A week in photography
£36.99, Shetland Times Ltd, hardback, 288 pages, ISBN: 978-1910997567
Shetland-born photographer Brydon Thomason’s book is a lavish celebration of the islands’ wildlife and landscapes, writes David Clark
Located between Scotland, the Faroe Islands and Norway, Shetland is an archipelago comprising around 100 islands, only 16 of which are inhabited. Its remote location, rugged landscape and rich variety of wildlife makes it an exceptional place for outdoor photography. This book, by Brydon Thomason, himself a Shetlander who grew up on the island of Fetlar, takes full advantage of the subject-matter on offer.
Thomason is a naturalist, a photographer and runs a wildlife tour company, Shetland Nature. He clearly has an encyclopaedic knowledge of Shetland’s nature as well as a great eye for a photograph.
Wild Shetland takes us on a visual journey through the year on the islands in chapters that focus on each of the seasons in turn. Images include atmospheric landscapes and seascapes, spectacular shots of wildlife in action (from otters to humpback whales) and macro studies of the islands’ insects.
The abundant bird life on Shetland forms the majority of the pictures, from bluethroats, skylarks and lapwings to gannets, black guillemots and northern goshawks. The image quality is excellent throughout, and their sheer variety demonstrates evidence of many years of dedicated work.
Accompanying the images is Thomason’s own en
