This hub will be useful to you if you are on vacation in Scotland, but will also help you if you are looking for inspiration for photography locations in your own region, wherever you are in the world.

Sometimes we get so used to seeing what is around us that we don't recognise its beauty or photographic appeal. Landscape photography doesn't have to be all about remote or far-flung places though. The urban landscape can be just as exciting and beautiful to photograph and will also throw up its own challenges.

I shall be showing you photography locations around Scotland and also some abroad (which of course may be home to you). Some will be well known, but others less so. Have a closer look at your own areas. Is there somewhere that you can get a different angle, or that catches the sunrise or the sunset? Perhaps it is somewhere you see every day and had forgotten how beautiful it actually is.

Photography holidays are a great way to see somewhere new and to learn how to use your camera in new or creative ways, but we can also make our own little holiday at home with just an hour or two spare.

I shall concentrate on one of my favourite locations in Scotland for this hub, but will be covering many more places in hubs to come.

Situated high up on Rannoch Moor (summit 1142 feet), Lochan na Hachlaise is a small inland loch (lake) which can be seen on the left from the A82 as you drive west towards Glencoe.

Rannoch Moor may often seem an extremely bleak and uninviting part of the Scottish highland landscape. It is certainly wild, and not always described as beautiful, but it has a true gem in the Lochan na Hachlaise.

Flanked by mountains, which are often snow-capped into April and May, the lochan has small islands dotted across it, clad with heather and small, twisted trees. In winter, the potential for awesome landscape photography is immense! The photographs here are from a visit last week (mid-May).

Parking is possible in several spots, but the safest place is a car park at the eastern end of the lochan, the entrance to which is marked by a pair of large boulders. The A82 is a very busy road and accidents are common as tourists spend more time looking for eagles, or other birds and wildlife than they do looking at the road! There is also the problem of drivers from other countries not used to driving on the left... so please take care, when you are driving and also if you are parked at the roadside. Use the lay-bys or car parks if you can.

You will need boots as you walk across the moor as it is very boggy. A good pair of gaiters will also be useful if you have them! If not, be prepared to get a bootful of boggy water and have a spare pair of socks and shoes at the car!!

If you are going anywhere alone, always let someone know where you are. Phone signals are not reliable in this part of the world so don't depend upon being able to use it. Always have something to sit on, spare warm, dry clothes and something to eat and drink. You will also need a spare bag for your rubbish (trash).

Wherever you are in the world, help to keep it beautiful. All you should take away with you are your photographs and memories, and all you should leave behind is a piece of your heart and your footprints! It never ceases to amaze me how people can be so selfish and lazy to carry full bottles of water or bags of crisps, or whatever and then not be able to put them in a bag and carry their empty rubbish away again! They go to a place because it is beautiful and then leave it looking like a dump. How does that work in their heads? How can people be so completely stupid and selfish and not care?

OK, off my soap box now! Lochan na Hachlaise is a beautiful spot and is often missed on the way through to the extremely impressive and very photogenic mountains of Glencoe and Glen Etive. If you have the time, why not stop on your way across Rannoch Moor and take your camera for a walk down to the shore.

Take care, and look for part 2 of Photography Locations coming soon!

Aunty.