…is knowing where to stand. Or so Ansel Adams is supposed to have said. And I don’t think I can imagine any more apt turn of phrase to introduce another absolutely brilliant photographer whom I have been fortunate enough to meet since moving to Scotland. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mr Phil McMenemy.

When not grabbing cheeky selfies in front of enormous stones, Phil works out of his own gallery in the lovely little village of Laurieston, just a few miles north-west of Castle Douglas. He is a fine art landscape photographer, a past winner of the Scottish Nature Photography Award and if there is anyone I would describe as “knowing where to stand” it is this guy. Not only that, but he has the patience (or obsession, call it what you will) to search out the right places to stand, at the right time, to take some of the most beautiful and evocative landscape photographs that I have ever seen. His feel for the landscape and the light is fantastic, while his eye for composition is second to none. But that’s not all. As well as capturing large-scale landscape scenes beautifully, Phil also brings his own creative sensibility to his work, producing images that focus on smaller details, reflections and more abstract views of the world around us. All in all, it’s a winning combination as you can see from examples like these…

And this is just a randomly selected tip of the creative iceberg when it comes to Phil’s work. If you ever find yourself in the area, do visit his gallery (The Gallery at Laurieston) to see his stunning photographs in real life – I can guaranteee you won’t be disappointed. You’ll also find that he’s a great guy, does a good line in tea/coffee and cakes and the gallery often includes exhibitions of other artists’ work. What’s not to like?

Alternatively, if you can’t quite stretch to visiting in person at the moment, or you’d just like to know a little more, you can find Phil’s own website at http://www.pmcphotography.co.uk You can also see many more examples of his beautiful work at https://philmcmenemy.smugmug.com while the Gallery at Laurieston also has its own Facebook page to allow you to keep up with the latest news.