A photography project with a difference was launched during the weekend at the Cairngorms Nature Festival and walkers are being asked to help.
Cairngorms Scenic Photo Posts have popped up all over the Cairngorms National Park and anyone with a camera, tablet or smartphone can get involved in this new project to look at how our landscape changes over time.
One of the photo posts in woods at Grantown on Spey
The wooden posts are at 14 stunning locations across the Cairngorms National Park and set up so that the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CPNA) can monitor woodland regeneration, land use change, settlement change, the pattern of snow lie, the processes of decay and growth, erosion and flooding. The organisers hope it will prove to be fun project with some serious science at its core.
Scattered across the Park from Bellabeg in Strath Don to Braemar and Blair Atholl, some of the posts are set up to capture wide, panoramic views, whereas others are close-up and focused on the detail of the habitat. Some are a short walk away from settlements, others require a bit more of a hike.
Each post has a camera bracket on top to ensure everyone takes exactly the same view. Having found the post, you pop your camera, phone or tablet into the bracket, take a photo and then you can register and upload the image on to the Photo Posts website and contribute to a visual record of our changing landscape.
Matthew Hawkins, Landscape and Ecology Manager at the Cairngorms National Park Authority, explains more, “This is an exciting project that everyone can get involved in and will make a valuable contribution to our knowledge and understanding of the National Park. You can register to upload images as an individual or a group making it an ideal project for walking clubs, schools and community groups.”
You can see the locations of all the Photo Posts and details of how to upload photos and see other people’s photos at the project website.
The Cairngorms Scenic Photo Posts project is a pilot initiative designed and set up by the Cairngorms National Park Authority with support and funding from the Forestry Commission for Scotland and Scottish Natural Heritage.