Scotland Through A Lens: James Alroca

June 7, 2024 | Culture

James Alroca has always been inspired by bold, eye-catching colours, so it is no surprise that Scotland’s radiant landscape serves as the perfect muse.

I was born in Strasbourg, France, to an English mother and a French father. I lived in France until I was ten-years-old, then moved to Brussels, Belgium, and then to England, before Scotland where I live semi-permanently now, in my van.

My love for photography really began in North Wales at Bangor University. Photography got me outside, wanting to chase the ever-changing conditions and share them with the world, appreciating nature with everyone. I suffered from a fair bit of anxiety during university so becoming passionate about something, and the sense of purpose I gained from photography, really helped overcome any difficulties. I think being passionate about something, whether it’s photography, hiking, running, painting, is for sure a great thing for your mental health, helping to keep the mind busy.

The vast amount of colours in the Scottish landscape is inspiring. The incredible colours in autumn, the spectacular white winters, the beautiful summer sun making everything green, the rain and the weather have made Scotland such a varied landscape. Every season brings different colours. For example, when you go to the Cairngorms you’ve got green, you’ve got purple, orange and reds in all the foliage and then you go to the beaches in the north where there are turquoise seas and white sand. It’s just a very colourful country and I like to use the colours to try to create eye-catching imagery. I also love the ever-changing weather which impacts the colours in the landscape. It makes shooting in Scotland incredibly exciting, you never really know whether there’s going to be a sudden ray of light or an amazing cloud formation.

There are so many magical places to capture images in Scotland. From Torridon, to the Cairngorms or the Hebrides, the Isle of Skye, Glencoe and the beaches up North. But, if I had to choose my favourite experience so far, it would probably be my visit to the Isle of Lewis and Harris. The beaches over there just blew me away and the desolateness of the landscape was amazing.

For me colours are one of my favourite aspects to work with. I’ve always loved colours ever since growing up. I remember once at school wearing turquoise chinos and a bright orange Lyle & Scott jumper on non-uniform day, thinking I was the bees’ knees. Video games also incorporate a lot of fascinating colours and I’ve always been a lover of video games and growing up I was also a fan of Yu-gi-oh and Pokemon (still am to this day), and I was always a fan of the artworks. The colours used in the artworks really inspire me and are probably why I’m a huge fan of colour and why my work incorporates a lot of colour. Bright eye-catching colours are what I seem to like and chase most, which is why autumn is one of my favourite seasons as the colours are just breathtaking.