A scots gamekeeper has proved he is a great shot – with a camera.

 

John MacTavish, a keeper on a 1,500 acre farm and pheasant shoot in Lochnell, Oban, takes stunning pictures whilst at work.

 

The snaps include his dogs – three Springer Spaniels and a Cocker Spaniel – leaping through the air and jumping through streams as they race after and collect pheasants.

 

He has also managed to capture incredibly detailed images of birds mid-flight, as well as shots of other gamekeepers with their kills.

 

His pictures are so breathtaking they have made several front covers of the ‘Shooting Times’, the UK’s leading weekly shooting magazine.

 

The 48-year old developed a passion for taking photographs whilst at school. His first camera was a Zenit TTL, which he describes as an “awful thing”.

 

He now owns three Canon cameras with six lenses, ranging from 15mm to 600mm. The lenses alone can cost up to £9,000.

 

John, who has never had any photography training, said: “The most enjoyable thing with photography is getting a sharp shot of something the eye only sees for a blink. It’s not easy, but when it comes off it’s enough to drive me onto the next one.”