The Forth Bridges To St Abbs
Ive been a bit quiet on blogs in recent months due to unforeseen circumstances. I have still been photographing the local area and more precisely, the Forth Bridges.
A while ago they changed the layout of Port Edgar in South Queensferry making it much more accessible. They now have a car park at the start, instead of having to wait for the main gate to open which of course, was never open at the times I wanted to photograph.
Before photographing anything at all, I always have an idea of what you are looking for in the final result. As I have scouted the area on several occasions and shot many pictures, I know the angle I like best. I don’t think will come as a surprise if you have looked at previous photos from me.
The Last Few Weeks
The Last Few Weeks
It’s been an interesting last few weeks photographing closer to home. All the places I have visited, I have been to several times before. That is the wonder of landscape photography, I just don’t get bored going the same place over and over again. Even if that means getting out my bed and roaming about in the freezing cold, only to find that you did that It’s all for nothing as the light doesn’t materialise. Also, Im not sure if it’s just me, but unexpected occurrences always happen along the way. I think il save the best story until last.
Education Project
Ravencraig Castle from main entrance
After arriving at Ravenscraig Park, the first visit will be to Ravenscraig Castle. The castle was built around 1460 by King James 2nd for his wife Mary Guelders. The Castle was one of the first in Scotland to withstand canon fire. The king died in an accident in the Scottish Borders shortly after construction began. Mary decided to go ahead as a memorial to him. Mary only stayed in the castle for about two years until her death in 1463, when only the east tower and basement of the central section were built. After her death, ownership of the castle passed on to her son James 3rd but soon after, he gave up the castle and grounds to the Sinclair family in exchange for the earldom of Orkney in 1471. During the coming years they had built another house on the estate called the “Hermitage”.
The Bridge
In 1660, Oliver Cromwell invaded Scotland where he attacked and damaged Ravencraig Castle, he occupied the area for five years before leaving. In 1722 a fire destroyed the Hermitage but it was rebuilt in 1726 and renamed “Dysart House” The Sinclair family continued to own the building. Due to the bankruptcy of the 5th earl of Rosslyn, the castle and grounds were acquired by Michael Nairn, who had made his fortune manufacturing linoleum. During the first world war, the castle was used as an ammunition base. In 1929, the Nairn Family gave 85 acres of the estate to the town of Kirkcaldy and was later opened as a public park.
Ravencraig from the steps to the beach
Ravenscraig Castle from above
The park was once called the “Three Trees Park” in memory of the three Sinclair brothers and legend has it, they mistakenly killed each other thinking each other were robbers, three trees were planted close to the castle in memory.
The castle is now managed by Historic Scotland and is protected as a “Ancient Monument”. Dysart House was bought by the Carmelite convent and is still occupied by the nuns to this day.
The Doocot from the steps
The grounds in the park still have some fascinating features to explore like the “doocot” or “dovecotes”. You will find them on the way down to Pathhead Sands. They were thought to have built around the same time as the castle, and are still used today although no access can be seen from the outside, only through the top. This was generally a status symbol and only large landowners or nobles had them.
Dysart has some other historical values with “St Serf” an historical or legendary holy man who visited around 500AD to a cave to fight off the Devil. He used the cave as retreat or “desertum in latin”, and is thought that is where Dysart got it’s name. The cave is in the grounds of the Carmelite monastery and was once a pilgrimage site in the 16th century.
The Lookout tower on the grounds of the park
Looking across to the lookout towers.
The West tower of the castle is still standing
Looking towards old harbour wall
On to Seafield Tower to the west side of Kirkcaldy and one of the first sightings is, the broken arm of the old harbour wall. It may seem to have been the conclusion of a massive storm but in-fact, was an industrial mistake around 1900 and the pier was never completed. The whole stretch of coastline offers some fantastic views with plentiful wildlife along with beautiful rock formations. These rock formations seemingly date back millions of years and are believed to have come from a volcanic source such as the Binn hill sitting at the back of Burntisland.
From the banks in front of the harbour wall
The walk out to the tower
Seafield tower was built around the same time as Ravenscraig in the 16th century. The lands of Seafield and Markinch were given to Robert Multrare by King James 2nd in 1443 and the family held on to it for nearly 200 years until 1631 when it was sold to the Arch bishop of Glasgow “James Law” who died a year later. The last owner was the Methven of Raith who abandoned it in 1733.
Seafield Tower from above
The structure was made of red sandstone and as a result, it has not weathered well as the rock is much softer. Looking around the area, there are many inscriptions on the ground but it is unclear when they were done even though some have dates.
