About Alex Nail

I'm a full-time landscape photographer known for my mountain and wilderness images. My photography is largely illustrative, regularly depicting spectacular scenery in sublime lighting conditions. I’m Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society where I serve on the distinctions panel assessing other photographers for the society’s highest awards.

I am a qualified Mountain Leader and keen backpacker. I often head into the mountains for a week or more at a time regularly summit camping to be on location when the light is best.  I build my portfolios through a project-based approach and generally return to the same areas repeatedly to develop an in-depth appreciation which I hope is then reflected in my images. Whilst I regularly travel to international destinations like Iceland, Norway and the Drakensberg, it is the Northwest Highlands of Scotland that I find myself returning to the most. After completing my first book ‘Northwest’ in 2018 described by Joe Cornish as “Endeavour and commitment have produced a visual love song dedicated to a sublime landscape.” I am now working on a book project on the remote mountain area of Fisherfield.

I take a truthful approach to image editing. My work is for want of a better word “real” with nothing added or removed. In recent years I have been a vocal proponent of the so called “eye-witness tradition” and challenged those who significantly alter scenes in post processing without informing the viewer. To that end I am one of the cofounders of the Natural Landscape Photography Awards, a major international photography competition which aims to promote and reward photographers taking a truth-to-nature approach.

I run a popular YouTube channel where I share some of my adventures as well as some advanced tutorials on photography and image editing. My focus is on teaching a sound foundation, I strongly believe understanding, not techniques, should underpin any learning process. This approach is also reflected in my 1-to-1 post-processing sessions where I teach beginner and advance photographers alike.

Commercially I have worked with the British Tourist Authority ‘Visit Britain’, Woodland Trust, National Trust providing time-lapse, video and stills. I write for a variety of outdoor and photography publications both online and in print. I deliver talks at events and camera clubs which generally reflect my adventurous approach to landscape photography.

My group workshops are unique and often challenging. I pride myself on taking groups into wild locations where no other tours go in search of transient moments of light and expansive vistas.


Alex Nail, November 2021