Croft No. 5

Back in the day some friends used to have a band called Croft No. 5. They were at the cutting edge of Celtic fusion, well ahead of their time and a damn fine live act! Yeah, so it's possible that I'm a little biased but I've had their album on repeat this afternoon while I edit a shoot from earlier in the week on the Isle of Harris. More specifically, from a property shoot at Croft 5, Borve on the Isle of Harris.

Tenuous link? Maybe, but it's made my day complete!

Harris has long been one of my favourite places. There are few venues better in the world for landscape photography than the Outer Hebrides, and Lewis and Harris feel almost like a second home to me. Gavin and Susan have just finished building their own home up there and their builders, Fjordhus, asked me to go up and take some photographs of the property for their portfolio.

This was an exceptionally satisfying shoot to work on, with one of the best sunsets I've seen in a while followed by an impressive sunrise, and combining stunning design with the perfect location! The idyllic Hebridean setting played well with my landscape work but interiors was something of a departure for me, which greatly added to the satisfaction for me personally.

There's nothing more dangerous for the creative than the risk of falling into a rut. You need to sink your teeth into a good technical and creative challenge from time to time. By stepping out of your established comfort zone you get your juices flowing, broaden your skill set and you come away not just a little more experienced but also reinvigorated. When the opportunity to shake things up a little comes along with an excuse to visit one of the most beautiful islands in Scotland with some good people at the same time, then all the better. Huge thanks to Gavin and Susan and the guys at Fjordhus for the opportunity to do exactly that.