Carving of a seal
The whole area is mostly limestone and sandstone which creates and shapes the rock formations into layered rocks and pools in every direction.
Another inscription the dates
The ruined tower
When the tide is in and the rocks are surrounded with water, seals can be seen basking in the sunshine.
Sammy the Seal
Seafield Treasure Hunt
Clue 1
At the start of the harbour wall,
Onto the beach, pebbles big and small,
Beneath the graffiti, a lonely stone you will find,
To get the prize it must be mined.
Clue 2
With a view of the old pier,
Four big rocks in an arch are near,
On the stoney wall, is an unearthly orange brick,
To find the treasure you must unpick.
Clue 3
Beside the castle lies a carved seal,
The hidden mysteries still to reveal,
Below the green grass there’s a wee rock pool,
Move the out of place rock to find the jewel.
A Camp In Skye
Another brief visit to the Isle of Skye and a stay at Sligachan campsite. I had made plans, prior to my visit, of the photos I wanted to capture. These plans were disrupted almost immediately with the ever changing Scottish weather.
I arrived to very windy conditions, which meant setting the tent up was no easy task. My wife and I struggled significantly and a five minute event turned out to be 40 mins. With the Met Office news that the winds were dropping every hour, I became somewhat more relaxed and relieved.
After a five hour journey to the campsite and fighting to get the tent up, I was remarkably tired and thoughts of searching for that elusive photo had gone. It is just as well that a stroll across the road and a 3 minute walk and I’m staring at utter beauty. Bridges, steams, waterfalls!, Sligachan has everything you want as a photographer.
I took a few shots of the tourists view, with the bridge in the foreground with the dominating Cuillin mountains in the back. The sunset was beautiful! I snapped a few pictures in aperture priority at F11 for depth of field and then switched to do some long exposures. Without thinking really, I checked the 10 stop setting on my phone, put in the big stopper (10 stop filter) and fired off a 3 minute exposure. Everything looked good on the back of the camera and with the light dimming, I adjusted the settings further to 3.30 secs for the second shot. As sunsets only last for a very short duration, I was thinking that that would be it for that evening. As time ticked past, I got a sinking feeling that something wasn’t quite right. That exposure should have been much longer!!! I know rough times of settings with filters attached and this was all wrong. It could only have been that the ISO had changed significantly. Thinking “I only ever change ISO for portraits, weddings and night photography” Night!!!! I had been out a couple of nights prior trying to capture the aurora.
Well now!! There is a mistake I have not made in years, 1000 ISO on every shot.
I must admit, I wasn’t too pleased with myself and was thinking “I just wasted a evening” but to be honest, just being there watching the sun slowly fall behind those incredible jaggy peaks of the Cuillins was special enough.
The following days forecast set to be glorious sunshine with zero clouds. It was actually hard to get out of the sleeping bag the following morning, a frozen tent and temperatures at -5, I set out up Sligachan, looking for a composition that would allow me limit the sky to minimal in the photo. Unfortunately, I was too early in the season for the water to be gushing down the valley, or should I say, the Scottish winter has lasted a lot longer this year.
The first waterfall was barley a trickle, the second one was better but I couldn’t find a composition. Finally, I came across a scene with promise, a waterfall that actually had some flowing water. As I was trying to eliminate as much sky as possible (a plain blue sky doesn’t make a great photo), I went for a vertical shot getting very close to the water. Using a wide angle lens and the mountains in in very top of the frame, the waterfall was exaggerated while the morning pink hue from the sunrise behind me illuminated by the glorious white hills.
I did go back the following day for some sunrise shots in the same area, but I wasn’t too happy with the results. The thoughts that morning were to create something a bit different to what I have researched online. As previously mentioned in the waterfall shot, the sun was rising from behind where I was shooting, making my preferred shot of the mountains unlikely due to the “good light”. However, as there were no clouds in the sky, the rising sun would hopefully light up the peaks whilst keeping the foreground darker creating a lovely contrast.
Here are a few shots from that morning.
The following day, I drove to my favourite location in photography and to the Quiraing. It forms part of the Trotternish Ridge which was created by landslips. It is full of hidden gems for landscape photographers, but if you’re not a walker, you can get out your car and literally start shooting. My plan was to go for a long walk over the top of the ridge itself (the opposite route from the tourist path) but the weather was not on my side. There were extremely high winds with massive gusts making hill walking slightly dangerous, especially where I had planned to walk. I decided to give it a go, the ridge was on my left had side and the winds were swirling as we headed up the steep, rocky hill. I had my wife with me on this occasion, and I was a bit wary of this as the path is close the the cliffs edge and she is just a wee thing.
