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I first became acquainted with Bryan Millar Walker and Distinct.Scotland through Instagram. I have an insanely good memory for silly and useless things, so don’t ask me why I remember this story.
I was in Yangon last year, and posting to my Instagram stories. Through the interactive voting and slider bar, Bryan answered unexpectedly (and kind of strangely) to some of my stories. Suspecting he was a bot, I clicked into his profile to take a gander. Now that I have met him, I can confirm he is not a bot.
Upon inspecting his profile, I discovered an amazing photographer, who regularly posts my favorite things about my favorite country: Scotland.
My favorite things about Scotland:
- Castles,
- Large, expansive landscapes,
- Lighthouses,
- Hilly coos,
- Cute bothies.
Ok, there is one more thing. PUFFINS. His Instagram feed has lots of puffins in Scotland!
That’s when I more or less decided the next time I came to Scotland, I would take a photography tour with Bryan.
Note: This post is a little text heavy, so I’m just going to sprinkle in photos I took during this trip. If you ask me, I think my photography and editing skills have greatly improved following this trip and guidance from Bryan. But that’s kind of a little humble brag. I’ll let you decide.
Table of Contents
1. Arranging a photography tour, with lockdown looming
Those who read my blog regularly know that I was in Scotland for the full duration of their covid-19 lockdown – from March 17 to early August. I remember emailing Bryan enquiring about a puffin photography tour on my layover in Dubai, on my way to Scotland. “It’s a little too early in the year for puffins, I’m afraid. But there are other options we could do.” Sad face. By that time in March, who knew how long I’d be in Scotland for?
A few days later, we had just decided on an alternative trip (to the west coast!) when the First Minister of Scotland announced lockdown measures effective immediately. SAD FACE.
What ensued over the next few months as time passed, the Scottish government would make an announcement. And with immediate swiftness, I would message Bryan a combination of “what do you think lockdown easing means for 1-on-1 private tours?” and “PUFFINS?” (Ok, probably not exactly like that, but that’s how the memory plays out in my mind…)
When the Scottish government finally announced Phase 3 of reopening for July 15, any guesses on the first person I messaged: Bryan Millar Walker. And for what reason? Puffins. Within a few messages, we came up with a tentative 2-day itinerary, which included the West Coast of Scotland and a day shooting puffins. Excitement!
2. A Private Photography Tour (safety first!)
I think some friends were surprised and mildly concerned that I took a private tour (and two days at that!) with a stranger that I followed on Instagram. Of course, I don’t want to diminish safety concerns, especially as someone who regularly travels alone. But I wouldn’t do anything I wasn’t entirely comfortable with.
I mean, the same could be said when I went on a tour hosted by Twins that Travel, Instagram-famous travel bloggers, to Morocco (in March 2019) and then again to Turkey (in September 2019). But what I find assuring about both Bryan, as well as Claire and Laura from Twins that Travel, is that their personalities come across in their Instagram. You can tell that they are genuine, real people. Funny, amusing, and kind of don’t take themselves too seriously.
To get to know Bryan’s personality, he has this Instagram highlight entitled Bloopers. Give it a watch – that’s basically him. There is also a story that sticks out in my mind, where he goes hiking up a mountain for sunrise, and is left with a thick cloud and mist, where you see absolutely nothing. I mean, I sympathize. That is literally every single sunrise hike I’ve done (Iโm 0/3).
These little things gave me a sense of relief, that he was a real person (and not a bot) who seemed genuine and kind enough to potentially spend 2 days with.
I’m not saying everyone with funny and amusing things on Instagram are nice people. I think I lucked out, because Bryan and I actually got along really well. He was just as personable and amusing as his Instagram suggests he is. This meant that there was little to no awkwardness in the 2 days we spent in pretty close proximity.
3. My 2-day (personalized) itinerary, by Bryan Millar Walker
Much of my itinerary was customizable. As Bryan would say, he’s really easy going, and it’s really up to me to decide. He gave me the option of customizing how many (or few) hikes, castles, waterfalls, etc, I wanted to see. I also had the choice between one or two days of puffins. What you have below, is Lannie’s personal photography wishlist of Scotland. To see the full itinerary, click here.
