Hello, my name is Iain MacDuffie and as anyone who knows me can attest, despite being born in England (technically I'm mixed heritage Scots-Yorkshire), I'm a fiercely passionate Scot.  So, to be in the Scottish countryside and the Highlands in particular, that mystical place where all four seasons can flash by in moments and where the fearsome Highland midge can turn the bravest man in to a wildly arm flailing refugee, is for me akin to a religion, where on every point of the compass stand my "cathedrals."   

In 1993 I completed the round of the “The Munros”; Scotland’s 3000 foot Highland summits, so I’ve been casually photographing those “cathedrals” for most of my life and living in the former fishing town of Lossiemouth on the north-east coast of Scotland I’m surrounded by obvious and inspirational natural beauty.  But serious photography, particularly the kind you can’t actually see with the mark one eyeball… well, that was a long time coming. 

During my former life as an instructor in the Royal Air Force Regiment (air force equivalent of a marine), I had trained as a bodyguard and planned to go on “the circuit” when I entered “civvy street.” However, I was also known for the occasional artistic excursion in the form of creative writing. So, when the time came, with a body that is essencially a group of injuries moving in close formation and concluding that I could do better than “Braveheart” I left the service... and took up screenwriting!  

Without wishing to over “bloat” my literary achievements I did have a screenplay read in Hollywood but it was overly long and trying to fit too much story into the strict time-frame of a movie’s running time was proving to be a struggle. Maybe I should have written it as a novel like some people suggested. Anyway, everything suddenly changed while I was resting my brain following yet another tedious re-write. I was flicking through an album of old hill photographs when I had an epiphany… landscape photography returns much quicker results than screenwriting and usually requires you to be out in the fresh air to do it.  Boom! One day I might get back to writing - initially I had no intention of leaving it behind all together anyway - but as anyone who takes it seriously knows; once you set out on the photography journey it pulls you in!  

So, way back in 2007 I took up traditional landscape photography, some of which survives on this site, but with most of Scotland already photographed to death and constant long (sometimes over a year ) layoffs due to recurrent injury, I wanted to avoid doing what everybody else was doing. Images of hills and glens are fine and if serendipity serves up a “keeper” I will gladly take it usually, but not exclusively, in black and white since it is “arguably” more “fine art.” But my screenwriters' brain wasn’t being stimulated. I needed the less literal, something that satiated the imagination and wasn’t overly popular. 

After a little contemplation I concluded that though many could climb Mount Everest, if they set their hearts on it... few ever would. Likewise, anybody can do night photography but relatively few, for whatever reason, actually do.  So, since in my former life I liked nothing more than sneaking about in the dark the dark is where I decided to do my thing, though for various reasons it’s been a glacially slow process.

So, now I follow a passion for capturing possibly unique and definitely largely unseen scenes in a plethora of ways and often in places where most people wouldn’t even go in daylight, while at the same time fulfilling a desire to explore the country I love. “Photo Impressionism” with its deliberate avoidance of the documentary and where the imagination is the only limiting factor was an obvious evolution – once I stumbled upon it – and fills in the gaps when the weather at night refuses to play ball, which is most of the time in Scotland.. But it’s when I’m clambering over rocky coastal outcrops, “light-painting” an intimate forest scene or standing thigh deep in the advancing tide at daft o’clock in the morning, whether in quest for a grand nightscape or the far less frequent majesty of the Aurora Borealis, that I really come into my own. 

I certainly couldn’t be accused of making images that all look the same, nor for that matter - and indeed I suppose as a consequence - do I have a discernable style. What I hope I do have is an eye for something a little different - or in many cases what I imagine will look different - while, I hope, avoiding the familiar clichés (most of the time!)

Thanks for dropping by.. If you have any comments or questions about my work feel free to get in touch on the contact page by phone or e-mail and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.