As we climbed higher, I could tell that this was certainly not a day for exploration. The wind was just about knocking me off my feet, as I turned to check on my wife, she was down on all fours like a panther praying on it’s kill, “time to call it a day I think”. Safety is paramount on any walk so we headed back down, this was really only a reccy to find a new location.
A quick stop at Elgol was the final destination for the day. Although having been here lots of times, there is something that keeps me coming back, whether it be the mountains or seascape. The only problem is (for my style of shooting anyway), I look for a dominant foreground subject. All the rocks are the same regardless of how far you travel round the coast, and the although the wind speeds were extremely high, there was little movement in the water which was very unusual.
I stayed for a couple of hours shooting different scenes but nothing stood out. Elgol is a very beautiful place to visit where most visitors go to catch a boat ride, but a very hard place to get a unique photo.
On waking up on the final day, it was a feeling of disappointment with another grey sky looming over the beautiful landscape. All the usual thoughts were entering my head, black and white? High contrast?, seascape? Eventually I thought Eilean Donan castle! Like most of the photos from the last few days, another shot of a previous location. I was a bit disheartened with going to another location visited by millions of people, but It is a gorgeous castle and suits black and white photography!
We left early with the hope of slightly better light ( although grey skies, a rising sun with full cloud cover would act like a giant soft box ). Like all visits to this majestic castle, it was simply stunning! I always want the best available light, and although it was grey, the light was still fantastic. The sun was shining through the gloomy, almost dark sky with the sun shining directly on the left hand side of the castle. I shot this both in horizontal and vertical for a alternative perspective.
The shots were ok and well worth taking!
Overall, the the weather got the best of me on this trip. The photography as shown, wasn’t the best but the experience was still superb.
Glencoe Feb 18
Another quick trip to Glencoe as the weather forecast was looking pretty good.
I basically went up looking for one photograph that was worthy to put in my portfolio.
I arrived in Glencoe around noon to glorious sunshine, there were a few clouds in the sky to make ideal photographic conditions.
I stopped of at my usual place of Rannoch Moor, just to have a quick look around the area for something a bit different. I walked further in to the moor than I have done in the past with the hope of finding that elusive composition. I eventually came across a scene very similar to prior shots but with a completely different foreground element. As I set up the camera, clouds swept in blocking all light from the scene leaving it very flat. I packed up without clicking the shutter once and headed for some lunch.
I opted for the healthy choice 😁, Bacon and Black pudding roll cooked on my little Jet boil portable gas stove. With cooking underway, I looked over some possible scenes I had taken with my phone when the frying pan slipped ( I forgot to put the stand on the bottom). First things first, save the bacon!! With reactions fast as lighting, I grabbed the pan mid air to my great delight, congratulating myself whilst placing it on the icy path. I noticed that the pan connection had came away from the top of the stove. Hungry for lunch “Il just put it back on” lifting it without a care in the world, forgetting that it had just been boiling for 5 minutes. Honestly, the words coming out my mouth, I could never repeat, my finger almost stuck to the red hot steel ring. I gave myself a right good talking to whilst nursing my blisters 😒 😀.
Patched up, I returned to Rannoch Moor as the sun was lower in the sky and the clouds were not blocking the all of the light. There were lots of little piles of hay or straw which is what attracted me to the scene, the sun was coming through illuminating the whole foreground. I wanted an etherial feel so I put on a 10 stop filter to move the clouds whilst giving the straw a much softer look unlike the reality of harsh needle like objects. The photo turned out ok, just something a bit different.
As I wasn’t really prepared for this trip, I had no plans for a sunset shot. I made a quick stop to one of my usual spots to check how the reflections were but, sadly, not to be. I snapped a few shots here before heading further down the road to the waterfall.
I visit here every time I’m in Glencoe. You may think that might be mad, but all weather conditions unveil a completely new photograph. I stayed here for sunset knowing that this wasn’t going to to the photo I was hoping for. With 45 minuses to go until sunset and not another car in sight, I was looking forward to a peaceful end to the day. Out of nowhere, a packed car pulls up unloading 5 photographers! A tour no less. Hopes for tranquility disappeared whilst standing in a line like queuing for a bus. This is certainly not my ideal ideal ending to the day, but everyone has got a right to be there.
I took a few shots and chose a vertical composition for variety, as the scene was leading that way with beautiful colour in the sky.
I did plan on doing doing some astro photography but conditions weren’t quite right with a haze in the air. Time to get back for a quick ale before the next mornings adventure.
