21.09.2023 Emily Endean

Emily Endean: My Favourite Places to Photograph in Scotland

Emily Endean

I am a chaser of light, ocean addict and lover of nature. I enjoy being outside as much as possible. I absolutely love capturing the beauty of the world through my lens and chasing the light and the weather at its best, mainly around my home county of Dorset or wherever I can escape to. At the age of four, I moved to the beautiful seaside town of Bournemouth. It was not long after that I picked up my first camera and I became captivated by seizing moments through my lens. Following that, when I was given my first DSLR I was hooked! I am obsessed with the ocean. I mean obsessed! If I’m not photographing it from the shoreline then I’m neck-deep in it shooting on my Fujifilm X-T3 in an underwater housing. 

Adventurous landscape and coastline photographer, Emily Endean, reveals Scotland’s most picturesque locations after a photo-driven road trip

It’s easy to search for Scotland’s iconic spots online, but with rugged landscape, mountains, and lochs around every corner, it’s much more fun to find your own path to adventure photography. I recently took a road trip up to Scotland in my 1994 Hymer. Travelling by campervan allows you to determine your own route and locations to visit, without being constrained by schedules. It really is the ultimate sense of freedom!

We experienced the true nature of the Scottish weather, and I’m here to show you my favourite places photographed on this journey, through rain and shine. It has to be said, you will never see all of the beauty Scotland has to offer in just one trip, so this blog barely touches the surface. There’s more than you could see in a year of travelling. We’ll definitely be back for another trip, and recommend you visit for yourself to capture some of the best landscape and nature photography in the UK.

  • A landscape image showing autumn coloured trees and a waterfall
  • A landscape image showing autumn coloured trees and a waterfall

Photos 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 2.5 sec at F14, ISO 125 | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF14mmF2.8 R, 5 sec at F9, ISO 200

At the start of our Scottish adventure, en route up into the highlands, we found a fantastic waterfall, easily accessible from a main trail: the beautiful Falls of Falloch. Legend refers to this as ‘The Bathtub’, due to outlaw Rob Roy MacGregor’s use of the deep pool under the falls. Depending on the light and the time of year, there are different ways to photograph this place. I enjoyed our autumn visit, for those beautiful golden tones. The first image above was made very early in the season, with more greens than orange tones, but the light was just amazing. The second frame, made much further into autumn has more colour but a lack of light. Both elements, along with compositional choice, create a very different feel.

Next, we headed on to my personal favourite place in Scotland, the area of Glencoe. I knew it would be the first main stop on our agenda. As you drive up through the main road into the highlands, you are met with incredible views around every turn. You can literally pull up in any layby and find something to photograph – especially when the light is right. You can watch the sun moving around the mountains, which I find incredibly mesmerising!

  • A landscape image of the top of a mountain where sunlight is hitting the left side face
  • A landscape image showing mountain tops covered by clouds

Photos 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS, 1/250 sec at F9, ISO 125 | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 1/125 sec at F5, ISO 400

Below, you’ll see one of my favourite spots in Glencoe that captures the essence of Scottish photography: Buachaille Etive Mòr, a mountain at the head of Glen Etive, which can be seen from the A82 road. It’s one of the most recognisable sights in the area. There are images of nearby flowing waters with the mountain as a backdrop everywhere. It has to be one of the most photographed spots in Scotland, and it’s easy to see why. Better yet, if you get there early in the morning, you’ll find deer wandering the landscape, which provide another beautiful detail to any scene.

Photo 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF14mmF2.8 R, 2 sec at F10, ISO 80

Photo 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS, 1/60 sec at F3.6, ISO 500

Then we moved on to the beautiful, white cottages of Glencoe. Firstly, The Lagangarbh Hut. It’s so impressive standing all alone in the rugged landscape. The spot is actually very accessible from the roadside, and makes for a great image in any conditions – even in the pouring rain, like this first photo. The rain increased the incredible flow of water in the stream, creating a lovely foreground.

Photo 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF14mmF2.8 R, 2.5 sec at F14, ISO 80

Black Rock Cottage is photographed below, situated on the access road to the Glencoe Mountain ski area. It’s another beautiful example of a white cottage sat in the landscape. You’ll find plenty of compositional choices here, but with a bleak sky and not much of a view of the mountains yonder, I decided to use the foreground of rocks and heather as part of mine.

