I'm a semi-pro photographer based in Edinburgh who specializes in photography of wild and remote places. I try to take what inspires to visit these places, and the feeling I get from interacting with nature through sports or travel fit into the constraints of a rectangular box and convey some of the emotion of the scene through the final picture. Standing knee deep in the water as my boots sink into the cold mud below, but hearing the cry of an eagle high overhead as the clouds clear from the mountain, the last of the short winter light makes an appearance and the elements of the photograph start to come together.

As with any career or hobby path, I am constantly learning, refining and hopefully improving my photography. This path is a winding one which takes me past portrait photography, both personal and corporate work, through the complicated fields of using light in both its artificial and natural forms to add drama to a scene, all the way to the stark simplicity of being out in the wilderness with a camera between you and what nature has laid out before you.

I try not to limit myself with boundaries of what would traditionally be classed as photography, what is the best equipment or format, what is the correct way of doing something. But at the same time I study what has gone before and gain both learning and inspiration. I shoot exclusively on digital, for no other reason that it fits in best with the way I work. I shoot with the aim of maximizing the quality of capture in camera, ensuring that the focus is critical, the depth of field appropriate and the dynamic range of the scene is well balanced. I also shoot with the aim of how I am going to process the image when I am back in the digital darkroom. Bracketed exposures are taken and combined into High Dynamic Range, multiple exposures are made and are stitched into new scenes, multiple adjustment layers are created and blended together. The question of if this is stepping outside the boundary of photography is probably beyond this forum. I see it as making the most of the tools that are available to me so that I can create the best possible picture.

This past year has been a good one for my photography, with images being published in national magazines, wining awards at both the Kendal and Fort William International Mountain Film Festivals. I've launched a new website and with the help of The Image File I have been able to integrate an online sales function into my site. Last month I held my first solo exhibition with 28 of my images on display in Cafe Renroc, the exhibition was both a logistical challenge, and also a challenge that forced me to look objectively at my work and gave me the opportunity for unbiased feedback from others.

I have also had an interesting year in terms of assignments and opportunities with my photographic work, I was selected to become a contributor to a specialist environmental stock agency called Human Spectra and I have had some interesting portrait assignments and commercial work. In the month of March alone I went from the excitement of shooting renowned mountaineer and climber Dave McLeod in the back corries of Ben Nevis to photographing a colonic irrigation system in a health and treatment spa! They say variety is the spice of life.

I also think that the variety in my work has given my photographic style the chance to grow and evolve over the last year and I feel that this has benefited my work. It has also given me the chance to meet interesting people, visit some very cool places and get involved in some worthwhile causes such as The Active Earth project. But don't take my word for this. Please have a look at the pictures on this showcase, on my own website (http://www.andyyuill.com) and also on my blog (http://andyyuill.blogspot.com/). I'm interested to hear what you think, all feedback is good feedback and it is the best way to learn and grow. My blog is the best place to catch up on what I have been up to, for the latest pictures, for some more of my thoughts and also a good place to leave comments.

Andy Yuill, Edinburgh May 2009.