I kept debating with myself on where to go the following morning! I have been here so many times but there is always one photo that eluded me that I really wanted. I have seen it in articles in magazines but never ventured there. The photo is of Buachaille Etive Mor taken from Beinn a’Chrulaiste. As a inexperienced hill walker, the thought of going up 3000 feet in the dark was a bit risky, especially in winter. I have been up mountains but not in the darkness of night. Common sense didn’t prevail as I made my way up. Head torch on as well as my high powered torch I set a route. To be honest, It made no difference what route I set, as I ventured off the route almost as soon as I started. To get the photo I wanted, I had to near the cliffs edge as I didn’t want any distractions in the foreground. At around 800 feet, I put on the crampons as I had already been on my bum twice, soaking and cold, I really didn't fancy sledging down the mountain on my ass. The snow was getting deeper or should I say “ice” as I don’t think it had snowed in a few days. The wind was on the rise with big gusts flowing through the glen which made conditions for the tripod very tricky indeed. Never the less, my first shot I set up was at around the 700 feet. It was still well before sunrise but the colours were gorgeous with magenta overwhelming the morning sky.
No time to stop as I had to gain more elevation for the shot I wanted. As I approached the 3000 feet barrier, just below the summit, there was enough of a ridge to block some of the wind enabling me to shoot a couple of long exposures. To do this, I had to open my jacket and shield the camera for about 30 seconds. This was as hard as walking up the hill as my jacket was like a sail, every bit of energy I had was spent on keeping my feet on the ground. I was thinking “ one big gust and ill be on that mountain Im trying to photograph” but all ended well and very pleased with the results.
As I don't come up to this altitude very often, I hung around for the colours to change. A similar result but a bit more drama in the sky and a much shorter exposure time. Carrying all that gear up a mountain was very tough but totally worth it. I will make more of an effort in the future! The view of a mountain from an elevated point is fantastic.
For one last image, I thought I would do a panorama which is something that I don't usually do. The perspective on the mountains change dramatically but with post processing tools, its much easier to correct the distortion. This is a stitched 7 shot vertical pano taken from the same place as the above photo. You can see the mountains appear further away.
Glencoe 29/11/17
Just back from a couple of days in Glencoe shooting some landscape photos.
As I have been to Glencoe so many times, I feel genuinely comfortable with the area and its surroundings. That said, you can sometimes become too reliant on the on common and most photographed scenes.
I tried to focus on not getting any images already achieved in my portfolio while realising that every shot is different.
I started my journey with with a sunset shot, I went to the Three Sisters. The forecast was meant to be good but you never know when you are in the mountains. I parked up and started to climb the hill on the opposite side to the Sisters to get a better vantage point of the valley. I have shot here in the past and knew exactly what I wanted. There was slight colour at the end of the valley but I could visibly see the the snow drifting towards me. I am now getting storm alerts going off on my watch and with temperatures plummeting, I called it a day with 15 minutes to go until sunset. This is the very first time I have given up on a shoot. The shot turned out fine but I would have to give it another go the following day.
Day 2 and raring to go! Sunrise and Sunset within a about a 7 hour window. Rannoch Moor was the destination. I set off early with the Met Office promise of clear sky’s hoping for some star shots, unfortunately for me, there was complete cloud cover. I have no knowledge of forecasting but that was ridiculous, either that or they don’t update there apps that often. I arrived to find myself alone, no other photographers to be seen which is so unusual with a 8.15 sunrise on such a beautiful area. With sunrise fast approaching, the clouds were dispersing leaving a solitary pink one directly above the glowing mountains. The composition was very simple and chose to shoot at 30mm to make the hills more prominent as oppose to my usual 16mm wide open.
Leaving Rannoch Moor, I went back to the previous nights position as the light was still superb with beautiful colour in the clouds. I managed to get a couple of shots in before the light changed dramatically. Everything went gloomy as I was heading further up the mountain. Another 100 meters up and it was getting darker, as the snow and clouds drifted across and down the valley below. I took these two pictures within half an hour of each other, It shows how quickly the mountain weather can change.
For sunset, I ventured further down the A82 to get a full shot of Buachaille Etive Mor. I parked next to a wee bridge at the side of the road and headed for the river, about 200 yards along the marshy grassy embankment. I was hoping for another refection, its quite a popular choice of shot but still worth shooting. The wind had picked up a few miles an hour now which was very disappointing as that would ruin any chance of reflections. I was tempted to move location but having done this before and lost potentially good shots, I opted stay and the sun was setting in the perfect place, between the two mountains. Again, another straight forward composition, with the dominant mountain in the centre with the leading line of the river, the sun setting on the left and a hint of reflection. I shot a couple of pictures here with massively different results. The fist one as the sun was setting and the second, a much longer exposure creating a surreal effect.
