Kathryn Bennett

Spring in Scotland this year was a very special time - I feel like I had my summer already. I just got a roll of Portra back which, in my stingy efforts to make a fancy roll last, seems to have snapshotted so many incredible days 💚 including this one from much earlier on, when there were still just enough smatterings of snow to spice things up even more on the ridge. Featuring a truly excellent all women team on the Cuillin @cherylthemcintyre @3llieorr @harriet_sw @rachsinnamon

Spring equinox pilgrimage part 2 - moving from Mull’s moody interior to beaches and blue skies on Iona. We found Brighid’s well up on the highest point of the isle, before heading back down to the northern beaches to cook up some Isle of Mull smokies @alicesainsbury.co @gulabiphoto #analoguephotography #scotlandonfilm

Spring equinox pilgrimage☀️ Around this time last year, I accompanied @alicesainsbury.co on her pilgrimage from Inverlonan through Mull to Iona. Her call out arrived at the perfect time, where a broken laptop forced my hand in taking a break from my MSc for a weekend at least. I set off to join her mid-journey, navigating through bog in the early hours to meet Alice for the first time around 8am in Tomsleibhe bothy. It was also my first time actually attempting capture someone’s journey in analogue, and the perfect one to do so, with the space to pause and consider what aspects I needed to document. Alice’s slow pilgrimages are a response to her chronic condition (see more on her British Pilgrimage Trust blog), but to me this also represented a form of exploration I wish was more celebrated, where fluidly listening to the landscape, our bodies and the relationship between them is more of a focus than the miles or meters attained. I feel like I wear so many hats in the outdoor space that it can be hard to know which one to wear when, something I definitely struggled with on this adventure. It was hard to put the guide away (simply as I was the one of us who lives in Scotland) and melt into the background as an observer instead. I learnt a lot about this process in just one long weekend, along with more about how to tell a story through a few rolls of film. These first few images cover our start inland in Glen Forsa, before heading out to the coast. We walked beside an eagle in the forest, wild goats rambling over beaches, and standing stones intersecting our way, before reaching a midpoint under steadfast basalt columns on the edge of the ocean. After this - Iona.

Back in the USA. Kentucky snow fields, sunset in Lexington, a Carolina junction, the edge of the Smokies, Nashville skyline nostalgia from the best Walmart car park in the country. An absolutely wild and slightly overwhelming experience returning here after (by sheer coincidence) exactly 8 years since I was last there. 🎞️ Portra 400 #analoguevibes #grainisgood #gulabiphoto

Hebridean dreamscapes / the blue of distance 📷 OM1 🎞️ exp. UltraMax

Outer Hebrides surf hunt 2024 part one. A re-do of the family summer holiday trip, upgraded from familiar Cornish waves to questing up and down the west coast of Harris and Lewis, comprised of soft light, wild wind, strong currents and regular tea breaks. 📷 OM-1, Kodak Gold #filmphotography #outerhebrides #scotlandonfilm

Delving into the summer archives. More moody b&w, snapped on a chill work day or two. Living up north again with lots of space to breathe, sit still in landscapes for a change, giving life back to creativity. More analogue experiments on the way! mountainsonfilm #gulabiphoto #scotlandonfilm

Bopping about with black and white rolls this summer to dial up the drama on all these grey days. Diabaig, June, Ilford HP5 400.

These are the example results of a double exposure workshop I created for an assignment at CAT this year. It’s probably entirely impractical but I think it’d be pretty cool if you could chuck a load of point and shoot film cameras at teenagers and teach them analogue photography techniques as a tool for mindful observation of their surroundings. The end product ideally would mean they merged nature and urban scenes together as a form of considered nature connection. This roll was taken at Balmaha and then reloaded to shoot again in Partick. It’s been a crazy intense process this year studying at the Centre for Alt Tech. I think it’s taking us to the places we’ll need to go, just by different paths than we might have originally thought.

Going to be back near these hills soon and I couldn’t be happier about it, looking forward to a bit of the peace and stillness of the west coast after a very hectic first half of the year. There’s only a few hours difference between these two shots from a cold morning in Portree back in February but they feel like the transition from winter to summer 💚

The behind the scenes for Entangled is out now on MPB! We’ve all got a lot of love for this brilliant BTS, which captures the heart and soul of an epic day climbing and filming together on the North Face of the Ben, all alongside the trials and tribulations of planning for anything in Scottish winter. Have to give a massive shout out to Rachel for the work she’s doing in supporting and creating opportunities for other creatives too - it’s one thing to be making incredible films in this industry but to be lifting others up while you’re at it is something else. This wee snippet from the film references that in part, where I was asked about my experiences as a female climber - leading to my first documented rant about the unrealistic representation and expectations of women in climbing, which will unlikely be my last, fair warning. Link in bio to watch! Supported by @mpbcom Directed and Edited by @rachelsarahm Cinematography by @ryan_balharry , @kat_bennett__ , @michael.fleming , @jimmyhyland_ and @rachelsarahm Safety by Connor Holdworth and @micheal.murphy , @atlasmountaineering Drone Cinematography by @jimmyhyland_ Creative Collaborator @emily_nicholl_ Featuring @mornabaillie and @kirstypallas

After some beautiful festivals, screenings, as well as an exhibition alongside other works and words around partnership and belaying, the short film Entangled is finally out to watch online. It feels like the perfect time to release this film as we watch the snow on the tops of the Scottish Mountains melting away, welcoming Spring. This is a wee snippet, and a favourite part of the film. If you’re in for four minutes of wintry loveliness, have a watch in the link in my bio. Thank you to the brilliant team behind this, and for @mpbcom for the commission of a behind the scenes… which may or may not be coming pretty soon, too. Directed and Edited by @rachelsarahm Cinematography by @ryan_balharry , @kat_bennett__ , @michael.fleming , @jimmyhyland_ and @rachelsarahm Safety by Connor Holdworth and @micheal.murphy , @atlasmountaineering Drone Cinematography by @jimmyhyland_ Creative Collaborator @emily_nicholl_ Featuring @mornabaillie and @kirstypallas Part of the collaborative project ‘Belaying as a kind of entangled togetherness…??”