Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Andy braves a ‘mad’ Capercaillie and Beast from the East to create the Secret Life of the Cairngorms

Post Thumbnail

Andy Howard embarked on a long-term labour of love to depict the Cairngorms in all their glory in his new book.

The eight-year mission brought him close to nature as he gathered images from across the seasons and gradually amassed a stunning collection of photographs.

But, as he told the Press and Journal yesterday, there have been a few occasions where he found himself rather too close to nature, which greeted him with tooth and claw.

Mr Howard said: “I have been privileged to experience some incredible moments while being out in the Cairngorms with my camera.

“There was one occasion where I was bitten by a rogue red grouse, another time when I was chased out of a forest by a mad Capercaillie and a third experience where I had a ptarmigan befriend me for a day.

“For me, the ability to gain the trust of a wild animal is what drives me on, because getting to know a mountain hare or red squirrel over a matter of years as an individual with its own character and personality is a very special thing for me.

“It’s every photographer’s dream to create books, so when my publishers and myself first made contact, it soon became clear I had enough body of work to do a standalone book on the Cairngorms, or at least a select few species that live in the region.

“It’s such a shame that, as wildlife photographers, we capture so many lovely images of beautiful things in nature only for them never to be seen by anyone else except our nearest and dearest.

“So, to be able to have the opportunity to share your images and stories through the medium of publishing a book is a great way to share these experiences with others.”

 

Mr Howard spent countless hours in the wilds, alternating between sun-drenched mountains in summertime and frozen snow-capped peaks at the height of winter.

But even he was tested when he accompanied a group of television film-makers to the region during the ‘Beast from the East’ last year.

He said: “During the storm, I was guiding for a crew from National Geographic.

“Their brief to me was they were filming for a services called ‘Hostile Planet’ and they wanted to film slow-motion footage of a mountain hare in severe conditions.

“Well, their wishes came true, because we had winds gusting in excess of 40mph and a wind chill of well below minus thirty degrees.

“I positioned the team just 10 metres away from a mountain hare that was hunkered down with its back to the wind.

“We patiently waited and then I noticed its nose started to twitch. This was our moment.

“I warned the cameraman that something was imminent and, 30 seconds later, the hare stood up and shook itself to remove the coating of snow and ice from its fur.

“The cameraman gave me the thumbs up. He was happy they had what they had come for.

“Once back in the van, and out of the brutality of the weather, we reviewed the footage and the the hare was even more dramatic when viewed in slow motion at a tenth of its real speed, so the cameraman turned to me and gave me a ‘high-five’.

“The footage of that day in the Cairngorms did make it into the final edit of the series.

“And even if it was just for a few seconds, it was worth it.”

Andy Howard has created “The Secret Life of the Cairngorms”.

Mr Howard is now working on his third book which will be about otters, revolving around his thoughts, observations and encounters with these elusive and shy animals.

The Secret Life of the Cairngorms is published this month by Inverness-based Sandstone Press.