I am now absolutely freezing as having been standing in the same place for about 2 hours, it was time to make my way back to the car. With twilight gone and darkness set, torch in hand I made made my way back, with only the sound of the roaring cars from the A82 at my right hand side. About half way back, this wee creature darted past my foot! (Now for anybody that knows me, I really don’t do small creatures, especially furry ones.) I paused and pointed the torch at my feet, “A field mouse” my pulse now at about 150 and 2 seconds feel like a minute. The whole field mouse family decided to attack me. A quick shriek and I started running!! Now its not that easy with a 25kg backpack and tripod. With legs flailing, I danced back to the car with the occasional three metre step and extending my knees up to my chin. They were everywhere, Im not actually sure who was most scared, me or the mice. I can only imagine what the mice must have been thinking, “we are only little you big Jessy” The passing traffic must have thought I was a complete lunatic. All I was thinking was “that photo was was never worth this” I was almost tempted to shout for help. 😁
On the third day I woke up to find not a breath of wind in the air, a perfect morning for some reflections. I went to the area opposite the Devil’s Staircase, an absolutely beautiful area with a small cottage, a stream and an imposing mountain as the backdrop. Most people normally shoot directly down the valley but as the sun was rising in the east, I wanted a bit of colour and impact in the photo so chose a spot further up the stream. It was a beautiful morning but there was still a band of cloud sitting on the distant horizon. I tried a lot of angles on this day before settling for this composition. To emphasise the reflections, I wanted quite a bit of movement in the clouds, I also wanted everything as sharp as possible. I shot this at F16 for DOF while using a six stop filter giving an exposure time of about 1 min 20 secs. I must say, I do like the way this turned out!
On my way home and with another freezing but calm morning, one last stop off at a previous shot I took on the first day, Rannoch Moor. I had just missed sunrise as I was at the wee cottage but there was still gorgeous light on the hills and beautiful reflections on the water. Although not a colourful shot, I still think it makes for a nice image.
A quick Jaunt to Glencoe
At the last minute, I decided to venture up to Glencoe for a one night camp. The weather looked fantastic with clear skies after sunset which would be perfect for some astro photos.
As this was a last minute thing, I did very little research on places to shoot and took a chance on new locations. My first location was an early morning visit to the three sisters to shoot the down the valley. I wanted a slightly elevated view to get a better perspective so I climbed the closest hill with a view to camping later that day. Now!, I'm sure this is a popular spot to shoot from but I loved the overall scene, I tried a further 100 meters further up the hill but was losing the right hand side of the valley. Back down to the original spot and took a couple of test shots hoping it would be a perfect spot to take in the night sky. Unfortunately, the wind speed was increasing more now and took the decision to find an alternative place to pitch up for the night. I will definitely be back to this spot but here is a shot of my time there.
When you struggle and come unprepared for the location, I tend to “go with what you know” and headed back to my beloved waterfalls.
Who would have thought it, Scotland has had a drought so early in the year!! Well, I should say, a massive lack of rainfall. The steams, waterfalls and valleys are desperately barrenwhich totally destroys any possible shot that I was looking for. As this was the afternoon, I had plenty of time to locate a sunset shot. I searched the area looking for anything with contrast, leading lines or beautiful foreground. Nothing!! or should I say, “nothing that appealed to me”. Never the less, I was too tired to drive anywhere else so I pitched the tent.
As I had set up camp in a hotspot area for photographers, I had the opportunity to meet some very nice people ( and one idiot). It really does amaze me why people think one brand of camera is better than other, obviously, the man has no sense and deluded to think it’s the camera that takes the photo!!
As the day drew to a close, I still hadn’t found a shot, even in the gorgeous surroundings. To be honest, I wasn't to bothered. I had a lovely chat with this young fellow who was hill walking during the day. Unfortunately, I never got his name but it was truly great to see a young lad out climbing hills himself.
I still had my camera set up for some sort of night shot and again, the uncontrollable weather intervened. A very strong haze never lifted all day and as it was a last minute dash, I never checked the position of the moon or its chart. Anyway, at about 1am I went out for some photos, the moon was right about the mountain taking away any chance I had at astro photos. I just had some fun with jumping in my shots.
After such a short night and 3 hours sleep, I went a couple of miles up the road to the small quaint cottage where the river flows towards the mountains. Apart from the lack of clouds, it was a beautiful morning, I waited for the sun to light up the tops of the hills and exposed a few shots. It was 5.30am and I was the only person there! the peacefulness and tranquility of that morning was honestly, one of the best I've ever had, truly stunning with the mist blowing through the valley and the tops of the mountains glowing a red colour. Unforgettable experience.