Day 1 – West Coast, with Glencoe
- Bryan picks me up in Glasgow (depart 07:30)
- The Jacobite Steam Train at Glenfinnan Viaduct
- Hike to Steall Falls
- Loch Achtriochtan Cottage
- Kingshouse Hotel (Stags and Deer)
- Blackrock Cottage
- Kilchurn Castle
- Overnight in Oban (arrive 20:00)
- Dinner, a dram and Lightroom editing
Full day! The webpage itinerary is a little different, because it rained on us THE ENTIRE DAY the first day, so we modified our plans a bit. Being rained on the whole day is not ideal, and the goal was that I didn’t end the day curled up into a ball in tears from rain exhaustion. (Great goal for any day, really…) Spoiler alert: goal achieved!
There was a lot of time spent in the car on the first day. As is my character, I thought I should be as direct as possible with Bryan with one thing that would potentially drive me insane.
Sometimes, when you’re out on tours, the guide happens to be a photographer too. They’ll bring you to a place, so you can replicate a specific shot that’s famous. Sometimes, they’ll even take your camera and take the photo themselves, just so “I” can get “the shot.”
As I explained this to him, very clearly, I said, “Please don’t do that. I don’t want a shot that you’ve composed, or that everyone else in the world does. It’s not the way I see the world, and it’s not how I want these two days to go.”
Bryan, as easy going as ever, completely understood. Photography to him, is what you see, how you feel in that moment. Capturing your mood and your own perceptions of a place. That’s probably why his photos have this air of mystery and magic surrounding it. That’s the world (I think) he feels he lives in. Almost dream-like and full of wonder.
Day 2 – Isle of Mull, Staffa and Treshnish Isles
- Ferry from Oban to Isle of Mull (08:00, return 20:01)
- Boat to Staffa & Fingal’s Cave
- Lunga and the Treshnish Isles – PUFFINS!
- Back to Glasgow, via Oban by 22:00
A lot of boats on day 2. But the main star of the show… THE PUFFINS.
When we arrived to the Isle of Mull in the morning, we were supposed to call to confirm our boat to Staffa & Lunga. We found out that the boat was cancelled due to high winds and choppy waters. So crushed. Sure, the Isle of Mull probably has its own excitements and things to photograph but PUFFINS.
We were able to find another boat service that would bring us from Tobermory to Staffa & Lunga. But instead of the 4 hours on Lunga, it would only be an hour and a half. Ok fine, but tell me I can see a single puffin and I’ll do anything just for that. They warned us – it would be extremely choppy. And boy was it. People got drenched in the waves, people got sick. I don’t even know how long this went on. 2 hours? A lifetime? You need to brave all of this if you want magical puffins at the end of your boat ride.
Thank you for your patience! Now…
4. PUFFINS IN SCOTLAND!
For those who don’t know much about these elusive, yet adorable creatures, puffins are seabirds. This means that they live almost the entire year on the open ocean, and only come to shore for a few months to find a mate and breed.
When the puffin meets their mate, they bring their mate back to their home burrow, where they were born. This, of course, begged the question – whose home do they return to? Is it the male puffin or the female puffin? Anyway, I digress.
The Atlantic Puffin’s breeding season is between late-spring and August. The adorable Scottish seabird nest in clifftop colonies, digging burrows, where a single, white egg is laid. And that single, white egg leads to… you guessed it – baby puffins!
I spent my time on Lunga, photographing puffins standing around and trying to keep myself steady from the howling wind. Bryan, on the other hand, was determined to check things off his puffin photography bucket list. Things like… puffins flying, with fish in its mouth. This includes tracking a really fast flying puffin overhead, with a camera lens that quite honestly weighs almost 5 pounds! For semi-amateur photographers like myself, it was like umm.. I think I’ll stick with the stationary targets.
