.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19But, today, I have three shots that are contenders,
0:27:19 > 0:27:21so it's a really good day for me, today.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33I've had a magical time on this island but I'm looking
0:27:33 > 0:27:35forward to getting back to New York to really
0:27:35 > 0:27:37work on these pictures.