Finally, on the way home, I couldnt resist one last shot. It was still early and the sun was shining directly on Buachaille Etive Mor, I stopped off at the bridge and clambered down towards the river. There was no real foreground interest but I had a beautiful reflection, why not eh!
Skye March 2017
Oh the Scottish weather! What more can I say about my recent trip to the Isle of Skye.
As most readers of my blog will know, I have been to Skye on several occasions now. I try to go in different seasons to experiment and experience all the weather conditions. The one thing about the Western Isles of Scotland is that no season is predictable and this was certainly no exception.
I always have two options for my journey to Skye, one being the A9 and the other being the A82 which is about 45 minutes longer. Since I was travelling during the day and lacking “good light” I was sorely tempted with the shorter of the two routes. Ultimately though, I chose the A82 as it goes directly through Glencoe. I wasn't hoping for anything other than the scenic route through the mountains. The weather was pretty miserable but I stopped off at the Kings House for a break, it was gloomy, misty and drizzling so I was about to set on my way when this deer popped up right in front of me!. Well the setting was perfect with Buachaille Etive Mor as the back drop, I just had to take a couple of snaps.
Onwards to Skye! My main goals for this trip was to capture the conditions of the Scottish Highlands and what better place to start than Sligachan. A beautiful setting between Broadford and Portree where the rivers, streams and waterfalls all lead to the magnificent Black Cuillins hills.
The weather managed to clear slightly in time for a sunset shot but sadly there wasn't a particularly good sky. I made my way up the side of the river (wellies needed), the ground is completely marsh land, especially the further you venture. I had previously been to the same spot in October but was hoping for a stronger current of water to exaggerate the flow. I say they are falls but they are mainly just drops in the river, some only a couple of feet but do make for a great image. This first photo is wide angle covering the wholeupper scene, with so much cloud cover, the foreground was extremely dark while the sky remained somewhat brighter.
The second image was more difficult to get jumping onto the middle of the very slippery rocks to get much closer to the base trying to add some dynamism and drama.
As there was snow predicted in a couple of days, I decided that I would come back to the exact spot for Tuesdays sunset.
Monday and I headed for my favourite location on the Isle, Quiraing!. Unfortunately, the winds were so high I could barley stand. Maybe not my finest choice of destinations given the 50 mile an hour wind speed. There was no chance of getting a tripod to stay vertical on top of the ridge so took cover between the road and the lower part of Quiraing, not my first choice for sure but the light was reasonable and wanted to get a shot. I searched for a composition and found this stream, running down the cliff to the road, which in-turn, was leading to the pinnacles. Not my usual kind of photograph but I think it works well.
As I was staying in Broadford, the road back passes by Sligachan again so had to stop off for a shot of the bridge with beautiful light above. The winds had slightly dropped and was able to get about a 15 second exposure using an umbrella to shield the wind.
My final day on Skye and the Met office was actually spot on for a change, I woke up to snow!
I didn't want to travel too far that morning, but I did venture out. Unfortunately, the sky was filled with snow clouds, grey and with no definition.
Back to the hotel for a spot of breakfast! As I was still so early, I was the only person dining in the restaurant. The waiter greeted me andasked if I would like the window seat, with the gorgeous settings outside and the large windows, how could I refuse. Waiting for my pot of tea and anticipating the buffet breakfast, I went to make a slice of toast. On arrival back to my table, I started to butter my toast but spreading wasn't that easy, I opted for a different knife as I had four different ones at the table. “Yip, this one is sharper” as I could actually get through the butter.
The restaurant was still empty but I got the sense of being watched! I looked up the the waiter is standing centre floor just looking at me with a slight shake of the head. Feeling a little uncomfortable, I looked out the large windows onto the bay only to see a reflection of my jacket at the table behind me. “OH NO” I came back from the toaster and sat at the wrong table. By this time, other guests were being shown to there chairs, meanwhile Im doing my upmost to disguise my actions, swapping cutlery and wiping the table with my sleeve. Luckily the waiter was so nice, he had been watching me the whole time and saw the funny side of my cleaning escapades.
I have been to Skye many times in the last couple of years but never with snow on the lower grounds. The winds had dropped to a manageable level where I can actually use a tripod, so back to Quiraing. As I approached, it started snowing again and it was lying on the roads, my first thought was that I might not get up the hill to the ridge. It turned out to be fine and to my amazement, I was the only car! It was sunrise but no light, just a grey somber looking sky with not so much as a hint of colour. I went on the walk the ridge anyway as the whole area had a unique look about it almost painterly. I walked for about 3 kilometres, before the blizzards started, pondering how much snowfall would come? I stayed in the same spot for about 2 hours, just waiting on any window opportunity I could get with a clear shot. While standing about, I heard what seemed to be a dump truck unloading material or rocks, now this is a common sound in central Scotland so my brain didn't compute the noise initially. It took a few seconds to realise where I was, nope! “no trucks here!” part the the ridge had given way and collapsed sending boulders tumbling, eerie to say the least. In a bit of a rush now I fired off a couple of shots and headed back with thoughts of the slippery drive back.
