Karl Holtby

My previous visit to Unst was September 2019. Having spent almost three weeks on the UK's most northerly isle it all seems a bit of a blur looking back. I may not be Robert Macfarlane but I do like to think I'm fairly articulate. However, I always strugg...

I'd wanted to visit Dungeness for many years but admittedly I find myself avoiding driving south. Being a Yorkshireman based in Derbyshire I generally prefer to travel north for my photography shenanigans, usually all the way north to the Highlands and Islands. Less tr...

Buttermere Tree, Lake District, Cumbria, UK ~ 2015.

November's Image of the Month is certainly an old classic for me these days. It has easily been my best selling print and one of the most popular images to this day.

It was the 11th January 2015 when arrived at my board...

I can't quite believe the opportunities that come my way at times but I've been invited to the Musashino Art University, Tokyo, in 2020 (13-19th September) as a Visiting Professor. I can't tell you how thrilled I am and this is quite possibly the most exciting thing th...

Our evolution as photographers can be dependant on many things: the influences that guide us, the enjoyment we take from the craft, new experiences (be they travel or a chance meeting), connecting with a particular landscape; the spark of creativity can hit us anytime,...

The Isle of Skye is a classic destination for landscape photographers for very good reason, Skye unarguably contains some of the most dramatic coastline and mountains in the UK. Situated in the inner Hebrides, Skye is the second largest island after Lewis & Harris and...

A few weeks back I was invited to Sigma HQ, along with fellow Sigma Ambassadors for an unboxing session of their new camera, the fp. Alarmingly they chose to video our reactions, it's all good fun!

The fp is the world's smallest full frame camera, it also features...

'Gone Fishing', Filey, 2016.

October's Image of the Month is close to home on the Yorkshire coast at Filey.

It was a grey and seemingly uninspiring day as I arrived at Filey in December 2016. Nevertheless, no matter what the conditions it's always revitalising to be out...

An idea that I've had floating around in my head for some time: welcome to 'Image of the Month'. Each month I'll be sharing one of my own personal favourite images and making it available as a print.

Whenever I'm asked the question, 'What is your favourite image?'...

Recently home from a long stint on the island of Unst, Shetland, which is the most northerly isle of the UK, I have taken some time out to catch up with working on my website, including some long overdue thoughts on kit. I don't do reviews as such, they seem quite poin...

Misty Trees, Assynt, 2018 ©

As photographers we are often prone to worrying about having the right kit with us when we head out on our adventures. If you've been following my ramblings for any amount of time you'll know that I'm a huge advocate of keeping things simple....

Time moves on so quickly and there's not been a new blog since June 2018! This is absolutely outrageous of course and will be rectified immediately, with the plan to publish at least one per month moving forward. 

I was recently asked a very simple question, what would...

Being a photographer with an interest in all places wild and remote, I wrongly assume that everyone knows of the Faroe Islands? Apparently not, when mentioning my trip many people asked where it is, often asking if it is anywhere near Egypt? Well I guess that could be...

Inspiration derives from many sources, mostly for me, from great artists. I have long held a fascination with Japanese culture, in particular Japanese art, with artists such as Hokusai playing a major role in the direction of my work. The clean line...

When I was offered the keys to a cottage on Unst my first thoughts were, 'Where the heck is that!?'. Having it's location pointed out to me that it was part of the Shetland Isles, with Unst being the most northerly of those isles, in fact it is the most northerly point...