David Yarrow, Skyfall (B&W)

Glencoe offers one of Scotland’s grandest locations, especially at the denouement of a winter storm. The cone shaped volcanic monolith of Buachaille Etive stands proud at the entrance as if it was a white hatted sentry guarding the national treasures in the glen beyond.

This is the celebrated gateway to the Scottish Highlands and a land known not just for its natural beauty, but for its bloody past, particularly the Clan feuds between the MacDonalds and the Campbells. The drive through Glencoe encourages a silent historical musing as intense as any road I know in the world. Shit happened here.

But there is also an untamed regality to the region that has long drawn filmmakers and, of course, this goes full circle, as this remote part of the world has long been associated with the Fleming family and particularly Ian Fleming - the creator of James Bond. He lived here before moving to Jamaica in 1946.

A pivotal sequence in the 2012 Bond movie “Skyfall” was shot on the road down from the A82 to what was Ian Fleming’s nephew’s shooting lodge - Dalness. The location was well chosen and all those that are drawn to the mournful beauty of Scotland, appreciated the subtle alchemy between Bond’s DB5 and the quintessential Highland topography. I doubt any other Bond location has as many daily visitors as that Glen Etive Road.

This panoramic was taken near the entrance to that road on the West Highland Way. We had watched the weather forecast every day for 10 days before the shoot and not in our wildest dreams did we ever expect the light and the snow cover to be this kind to us. We still had to move quickly with the props and I had to find compositional balance in my frame, but the weather was the transcending component. We were back at Dalness for breakfast.

This photograph is personal. Scotland is my home and I think we did Glencoe proud. No wonder Sam Mendes chose to shoot here in the Skyfall movie and the truth is that we got luckier than him with the weather.

I would like to thank the Alba Police force and Phil Fleming for their help in making this shoot happen.