By now it was snowing heavily, to the point where I couldn't even see the road! My car, a small front wheel drive, wasn't coping too well so I stopped at the Old Man of Storr for a break. A spot of lunch and a stupid brain wave, “ let’s go up Storr” no idea what I was thinking about I left the car and headed upwards with full winter gear on. Always the optimist, I thought I would get a break in the weather to get the camera out. Oh my goodness, how I wrong was I! snow, hail, strong winds, truly terrible conditions. I still got the camera out for one shot to showcase the conditions of a white Storr.
Back to Sligachan for a rest and to my surprise, out comes the sun! This is the shot I have been looking for. I started with the usual shot of the bridge as the light looked fantastic, from there I headed upstream to the waterfalls. It really is remarkable how snow changes the overall image as you can see from the photos. I stayed here until it was just about completely dark, not one of my better moves as trying to navigatethe swamps is very tricky.
Time to head home via Glencoe to get another shot of the famous Buachaille Etive Morbut this time, it wasn't going to be a sunrise or sunset shot. As this was during the day, I went for a long exposure to give it come drama. It was perfect conditions for this as the clouds were moving quickly.
Glencoe November 2016
Another visit to Glencoe in the Scottish highlands with no high expectations of great photography!
The weather forecast was actually too good with blue sky for the majority of the day, certainly not ideal conditions for a good landscape photo.
As I was aware of the cloudless sky, I wasn't really bothered with a sunrise shoot so left the house much later. After a couple of hours drive in really icy conditions, I approached Rannoch Moor (about 10 miles shy of Glencoe). Unexpectedly, I arrived about half an hour before sunrise and the sky was absolutely gorgeous, albeit with no clouds. It was glowing a soft magenta colour which in turn was reflecting off the snow. I dumped the car at the roadside and headed for the moor franticly searching for some kind of foreground interest. Luckily there was a solitary frost covered tree with a beautiful backdrop of snow covered hills with a hint of orange glow, almost christmas card like!
From there I headed to my favourite place which I have shot countless times, a small waterfall nearthe entrance to Loch Etive. I ventured out the car to temperatures of -11, as expected, the waterfall was solid. I took a couple of quick snaps as it still looked like an interesting photo with remarkable details in the ice.
Onwards to the Devils Staircase for a gentle stroll up the mountain! as I climbed higher I came across this beautiful bridge. Much like the previous photo, its the different conditions that attracted me to take this shot. Snow all around with some some small contrasting black tones in the mountain. Its probably not a location I would shoot at any other time of the year but I think it made a lovely composition.
Of course, I couldn't resist a wee selfie at the top!
Back down the freezing mountain and back to my waterfall for sunset. There were clouds in the sky now so I was hopeful of a nice sunset image, even with the waterfall frozen solid. The light was changing every few minutes as was the temperature, you could almost see the frost developing minute by minute turning the whole landscape arctic like. I tried to look for a different composition with my first shot, something unique rather than the usual wide vista. A portrait composition with two trees framing the mountain with a waterfall as a leading line, I think it works quite well!
Although I liked the image, I still found the most popular place to stand was best for this scene (popular for a reason I guess) These two shots were taken within 10 minutes of each other with very different outcomes. The first shots was a standard exposure of 1/10 of a second with the usual base ISO, there was some movement in the water which I wanted to slightly blur so I had to use a very unusual F22 to reach 1/10 shutter (I was tempted with filters at this point to reduce the shutter speed but my whole body was too cold). I was really happy with how it looked on the back of the camera and was ready to leave, it was so cold I could hardly feel anything anymore!.
As a glutton for punishment I decided on one more shot! From the exactly the same position, I got out the filters. I put on the polariser to take the glare away from the water, A soft edge grad to balance the sky and a six stop ND for a longer exposure time of just under 2 minutes. A very different looking image within minutes of each other.
I packed the gear away and headed home!. Not long after getting in the car I came across this gorgeous scene, beautiful white trees with an autumn feel at the base, I just had to stop! As the sun had gone for the day, the lighting was quite flat but I'm glad I stopped. It looked like something out of the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, very surreal and peaceful with mist rolling through the scene and very stark contrast.
