March 2026 Update: Settling Into Life and Photography in Scotland

A lot has happened already in 2026. At the end of January, Sofia, my mum and I arrived in our new home in Perthshire, Scotland and, after getting over the initial jetlag, we’ve managed to settle in quickly.

I had never been to this particular area before, so moving here was a bit of a leap of faith. But everything so far has been better than we could have hoped for. It’s a lovely area with incredibly friendly people and stunning nature and wildlife right on our doorstep.

Sofia has settled into her new school really well and came back with more friends after her first day than I have in total.

I’ve managed to get out a couple of times a week to explore the local area, which has a lovely mixture of soft rolling countryside and woodland, as well as the harsher landscapes on the edge of the Scottish Highlands.

I’ve been taking a camera with me on all my outings — ranging from the X100VI and OM-3 to my OM-1 Mark II and Nikon Z8.

I’m still struggling a little bit to find my feet photographically. I’m increasingly pulled towards nature photography and trying to improve my wildlife photography, which takes time, patience and practice. Not to mention that I’m having to re-learn the local species after having lived abroad for over a decade. My memory and recall of various birds is not what it used to be.

Still, I’m finding that just being amongst nature is like medicine to me. I feel calm, relaxed, and am thoroughly enjoying the time I get outside — even when, as on Tuesday, I come back with no real shots to speak of.

I’m also struggling to focus a little at the moment. The plan had been for the three of us to come here and spend five weeks setting up the new home before my wife and youngest daughter joined us next week. We usually fly with Emirates from Cebu to the UK via Dubai.

Those plans have now gone out of the window due to the conflict currently unfolding in the Middle East. I’ve been preoccupied searching for alternative routes and then dismissing them due to logistics. So it looks like I’ll be watching the situation closely and waiting to determine a safe time for them to travel.

Let’s just hope the whole situation resolves itself as quickly as possible.

In the meantime I have bought in some new lenses which I’m very excited to get out and use: the Fujifilm 16-55mm f/2.8 II as a genral purpose lens so I can still shoot high quality photos but avoid having to swap lenses out in the middle of a Scottish glen in bad weather, as well as the Nikon Z 14-30mm f/4 for landscapes, the Nikon Z 400mm f/4.5 and the 180-600mm as well as the OM System 100-400mm II for wildlife.

I was surprised how light the 400mm in particular was, but also pleasantly surprised by the 180-600mm.

I worked through a bit of a dilemma as to which way to go with my wildlife photography and in the end decided that a combination of using the OM-1 Mark II with the 100-400mm II for casual and walk-around wildlife and nature photography, combined with the Nikon lenses for more purposeful wildlife outings, made the most sense.

Over the coming weeks and months I’ll be getting out more with those lenses for wildlife trips, which I hope will help me start improving my shots slowly. The plan is that come the Autumn, I’ll be much better than I am now, just in time for the Red deer rutting season.

I’ll also be heading out on some proper landscape trips where I will not only shoot but occasionally put various cameras up against each other in the hope that those articles will give some insight into the actual differences between systems.

Sadly, among the things I had to leave behind in the Philippines was my main tripod, so I’m also considering whether to get another — and if so, what to go for.

I’ve also spent a bit of time working out the various bits of kit I need to be comfortable in the Scottish mountains and glens — from waterproof jackets, boots and gloves to rucksacks, camera bags and so on. I now literally have more outdoor gear than everyday clothes, although that probably says more about the state of my normal wardrobe than anything else.

No one needs more than two sets of underwear, right?

After a month or so, and with various trial runs out in the hills, I’ve started to narrow down the kit that actually works here.

After so long abroad — and if I’m honest, after leading a fairly sedentary lifestyle — I’m also really enjoying the process of getting my fitness back to where I want and need it to be.

I’ve found myself pushing uphill faster than I expected and having a little more endurance than I imagined. Of course, that could just be my mental stubbornness and refusal to admit my age rather than any real physical attributes showing.

In the meantime, here are a few articles that I’ve written recently that you might enjoy.