As a child, Charlotte lived all over the UK as her father, a nature reserve manager, moved to new posts. This time left her with a deep and abiding fascination with the natural world, and in particular, for the wildlife and landscapes of Scotland. After working for the Civil Service for almost 30 years, she came to work with husband, Niall, to build Food and Photography Retreats into the unique business it is today.

Musings from Charlotte's kitchen.

For me, one of the things I really look forward to when the next Retreat is coming round is planning out the menus. Out comes a pile of lovely cookery books, lots of mugs of tea, (or perhaps a glass of wine if it’s the evening) and my notebook and pencil. Sometimes the recipes are dishes I have made on previous trips, but I always trying something new.

Our guests never seem to mind being guinea pigs... and luckily it has always worked out. Since we work in several different countries, it's good to know how to adapt recipes. There are times when I have planned the menus only to arrive to discover that some of the ingredients aren't actually available. And when I say some... actually, hardly any!

This is when a big library of cookery books comes into its own. I absolutely adore my books - they give me knowledge and inspiration to create my own dishes. A key skill you need in this business is the ability to substitute and adapt. Yes, having cornflour really would be useful to thicken that sauce, but in its absence grab a potato, boil it, mash it and there you go - you've thickened the sauce. It may not be cornflour-glossy, but it works. The same with herbs and spices and, well, anything really. Before you know it, you've created your own twist on a familiar recipe, one that evolves into your own creation.

My ideas of what to present to our guests are rooted in good home cooking - the kind my lovely talented “Maman” cooked when we were children. Niall calls it “rustic with style”. She taught me a lot: never be fancy for the sake of it; serve wholesome food made with fresh ingredients and provide variety and colour. Serve it elegantly on a nicely set table and create a warm and inviting setting for the return of the hungry “troops”. Some days, I’m out on the “front line” with them and then we’ll take a picnic lunch. When it’s cold, a big flask of homemade soup, a chunk of cheese on an oatcake with some local chutney, followed by a yummy cake I’ve made that morning keeps up moral. We call it “Carlotta’s Mobile Cafe” - and it’s also known to serve a mean hot chocolate and crispy cake. And no matter how bad the weather has been that day, there’s always a nice dinner to look forward to. That might be a venison pie with fresh vegetables followed by apricot brioche, or a warming lamb tagine served with couscous. Make sure you leave space for the dreamy chocolate mousse topped with a snowflake (that’s a crunchy homemade biscuit). We’ve actually devised a scale, the Phil Factor, which grades my desserts on how much they will fill you up, so you can forward-plan and leave enough room! It was named in honour of one of our guests who has an extraordinary fondness for dessert.

I always cook a different dish if a guest is unable to eat something the others are having - and it gives me the challenge of coming up with something really tasty which they might not have had before. Since we eat mainly vegetarian at home, this is a pleasure. So…..when Niall says, “Do we reeeeeally need another cookery book?” I just, smile and tell him, “You know how we have all those different meals on our Retreats? Well, they don't just happen!”

Niall

Niall's image collection

Niall grew up in eastern Scotland where his parents were berry farmers. He ran and worked the farm until it was sold in the late 1980’s then studied geography and contemporary European studies at Dundee University for his honours degree. But his first love has always been the natural world - and image making. He has been at the centre of several of the largest outdoor photography initiatives of the last 15 years including Wild Wonders of Europe, Meet Your Neighbours and 2020VISION. He was a Founding Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers and has published seven books and hundreds of articles. He has been named by Outdoor Photography Magazine as one of the World’s 40 most influential nature photographers.

Thoughts from Niall’s field studio

I need to make things. And need to share ideas. For me, the joy of discovery is only half the pleasure - the other half is in telling others about it.

The landscape of professional outdoor photography has changed immeasurably from when I started out in 1993 with a tiny portfolio, a 300 mm f2.8 lens and enough naivety to prevent me from giving up before I even started. On reflection, I could probably have had a fairly successful professional career doing something “responsible” but chose to tread this creative tightrope instead. I’ve never enjoyed the insecurity that accompanies it but I do love the fact that I have something to show for my work, evidence of an interesting life. I love too that I have an opportunity now to share what I’ve learned along the way.

It was only in recent years that I came fully to understand the value of sharing in a creative community. We’ve seen this most clearly in regards to the field studio work. After getting to grips with the technique then sharing it through our e-book, we started to see lots of images like this online and in print, some acknowledging their inspiration, others not. But that didn’t matter: what was really interesting was seeing some of the clever things other people were doing with the technique, I could appropriate and evolve. In giving, I was getting back more.

Some commentators have been kind enough to label my work as “left-field” or “innovative”, but I think that they may overlook the fact that any artist worth his or her salt explores different modes of expression and evolves their work over a career without reference to what everyone else is doing. I’ve just been fortunate that I’ve not run out of ideas and have the enthusiasm to execute them.

And here, for those of you worried about your style not being distinctive enough, is a lesson. Style is endemic; it’s in you all along. Your challenge is to let go all the influences that inhibit its expression. The changes in the professional nature photography business - the near extinction of stock sales, contraction of magazine budgets and rise of a new army of people with expensive long lenses - did me a favour. I could stop shooting for “the market” and instead allow my own style to emerge without fear of harming my business. “Different, not better” became the new mantra. It might not be to everyone’s taste all the time (Charlotte reeeeeally wishes I would take more nice bird pictures again…) but it’s an approach that is profoundly satisfying. And I’d like to help you take those steps too.