A last minute decision to get away for a one trip night to Glencoe! A quick plan of action for photos that I have been after, and a place to call home for the night. All packed up, I hit the road at about 3.30 full of excitement for the coming day and night. The forecast was looking great with 4mp wind speeds and clear sky’s, just about ideal conditions for a camp in one of Scotland’s wonders, Glencoe!.

 As a photographer, It’s quite hard to explain in words how I genuinely feel about Glencoe and scenery in general. Having not been to Glencoe for such a long time, the anticipation and expectations were somewhat overwhelming. OK, maybe this is just me, but being in the midst of such beautiful mountains and getting away from life’s worries and troubles, It really is my heaven.

I do usually try to be in Glencoe for a sunrise shot but on this occasion, I arrived in the area quicker than expected. It was still pitch black, the 2-3 hour journey went by very swiftly, so much so that I drove straight past Rannoch Moor.  That was first time I have ever done that!. I had totally forgot about the moon cycle, it was only about a 4% waxing crescent moon which means the moon is hardly visible at all, only a slight crest. With just a slither of moonlight, the darkness was confounding.

With realising my mistake, I make a quick U-Turn and headed back the way I came, just a few miles down the road I started thinking about the calm conditions and reflections. Should I stop at mouseville? (underneath a bridge in a previous blog where I met hundreds of mice). I have been after this shot for a long time with reflections of  Buachaille Etive Mór. I already have numerous photos but none that I am overly happy with. 

I parked up beside the bridge on the A82, just after the new Kingshouse hotel. With all equipment in hand and head torch and flash light on,  I went down the embankment with the hope and prayers that my furry friends were in hibernation.  Every step was taken with extreme caution and fear was on high alert whilst treading along the marshland. With head twitching at every sound, I finally made it without incident. 

I was now feeling the unwanted wind picking up as I scrambled down the hill and under the bridge, thinking “this is not going to work”.  I stood in the middle of the shallow stream with my welly boots on, I could see the ripples in the water all the way up the stream. After only a few minutes and a couple of exposure, I thought I would try somewhere else. 

I drove further up the road and stopped by the wee cottage at the start of the Devils Staircase. It was still pre sunrise I am still wondering where to go? Mountain or quiet stroll? My eyes were wondering across the horizon in search for the sun eventually residing on the sky. It was a lovely morning but the lack of clouds weren’t inspiring me at all. A stroll it is then! 

I set off in search for any new subjects of interest that I could perhaps come back to at sunset. The sun was rising behind me lighting the peaks of Munros, I found myself a nice quiet spot on a rock, nobody around for a couple of kilometres, and relaxed without even taking a picture. The uninterrupted silence and breathtaking views down the glen was inspirational in itself. It’s not always about the picture, it’s about being in a moment that will stay with you forever. 

I ventured further across the drenched heather and came across a stream, luckily, Scotland had some downpours of late and the water had plenty of energy. Although, very picturesque, I was having some trouble with the composition. Most of the time, I couldn’t see as much of the mountain I desired. I must have been there for about three hours when I finally stumbled upon a perfect little gem. The water was flowing fast enough through the stream for some foreground interest whilst the mountain was still dominant in the background. YES, I will be back for sunset. 

The rest of the day was filled by taking in the scenery and making plans for where to pitch the tent for the night. Although I already had a place in mind, I thought there was no harm at looking for alternatives. I went back to a place Ive camped before, beside the waterfall looking on to Buachaille Etive Mór but quickly changed my mind thinking of an elevated angle looking down the glen.

In February, time passes by at a glance and before I knew it, it was time to make a move to my original sunset location that I discovered previously. Clouds had drawn in at this point, especially on the horizon which dulls the the light hitting the upper clouds. I went with a vertical composition due to the proximity of the rushing water and how high the mountain was. Trying out numerous shutter speeds, 1/6 of a second looked best for me. It wasn’t hard to achieve that speed as the was now fading fast, (I didn’t stay long as thoughts of putting up my tent in the dark didn’t enamour me). I was still happy at finding this location and one that I will be back to in the near future. The photo was ok but could be so much better.

I arrived at my camp location with time to spare as darkness was closing in. I transferred my gear from my camera bag to my rucksack for the night and headed up the steep slope. It was only a short distance from my car to my vantage point but none the less, I was now getting very weary as it had been a long day. 

I set up my tent with ease with blue hour was starting to approach. The last of the climbers were coming off the hill as I greeted them as they past. Isn’t it funny how most hill walkers are mostly pleasant to each other, very different from your average town centre where you get a snarl or growl if you look at someone the wrong way. 

After setting up the camera ready to start shooting, I sat myself down at the edge of the tent just to take in the landscape. It dawned on me that my torches were in my main camera bag, which I left in the boot of my car! Well , this isn’t the most pleasant start to the evening. “I can’t  do without them” as I clambered backdown the hill skirting past the people that I had just spoken with. Totally exhausted, I now scrambled back up noticing a couple of rye smiles from the hillwalkers saying  “forgot something” as Im grimacing in pain due to my lack of fitness. Finally, I’m up whilst trying to slow my pulse down a little, in through the nose and out through the mouth ;) like I was taught at football some 25 years ago. 

I have actually still got time as the exposures were only about 4 seconds where I wanted about 20 seconds to capture the light trails. I took a further few test shots and just couldn’t balance the light at all. The headlights of the cars were so bright that I was clipping every shot (meaning no detail in the bright areas of the photo, just white). Bracketing the photo’s wouldn’t really have worked either as even three stops underexposed was too much for the highlights. I decided on blending two photos, one just for the the light trails and the other for the rest of the scene blending them in photoshop. 