Photo 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 2.5 sec at F9, ISO 160

Onto one more white cottage! Below is Loch Achtriochtan, which is a small, shallow freshwater loch located to the east of Glencoe village. This has to be one of my favourite landscape spots to photograph at sunrise, to observe the light as it makes its way around the mountainscape.

  • A landscape image of a grass field with a track leading to a farmhouse
  • An image of the side of a mountain with a beam of sunlight
  • An image of the side of a mountain bathed in light and reflected on a lake
  • An image of the side of a mountain bathed in light and reflected on a lake

Photos 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 1/250 sec at F5.6, ISO 320 | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 1/125 sec at F8, ISO 400 | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 1/125 sec at F8, ISO 250 | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 1/125 sec at F8, ISO 250

After the cottages, we turned our sights to castles. You simply have to in Scotland, with so many beautiful options around! This one is Kilchurn Castle, settled in a breathtaking location, at the head of Loch Awe, with Ben Cruachan visible in the distance. This site has some unforgettable views, and you can see why it’s another of the most-photographed spots in Scotland. I visited on a very miserable day, but used the mood to my advantage, going for a long exposure with some foreground detail to fill the frame.

Photo 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 15 sec at F11, ISO 160

Next, we made our way onto the Fort William area, driving through all kinds of weather. With such variable conditions in Scotland, you are treated to a rainbow quite regularly! I couldn’t resist making this image from the harbour car park.

Photo 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 1/250 sec at F13, ISO 200

Close by, you’ll find the shipwreck of Corpach, which is easily accessible to all, with a car park nearby. This was definitely one of my favourite places to visit – just to stand in awe of this wreck, seemingly abandoned on the shoreline.

  • An image of a weathered boat moored on a pebble beach
  • A close up image of the side of a weathered boat
  • An image of the top of an old boat covered in rust

Photos 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS, 1/250 sec at F4, ISO 200 | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 1/250 sec at F3.6, ISO 200 | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS, 1/250 sec at F4.5, ISO 200

Our plans were to photograph Skye next, then head on to Harris and Lewis, but as we arrived in Skye, storms had other ideas. We had some issues with the conditions, so our direction quickly changed. We headed back inland and ended up visiting Loch Ness. We’ll be back to revisit this missed leg of the journey soon, that’s for sure!

The shoreline of Loch Ness, and forest walks complete with waterfalls, made for some beautiful scenes to be documented. The Falls of Foyers are waterfalls on the River Foyers, which feeds straight into the loch. We might not have discovered it if it were not for the change of plans.

  • Two small rowing boats at the side of a lake
  • A landscape image of a path through a forest
  • An image showing sunlight shining through clouds on to trees

Photos 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T5 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 1/125 sec at F11, ISO 500 | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF14mmF2.8 R, 1/125 sec at F5, ISO 160 | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS, 1/125 sec at F13, ISO 160

Our final area to visit before our descent home to the south of England was the Cairngorms. Again, stormy weather put a dampener on our explorations, but what I discovered about the forests of the Cairngorms is how it was perfect for mushroom snapping – they make for ideal models to capture macro photography in nature!

  • An image of a wild brown mushroom
  • An image of a red and white mushroom growing in grass and surrounded by leaves
  • An image of a small brown mushroom growing in grass
  • An image of a small wild mushroom growing in moss

Photos 2023 © Emily Endean | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF60mmF2.4 R Macro, 1/125 sec at F4.5, ISO 250 | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF60mmF2.4 R Macro, 1/60 sec at F5.6, ISO 160 | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF60mmF2.4 R Macro, 1/125 sec at F5, ISO 250 | FUJIFILM X-T3 and FUJINON XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS, 1/125 sec at F4, ISO 400

With so much more still to discover, you can see why I’ll be back again sometime. Scotland truly is a photographer’s paradise. If you can handle the sometimes-harsh conditions, it’s well worth the visit, and it couldn’t be more perfect for landscape and nature photography. Thanks for reading, and I hope you find this to be a useful resource when considering the best places to photograph in Scotland.