Snow and Shadow: Photographing Arran’s Winter Drama
Some mornings, the landscape just does all the talking.
What started as a quiet early walk turned into one of those rare photographic moments where everything aligns—light, texture, mood, and a fresh dusting of snow that turned the peaks into monochrome sculptures.
This series of photographs captures a fleeting winter spell on the Isle of Arran, where snow settles into the folds of the hills and the sky plays its own moody part above. Shooting in black and white felt instinctive. Colour would’ve softened the scene, but the stark contrast of snow against rock, and light against shadow, deserved the drama of monochrome. It stripped everything back to shape and form.
In the top image, the jagged ridgelines were catching just enough light to pull out their texture, while darker clouds moved in behind, almost as if the mountain had summoned them. It’s that push-pull of clarity and obscurity I love—where detail emerges from shadow and then disappears again just as quickly.
The lower images step back slightly. One shows the broad sweep of hillside framed by managed woodland—those clean lines of human intervention cutting across the wildness like a reminder of how we try to shape these landscapes, while they remain utterly indifferent to us. The other captures a moment where the cloud came down low and fast, softening the peaks until they hovered on the edge of visibility. For me, that shot says everything about winter on Arran—quiet, powerful, unpredictable.
Photographing scenes like this is as much about patience as it is timing. The snow won’t stay pristine for long. The light won’t hold. The clouds are always on the move. You’re constantly adjusting—watching the way the landscape changes second by second and deciding when to commit to the shutter.
This wasn’t a planned shoot. No sunrise chase, no packed bag of gear, just a camera slung over my shoulder and that constant instinct to look. That’s often when the best images happen—when you’re not pushing for them, just staying open to whatever the landscape decides to offer.
