Photography – a personal view by Dave Cuthbertson

It’s mid April and everyone is enjoying an Easter heat wave down south but at 4000 feet on the Cairngorm plateau conditions are arctic. Spindrift fills the eyepiece of my trusty Nikon and with no option but to trust the auto focus, I hold the tripod steady and release the shutter as my wife and colleague struggle to climb the exposed windswept ridge. The price I paid for those shots was two months of frost nip but was it worth it? You bet!

Pro spec 35mm is my choice of format - it’s so versatile. I chose Nikon for its unsurpassed build quality and optical performance. It’s heavy but it easily stands up to the rough and tumble of mountaineering. In fact, last year I dropped my F100 and 35-70mm lens. I found it cradled amidst some granite boulders 500 feet below the cliff it rolled over. Looking worse for wear with the lens sheared off, I switched the camera on and can you believe it, the LCD flashed “error” – now that’s impressive!

My line-up includes two Nikon bodies, an F100 and F90X, three fast 2.8 zooms, a 20-35, 35-70, 80-200 and a 50mm 1.4 prime lens and a 105mm macro. Compositionally zooms are very versatile - important when you are working on a rope. To support this lot I carry a Manfrotto carbon fibre tripod with a choice of two heads. An SB28 flash unit completes the set up. Recently I have been using a Hassleblad X-Pan and a Fuji Medium Format 645.

Typically on a good day in winter for example, I will venture out in anticipation of others attempting climbs on the mountain. Ben Nevis is a good example but the huge access gullies leading to vantage points are notoriously avalanche prone. Photo artistry aside, this is where experience and my expertise as a climber places me in a unique position. Good snow cover and settled weather are something of a rarity in today’s changing climate so I always take full advantage of a day out and carry all my lenses. That’s a lot of glass but it’s worth it for the variety.

Scotland’s wild landscape and the ever-changing tonal quality of its light and mood have lured photographers for generations. The Highlands are here for everyone to enjoy but only those who venture deep into its remote glens and majestic coires unguided, can begin to appreciate their magic. Recording such an untamed beauty on film requires patience and dedication and only now have I learned to live with and take advantage of the notorious unpredictability of Scottish weather. As if landscape photography was not enough in its own right, introduce a climber and you have something of a challenge on your hands! In addition to the Highland landscape is a rich and diverse geology, which reflects an almost infinite variety of rock types and lending itself to both fascinating close-up and action photography.

I am self taught and believe me it feels like it! It’s taken me five years, a lot of film and a huge amount of frustration to understand the limitations of film and 35mm equipment. Of course the advantages of 35mm more than outweigh the disadvantages when working in the mountains. Now I feel ready to tackle climbing as a professional. I only wish I had the knowledge that I now have all these years ago.

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