A Skye-based photographer has begun compiling a unique photo-essay on the impact of the North Coast 500 on the environment and the communities within it.

Gavin Major took a series of photos "off-season" between December 2018 and February 2019, and his project is expected to take four years to complete.

The creative mix of colour and monochrome within his images gives them a stark or even unsettling feel.

Having lived and worked in Skye for more than 30 years, Mr Major has had a first-hand view of the effects of increased tourism.

He claims there is a difference in opinion among local people who live along the NC500 route between those who have enjoyed the benefits of increasing visitor numbers and those who feel this has had a negative impact on them.

Some of the perceived negative effects include increased litter and the strain on facilities to cope with additional tourist numbers. Mr Major said: "The North Coast 500 provides an ideal opportunity to try to find the story behind the headlines.

"The photographs themselves tell a story without criticism or commentary... it is not what we are looking at that is important, it is how we see it."

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