My name is Gary Waidson although most people know me as Wayland. (Long Story.)

I’ve been a photographer for over thirty years, firstly with film and darkrooms, recently with digital and computers.

I specialise in landscape photography now but that often involves wilderness travel and camping so expedition photography has also become an interest, especially to the Arctic and other Sub Zero locations..

I earn most of my living these days explaining history, another of my passions, to kids in schools using unique living history presentations about the Vikings, Romans and even Pirates. Great fun but also a very effective teaching method.

This allows me some time to get out and immerse myself in the landscape, free from commercial constraints, considerations or compromises.

Recently I have been asked to pass on some of this experience by becoming a guest artist for Photo Tours Abroad.

My role will be to support, help and advise the photographers on tours to fantastic locations like Mongolia. I have been teaching photography on an informal basis for many years so this seems like a natural progression from that and also ties neatly in to my other interests as well.

Recently I have started to push the boundaries of my landscape images by exploring the “Dark Side” of night photography which can give a fascinating and fresh perspective to some of our iconic and often heavily photographed locations.

I have been fortunate enough to win a few awards and commendations for my work over the years but I still make images primarily to please myself which is an approach I advise anyone to take. It is difficult to develop an individual style if you are always trying to just please someone else.

I’ve moved about a bit over the years, growing up in the Midlands with family connections in Westmoreland, Studying Photography full time in Gloucestershire and now living with my partner Debbie and a very old terrier called Skadi near Saddleworth Moor in northern England.