Meet Valerie Chenault, the photographer behind “Scotland: the Rugged and Wild.” This collection is a series of photos from a two-month long study abroad trip. Valerie is excited to share her love of Scotland and appreciation of nature, from the small details to the vast, sweeping landscapes.

Valerie spent two months of her 2022 summer abroad with a general education program, studying at both the University of Edinburgh and the University of St. Andrews. She made sure to pack her camera for the trip, taking it along for many of the outings and capturing the sights that interested her along the way. Many of the photos in this show were taken during a “highland fling,” a three-day trip that took students all around the Highlands. Valerie has enjoyed playing with perspective in her photos from this trip. She explains that there was “a lot to see, so there was a lot to take pictures of.” One of her favorites in the collection is Bird’s-Eye View, a shot that dramatically juxtaposes near and far, situated atop a hill and peering down to a beach far below.

A big influence in Valerie’s development as a photographer has been her father. He has always been passionate about photography, particularly pictures of nature, which has inspired Valerie enormously. Her interest in photography began in middle school with the small digital camera she first used. Nature has always been one of Valerie’s favorite subjects. To her, “it’s really cool because some of it has stood forever and even though it’s not [necessarily] a new picture, it’s new to you and it captures the memory for you.”

With this collection, Valerie wants to share her love for Scotland and its natural beauty, and to encourage others to travel there. This study abroad trip was her third time visiting the country, a place that she first fell in love with when she went for a high school trip to the British Isles. With a smile on her face, Valerie explains that every time she returns to Scotland, she falls in love with it all over again. Her love for this place and eye for natural beauty shines through in this series, and she encourages her viewers to get outside, look around and “find the little things that work.” 

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