Speaking of fish though… just a random story for a laugh. I mentioned before, puffins are sea birds. So they eat, you guessed it, fresh fish from the ocean. There were some other people near us trying to lure puffins closer to them with… what? bread. mmm, let me eat some day old bread instead of fresh fish from the ocean. No, thank you. The puffins obviously didn’t fall for it.
(P2) Hey look. That guy is throwing us bread.
(P1) – Say what?!
5. Parting Thoughts on my tour with Bryan Millar Walker
In the end, I had a great time with Bryan. At no point during the tour did I feel uncomfortable or weary. Some of the places he took me to were only a few stunning examples of nature and wildlife in Scotland. But not only that, I managed to see these beautiful puffins live, in person.
On the technical side, I learned more of the manual settings on my camera that I never bothered to experiment with. We also spent some time after dinner the first night to go through our photos in Lightroom. Alongside teaching me different ways to edit photos, we talked about how we see our own photos and what our own style is. I don’t know how he sees my photos, but I see his as wanting to showcase this magical, ethereal realm that is Scotland.
The magical Scotland of Bryan Millar Walker.
On a less technical side, I was in lockdown in Scotland for 4 solid months with only one friend and housemate. Although we kept both our sanity in check, we were never sure how it would be to re-introduce other humans back into our lives. It’s a funny thing to consider, honestly.
Coming out of lockdown, Bryan was the first person I spent any time with 1-on-1. And what a genuinely nice person to spend two days with. We pretty much talked and laughed the whole time. There were times where I laughed so hard, I cried. I’d like to think that we ended the trip, not as two strangers, but as two friends.
A wise man once said:
When you photograph puffins, the biggest challenge is not filling your Instagram feed with only puffins. I wake up in the morning, edit photos of something else, just so I can post another puffin photo in a few days.
Bryan Millar Walker, expert puffin photographer and extremely wise man.
And as someone who has now photographed puffins in Scotland once, I too have this problem. I want to flood my feed with puffins, but then I feel the need to have some semblance of balance, and spread out the puffin photos. The struggle is real.
Get in Touch with Bryan Millar Walker
If I’ve inspired you to do a photography tour in Scotland, or specifically a puffin photography tour, there is no better person to go with. I can’t recommend Bryan and distinct.scotland enough. Don’t forget, all of his tours are fully customizable. Feel free to check him out below:
Bryan Millar Walker, from distinct.scotland
Website
Email
P.S. I was in no way sponsored for this post. All opinions are my own. Just wanted to share my experience and of course, puffin photos.
If you’re looking for more ideas for your Scotland trip, how about:
- a 10-day Scotland Road Trip, covering Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Skye, from my friends Highlands2Hammocks;
- Visiting Scotland’s only pyramid in the Highlands;
- Doing whisky tastings on Islay, Scotland’s magical whisky island;
- Taking a road trip on the North Coast 500;
- or Discovering Scotland through a food tour in Edinburgh! (discount offered!)
Or, if you’re determined to search for the elusive Atlantic puffin (fratercula arctica) on your own, try the following places:
- Isle of May
- Lunga (in the Treshnish Isles) where we were!
- Duncansby Head (though, I tried on my own and failed!)
- Fowlsheugh Nature Reserve
- Handa Island
- Sumburgh Head, Shetland
Other information on the atlantic puffin can be found from the Scottish Seabird Centre.
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Lannie is a perpetual wanderer and loves to share her travel adventures and the food she eats along the way with everyone.ย She works during the day while bouncing around the world and dreams about new places and faces at night!ย She has a home on the magical Isle of Islay in Scotland, where the whisky flows freely and happily.
Click on the blue icons below to follow her on social media!
One-onone tours are the bomb! I took a photography workshop with 30 people and didn’t like it at all. I wanted to move around and take pictures of a lot of different things, and we had to stay as a group looking at one landscape for 45 minutes (and there weren’t any PUFFINS or any other animal!). I would definitely look up Bryan when I’m in Scotland. And your photos are awesome, too!
These pictures are incredible! I can see why you would want to flood your Instagram feed with puffins. As a follower, I support this plan wholeheartedly!