There’s something reassuring about Colin Prior’s Scottish landscapes. Maybe it’s the classic simplicity of his mountain compositions. Or the extraordinary colour palettes, the well-observed detail, the unfailing beauty of the light. Maybe it’s the fact that his signature images over the years have tended to be panoramas, shot on acres of transparency film in the 617 format. Or it could just be that these sumptuous visions of Scotland are made all the more imperious because of their near-universal lack of foreground markers. Whatever part of the narrative it is that arrests your eye, each frame bears the hallmark of a master craftsman. You cannot call yourself an aficionado of landscape photography if you are not familiar with Prior’s portfolio. And yet, despite having an enviable reputation as a photographic force to be reckoned with, the Scotsman admits he’s uneasy about current trends in the world of photography, and not just because it affects his career. He also thinks the broad church of the artform itself is being diminished by a shift towards limitless non-quality-assured publishing opportunities on digital platforms. This is having a negative impact on the economic model for old-school pro photographers, a group in which Prior includes himself. ‘If you look back to the past when stills photography was the apex medium for advertising,’ says Prior, ‘photographers were getting good day rates and were working on big commercial jobs. There were big budgets and there were great stories in the magazines. Each month passed and there was something new. Plus, of course, there were all the stock guys out there, travelling the world shooting images that were largely brought by the travel industry.’