Scotland photography tour

Planet

All of our photography vacations are essentially small group travel and capped at 10 guests. Whenever possible we will explore our locations by foot which helps reducing pollution, environmental noise and damage.

We operate a ‘leave no trace’ policy in Orkney’s national parks, archaeological sites, monuments and other sensitive areas; these should be treated with the ultimate respect to maintain them for future generations.

We are committed to offering low impact vacations. Photography is generally a quiet, contemplative activity and our guests are always careful not to leave traces or intrude in any way on other people’s life and activities.

Our accommodation is very close to our locations allowing us to keep driving to a minimum.

We support local environmental associations through passing on information about their policy and raising awareness of current issues and environmental sustainability. We actively encourage guests to travel responsibly and to consider the following guidelines:

• When out in wild places to keep erosion to a minimum, keep to footpaths or rights of way and avoid stepping on, or picking native flora.

• When near wildlife or bird colonies minimise human disruption of the natural environment taking considerable care during breeding seasons so as to not disturb nesting birds and wildlife.

• To take the time to carry out some research about Orkney and Hoy and its unique environment and history.

• To avoid plastic waste a metal or heavy-duty plastic bottle such as Nalgene to refill with water from a safe source is recommended and encouraged with all of our guests.

• To respect local customs religion, traditions and personal property boundaries.

• To avoid taking photographs of local people and places of religious significance without permission.

• Send copies of photos to local people if promised.

• To read labels and buy local products such as food and souvenirs so that money directly benefits the community.

• To reduce pollution and carry out all litter. Recycle wherever possible. This is especially important on Orkney as they have limited or no facilities to process waste and recycle.

Wherever possible we work electronically and promote considerate use of digital resources. We are primarily web based for all administrative communications with minimal use of office paper.

People

We are happy to work with local community groups supporting their promotion of tourism through the provision of free, high quality photographs.

Tourism is an important source of income for the local people of Orkney. Our accommodation is provided by a small, family-run hotel in Stromnes and private cottages on the Isle of Hoy which are very close to our locations.

All the food for the vacation will be purchased on the island rather than brought from the mainland, menus will always include local produce.

Our Orkney vacation visits locations that are less frequented by tourists, avoiding the creation of “honey-pots” that can damage the environment and erode community heritage and goodwill.

We choose to run our photographic vacations during the off season when we can really make a difference to the local tourist economy.

We collaborate closely with local businesses and partners who have been carefully selected for their shared respect for our sustainable ethos and environmental values. We work with local operators and our photographic guides are trained to share our commitment to responsible travel wherever possible.