On my last test shot, unbelievably, the battery died in the camera!! I hadn’t taken that many photo’s so I presumed the cold weather had killed them. “Now! Where did I put my spare batteries?” Yip, they are in my camera bag in the car!. Back down the hill, how on earth can I be so stupid to do that again!. I was back up the hill in no time to take a few shots before darkness set in still annoyed that I hadn’t checked my equipment. 

Time for a well deserved rest, I was so tired from going up and down that hill with the sweat lashing off me, I lay in my tent in a trance gazing up at my lantern. “What else can go wrong”.

After a couple of hours, I peaked outside, the wind was really picking up and temperatures are a little above freezing. I searched for a spot where I could use my phone to check the weather. The predicted 4 mile an hour winds had turned to 24 mile with gusts of 40mph. I was a little taken aback by the inaccuracy of the Met office! “this s definitely going to be a wild camp”.

 It’s not very often you can just look up to the stars in awe, but this was one of those occasions. To the normal person, night is night which means it's dark, but through the eyes of a photographer, it is very different. You need total darkness meaning no ambient light source which includes the moon, or any lights from towns etc. I am far enough away from Glencoe village along with a minuscule hint of a moon and very little light pollution at all. Millions of stars were gleaming as I hunted for the milky way, something that I had previously researched on where it would be. I got a quick shot of my tent with the mountains and the Milky Way when my camera froze. 

Before going on this trip, I forgot to format my memory cards. This is something I always make sure I do before leaving the house but on this occasion I just forgot. “Now, where are my memory cards” right again”, they are in my camera bag in my car!!!  

My main focus on this trip was to take some star shots so there was only one thing for it, back down the hill. Just to let you understand, if you have a pedometer or use a step counter, nearly 80,000 steps in a day. It’s windy and cold and I am de-layering with sweat pouring off as I climbed back up the hill . At least there is nothing else I could possibly forget! 

I took some photos of the Three Sisters with my tent in the foreground . Apart from the wind, the views were totally breathtaking. As I was climbing up a hill (several times), I only brought my travel tripod which is much lighter, but I have had no issues in the past. This time however, I turned my head for a split second and a gust of wind toppled the tripod over with the lens just missing a boulder. It continued to roll towards the edge of the cliff with camera still attached. Heart pumping, I gave chase, “Bloody hell Nooo” as I slid towards the edge of the cliff stopping it from plummeting over the vertical drop. With a bit of luck from my shoe lace, It had tangled up in the clip used to put the tripod up. Enough is enough, I have to get in side my tent before a large eagle swoops down and throws me off the edge. 

Now inside the warmth of my sleeping bag, It’s a time for reflection. It is so peaceful sleeping in a tent in the hills, nothing compares to it in my opinion. The solitude you feel being alone in nature and strange whistling sounds of the strong wind gliding over the tent, like previously said, a very humbling experience. 

I have two travel lanterns with me, one sitting at the foot of the tent and the other in the side pouch. My winter sleeping bag is doing a great job as Im actually very cozy while reading previously downloaded articles  onto my phone. I am engrossed in a story when my foot must have kicked over the lantern at my foot. It created a massive shadow across the side of the tent which I stupidly thought was a person. It was an exact replica of myself (obviously it’s a shadow)  except I was holding a torch! In my mind, the person was holding a knife. WELL!! In a moment  of complete madness, I shrieked!!! Lying on back, kicking side of the tent into oblivion frightened for my life. I was now trying to stand up not realising that I have a very small tent.  A rugby tackle was in order as I flung my whole body through the side opening, still in my sleeping bag I bounced off the side as the door was zipped shut. I am now basically in the same position I started, lying there, frozen still like a rabbit in headlights. 

Common sense prevailed after some serious palpitations, I don’t think I have ever been more scared in my entire life. The whole episode probably lasted for about 10 seconds but felt like about an hour! “why on earth would a serial killer be on the side of this mountain with me” as I gave myself a stern talking to. I lay awake for a further 30 minutes before dozing off.

Although I was drinking water most of the day, the amount of effort I endured climbing up and down that hill all night, I was very dehydrated. I woke up an hour later with severe cramp in my leg, I couldn't find my torch because of the previous nonsense with the serial killer. I did find my phone which was beside my head and managed to switch the torch opening the side panel, slithering outside like a caterpillar vigorously kicking the night air. Honest to goodness, the pain was awful. I still couldn’t find the zip to my sleeping bag and I had the hood over my head so I couldn’t see either. It was like fighting a straight jacket blindfolded!! The pain eventually subsided as I now lay underneath the stars with just my sleeping bag for protection. 

Morning was approaching while I’m still reminiscing about the previous day/nights encounters. Tiredness, dehydration and exhaustion are the reasons and I’m sticking to them. :)

Back in my tent and rather than just stay where I was, I heading up the mountain for a better vantage point of the glen below and the adjacent Three Sisters. I grabbed just the basics, camera tripod and filters and set off leaving all other items in the tent. I had no intention to summit the mountain as the fatigue for the nights escapades were far too much. I went a few hundred feet up and realised that my I still had my 20mm lens on the camera instead of the 16-35mm (I mostly use the 20mm for nights as it is a 1.8 aperture letting in more light for star shots).  The 16mm is only 4mm wider but it does make a huge difference. Realising my mistake, I just didn’t want to go any higher, I just found a nice plato and fired away exposing a few shots of what turned out to be a gorgeous sunrise. It just so happens, that I think I have knocked the internals of the 20mm lens as most of the photos from the morning were not sharp. Maybe it was something I did as I was jaded and light headed. 

This was without a doubt, the worst ever example of what not to do as a photographer! I don’t think I have ever made any of these mistakes before let alone all of them in the space of 12 hours. I sometimes have a few mishaps with animals which terrified me and can be amusing but not like this.

The experience was one I will never forget, all for the wrong reasons but the question is? Will I do it again?. Of course I will 😂