The Scottish icon viewed and photographed by many on the road to the Isle of Skye, Eilean Donan Castle is one of the classic famous castles which is instantly recognisable. The castle sits on a small island near to the village of Dornie on the road to the Kyle of Lochalsh, as you drive past the castle looms on the horizon and does feel like it has been put there by a film crew as the setting is just perfect.

One of the reasons I originally started gaining an interest photography was after looking through some of the photographs from around the Newcastle Quayside from both during the day and at when lit up at night, in particular shots from Greame Peacock who at the time had shots in nearly every Tourism and University brochure showing the area. Another photographer who had a great portfolio of images from Newcastle is Steve Mayes, I remember seeing his black and white prints at the Biscuit Factory and thinking this is something that I would like to get involved with.

The Glen Coe area of the Scottish Highlands is my favourite spot for landscape photography in the whole of the UK, the possibilities within a relatively small area are numerous and the ease of access with A82 running straight through the middle down to Glencoe village make this a great spot for a trip and can be done in a day, a few days or if you have time a full week long photography holiday will keep you busy all week. In the area you have the famous Buachaille Etive Mor, locations around Rannoch Moor and the beautiful road down Glen Etive.

For landscape photographers a trip to the Isle of Skye is an absolute must and is a trip many photographers make each years. The 9 hour journey from Sheffield seems a little daunting but once you arrive on Skye over the new road bridge link at the Kyle of Lochalsh the long journey seems very worthwhile. The landscape of the Isle of Skye is incredible and has a huge range of different rock types and features, the sheer variety of terrain on offer makes planning a trip all that more difficult as there are so many places to go and see.

I’ve just got back from a week long photography & walking trip to Cornwall staying in a great little barn at Raftra Cottage not far from Porthcurno & Lands End.

A short guide to some of the best waterfalls in the Yorkshire Dales National Park including Goredale Scar, Janets Foss, Scalebar Force and Stainforth Force.

Building on the success of my 2013 calendar, I have started the time consuming task of beginning to put together the artwork for my 2014 Calendar. This years British landscape photography calendar will be similar in design to last years, being A4 in size when closed and opening up to A3 when hung on the wall.

After my near success in last years Take a View landscape photographer of the year competition with 5 short-listed entries, I have decided again (against my better judgement) to put some entries in this year’s competition in the Classic View and Your View categories. The task of choosing images for this competition is always difficult, looking through past winners and inclusions in the Landscape Photographer of the Year book always leaves me a little puzzled as to the kind of image that may do well in the competition.

Over the Easter bank holiday weekend I had the opportunity to stay with friends right by the coastline in Bamburgh on the Northumberland Coast. Whilst this wasn’t a dedicated photography trip I managed to squeeze in a few trips down to the areas around Bamburgh Castle to capture it in a variety of lighting conditions, the photographs that I came back with were very pleasing and a good achievement in the limited time.

The third part of my Peak District landscape photography location guide takes us to the well visited area around Castleton, including the ever popular locations of the Great Ridge of Edale which includes Mam Tor, Hollins Cross, Back Tor and Lose Hill. The Great Ridge is a huge ridge which separates the vales of Edale and Castleton and runs for approximately 2 miles.

Following on from my first part of my guide to photography locations in the Peak Disitrct National Park, part two features another favourite area of mine Curbar Edge and Baslow Edge in the Peak District which are both classic viewpoints in the Peak District and a firm favourite with landscape photographers.

For the past couple of years I have been a member of the Alamy stock photography site, my photos from the Alamy site have been licensed for use in a whole range of media ranging from the Telegraph website to a worldwide travel magazine. I have now reached the milestone of close to 1,500 photographs on the site which has taken a large amount of my time over the past 2 years.

I’ve managed to secure a large wall space in a popular local cafe the Basecamp Cafe in Sheffield to display a few framed prints, large canvas prints and also a range of loose mounted prints and greetings cards.

At the start of January I headed for my first trip to the Cairngorms National Park in Scotland for a joint ski and walking holiday, a six and a half hour drive from home in Sheffield. During the week I managed to get out for sunrise everyday and enjoyed plenty of walking in the ancient forests.

One of the biggest attractions of the Lake District for me is the number of impressive waterfalls throughout the Lakes. The waterfalls of the Lake District really come to life after a period of rain when the hillsides become alive with tumbling water which is quite a sight if you are used to the normal rolling hills of the English landscape.

I receive quite a few emails asking about the locations of photographs in my galleries, particularly for photography locations in the Peak District and Derbyshire. I have decided to write a small series of guides to pinpoint and give more information for some of the images in my galleries.

As part of my long running project to build up a collection of photographs of Sheffield City Centre at various times of the day I have spent a few mornings recently on the banks of the River Don around the Riverside area.

Featuring 12 stunning full colour landscape and seascape photos from around the British Isles, my Nickscape 2013 Calendar will be available from late October.

I have had 3 pieces accepted for the Autumn exhibition of the Art in the Ark 2012 series in Basingstoke, the exhibition runs from Monday 15th October to Thursday 29th November 2012.

I'm pleased to say I have 5 images through to the next round of the Landscape Photographer of the year competition.