The inevitable happened, the pillars fell and in the space of a few years my father passed away and my best friend Lynnie finally succumbed to cancer tragically at age 29 and what had once been managed Anxiety turned to Grief then Depression. Nothing seemed to help. I was aimless and at the lowest ebb of my life and I was afraid to talk about it.

I remembered my promise, I strove to keep it. I set out long nights into the Scottish wilderness to shoot the stars and northern lights. I arranged a holiday to Iceland, long a dream location with its rugged landscape and isolation it reminded me of Assynt. Iceland was a salve to my soul. Other opportunities arose and soon a old highschool friend had me fundraising and taking on a charity 100 mile trek through the Namib Desert in Africa for the Michelle Henderson Cervical Cancer Trust. As a rather large Scottish man more used to the abundant Scottish rain and wind this was just a tad out of the comfort zone. Luckily for me the charity was very keen on me taking camera equipment with me. This led onto me gaining another opportunity to return to Namibia a few months later as an expedition photographer documenting two Scottish ultra runners Donnie Campbell & Dr Andrew Murray in their successful efforts to run 550 km+ while the sun was blazing 40C+ from Luderitz to Walvis Bay over some of the highest dunes in the world in the Namib Desert. Less than a year later I was in Mongolia covering another expedition that included a Burns Supper in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and a Marathon on a frozen river in the Terelj National Park as temperatures hit as low as -40C. Add to the mix mini-adventures with my partner, friends and family to places in Scotland I had failed to either travel or do justice to including Oban & Edinburgh. I also picked up a loyal four legged friend in Murdo the Westie who in the last 4 years has kept me company on many of my local adventures.

I kept my promise, it in turn helped me confront and battle my depression by opening up.

Penguin Keeper Experience at Edinburgh Zoo, Scotland.

Namib Desert, Namibia, 2015.

Abandoned mining towns deep in the Namib Desert.