Organisers of The Fort William Mountain Festival are pleased to announce that Colin Prior, the World-renowned photographer from Glasgow who has made the panoramic format of Scottish mountain photography his signature, is the twelfth recipient of the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture, sponsored by JAHAMA Highland Estates.
Nominated by the public and his peers as a mountain hero who celebrates achievement, accomplishment and the spirit of adventure, Colin joins previous esteemed winners including Andy Nisbet, Dr Adam Watson, Jimmy Marshall, Myrtle Simpson, Ian Sykes, Dr Hamish MacInnes and Cameron McNeish in the Excellence in Mountain Culture Hall of Fame. (*Full Colin Prior biography in Notes to Editors.)
As a visionary of landscape photography in Scotland whose work has been showcased all over the world, Colin Prior is an artist and technician who expertly creates the illusion of three dimensionality in two dimensional images.
His majestic photographs of the hugely iconic Scottish mountains capture sublime moments of light, colour and land. They are also the result of meticulous research, planning, preparation and skill, often involving repeated trips to the most inaccessible locations for the precise moment when weather and light conditions perfectly combine at the ‘golden hour’ of dawn or dusk.
Colin Prior once said of his photography: “To know a mountain is to understand its rhythms and then become part of them. To photograph mountains successfully demands what the Arctic Inuit refer to as ‘quinuituq’ which translated means ‘deep patience’ – literally waiting hours for one second, or in my case, years for one second.”
Colin Prior’s passion for and curiosity of the natural world has shaped all aspects of his life. Through his photography he communicates how Scotland’s wild places make him feel whilst inspiring people to appreciate the world outside of their own.
Throughout his career as a photographer he has produced seven books of his work, all published internationally; he has been commissioned by British Airways to photograph four corporate calendars; he has exhibited his work in several solo exhibitions; and he has worked on a variety of TV documentaries featuring photography, mountains and travel and appeared on many TV and radio programmes.
His passion for mountains and wild places is shared with others through his regular photography workshops and tuition. As a commercial photographer he continues to work closely with the creative community and the corporate sector with clients such as W H Malcolm, Hornby Hobbies, Calmac, Talent Scotland and Bowmore.
Rod Pashley, Chairman of The Highland Mountain Culture Association, organisers of the Fort William Mountain Festival, said: “You’ve only got to look at the breadth of stunning landscape work that Colin has produced over the years to know the visual impact he has made on so many who love and admire our Scottish landscapes and beyond.
Colin’s work graces the walls of so many of our homes and allows us to feel and be a part of the outdoors where perhaps some are unable to go or once visited. We’re proud to welcome Colin into the Festival Ambassador Hall of Fame family”
Lochaber-based JAHAMA Highland Estates, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s GFG Alliance, is delighted that world-renowned Scottish landscape photographer, Colin Prior – the founding father of landscape photography in Scotland – has been awarded the Scottish Award for Excellence in Mountain Culture 2020.
Julia Stoddart MRICS, said: “JAHAMA Highland Estates is honoured to support the Fort William Mountain Festival. We are deeply committed to our responsibilities as custodians of the iconic mountainous landscapes enjoyed and cherished by wide-ranging communities of interest and of geography; and are grateful for the Festival team’s work in highlighting the importance of mountain culture.”
