Edge of the Storm
Photographer: Steve Scott
Kendal Mountain Festival Director and Presenter
Growing up in the Lake District, Steve relentlessly pursued a career in adventure sports. A former professional national team skier, ski coach and an accomplished professional paraglider pilot - he lived in the Alps for over 10 years. establishing his own Mountain Sports School with a French Mountain Guide colleague. His career subsequently took him to Norway for 4 years where he worked in publishing, coached juniors at Oslo Ski Club and also trained with telemark ski racers in Norway (he was also invited to tour with a Norwegian pro Telemark demo team in 1997).
Also a trained graphic designer with a background of working with reputable outdoor brands such as Petzl, Mountain Hardwear and The North Face, Steve worked with marketing and branding teams for over 20 years. Today, Steve is co-owner with his wife and CEO Jacqui of the highly respected Kendal Mountain Festival – the world’s premier cultural gathering for outdoor adventurers, brands and enthusiasts.
Steve’s adventures have taken him all over the world, skilled mountain athlete he still likes a challenge and when home, spends many hours in the fells of his home region in The Lake District national park.
Edge of the storm : Limited edition of 10 prints
£200 - A2 giclée print
£250 - Framed and mounted
If you wish to place and order (UK only) , please email john@illume.eco
“As a former professional paraglider pilot, I’ve long been captivated by the sky, especially the drama and artistry of cloud formations. I captured this photograph in 2022 in Death Valley, California, as a towering cumulonimbus storm began to build and advance towards us as we travelled south west through the national park. It remains one of my favourites, not just for its sheer scale, dwarfing the stunning layered geological landscape below, but for the turmoil it so vividly reveals: dagger-like rain curtains, the chaotic churn of air, and the heaving vertical surges shaped this ever-transforming giant.
Within minutes, the scene shifted from beauty to concern. What had been a calm, blistering summer’s day collapsed into a violent storm. We found ourselves alone in the valley, phones pinging with national weather alerts, as a sudden flash flood surrounded us and turned driving into a real challenge. We were apparently the only vehicle on that road at that moment and the sense of relief was palpable when the storm had passed, finally revealing the route ahead to us again.
For me, this image is a reminder of nature’s raw, untameable power—and of how small and fleeting we truly are when nature hits us with its full force. ”
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