Skye, October 2016
Not long back from a fabulous trip to the Isle of skye! I have now been to Skye 3 or 4 times over the past couple of years and it never ceases to impress. As a landscape photographer, you might wonder why I go back to the same location? there are two simple reasons for this! One, I am never truly happy with the images I capture and Skye and the western isles have such varied weather patterns. Two, it is simply the most gorgeous island, rich in history dating back to the jurassic period with some of the most outstanding scenery anywhere in the world!
Day one - Travelling from fife, I headed for a place I am very familiar with, Kilchurn castle! There is just something about it that attracts the photographer in me if the lighting is right. There is one drawback when it comes to shooting this castle, I always find it difficult to find an interesting foreground subject to make the complete picture, I generally rely (or hope) on flat calm conditions to get a reflection of the castle. In order to get that reflection, the sun must be over the horizon which in turn, loses the colour in the sky. Here are a couple of shots before and after sunrise!
On my last visit to Kilchurn, I noticed a woodland area close by with some beautiful trees but the lighting was very flat. On this occasion, the lighting was perfect with no clouds and shooting directlyinto the sun made for a simple, yet pleasing image!
I made my way to the first stopping point which is about half way to Skye, Fort William.
There is a boat at Caol that I have shot before but didn't really like the results of previous shots. It was time to try a alternative approach, a night shot with some stars looking on towards Ben Nevis. Unfortunately, there was far to much cloud cover but here is the result!
Onwards and upwards to the isle of Skye.
I had booked a small cottage for the week near Glenbrittle and the fairy pools. It was a perfect base for exploring and the cottage itself was gorgeous, albeit a little tricky to get to with the winding roads. My wife and I set out on the first morning, of should I say middle of the night, head lamps and torches in hand to the fairy pools.The time was 3.45am and its about a 25 minute walk out along a winding and rocky path. You might find this to be a stupid statement as it’s night but it was so dark, unlike anywhere I've ever been to, you couldn't even see your feet. There was no ambient light at all! Ultimately though, these are perfect conditions for shooting the night sky.
On arrival, I was extremely surprised to find a lack of water down the whole glen. The waterfalls where I had shot from on a previous visit were non existent. I searched to find some kind of composition but it was extremely difficult. I am always a bit over eager when searching for that one composition, and can get carried away thinking I can reach a point which is simply far too dangerous. This is where the wife comes in :) and brings me back to reality. I look to a spot where I think is reachable, glance at her “NO, don't even think about it”.
The next couple of shots were of a small spring which shows just how little rainfall there was! The first one I found really difficult to set up as my tripod was balancing so I slightly recomposed for the sunrise shot.
That evening we stayed outfor sunset at Sligachan Glen, In between Broadford and Portree.
With the lack of rainfall, the river bed had almost dried up revealing dried rocks and boulders. We moved further and further up stream and finally came to a small waterfall. It really was the perfect scene with the Cuillin hills as a backdrop completing the composition. We sat there for a couple of hours in the most peaceful surroundings until sun slowly disappeared behind the remarkable Black Cuillins. A perfect Evening!
There are always at least two main locations I want to shoot on a photographic holiday and on this trip, my first priority was shooting the Old Man of Storr from Loch Fada. I think this photo typifies what the Isle of Skye is all about, an Island dating back to the jurassic period!
The first morning was all about finding the right location and focal length to shoot from. If it was a photograph to be had, then that would be a bonus but I never tend to get the shot Im after on a first visit to and location. All things being correct, I found the location very quickly. It was pretty straight forward composition but a distinct lack of light and colour. Never the less, I liked the clouds moving over the cliffs.
The next morning we went back to try again.We parked at the lay-by and headed down to the loch trying our best to avoid the little toads that were crawling through the long grass. Its amazing how darkness can exaggerate noise, you here every little sound and always think the worst even though it’s the wind :). My wife was calmly sitting on her waterproof rug as I was setting up, then suddenly jumped back saying “TOAD” I think its about the only animal I'm not scared of! I shone the torch over, nope not a toad but a mouse!!!! Well, my heart came out of my chest. I thought a cardiac arrest was on the cards. Toads I can deal with but hairy wee rodents are a massive no no. After catching my breath and setting up, we were granted a bit of luck, gorgeous light just touching The Old Man while clouds whispered over the top. Really pleased with the way this turned out.
The next stop is one of my favourite places in the world, Quiraing!. It is a massive landslip in the Trotternish peninsula with spectacular views in which ever direction you point the camera.
I could genuinely shoot this location every day as there is so much to explore!
I had an idea in mind to shoot from roughly the same position as the majority of photographers as it is so scenic. Instead of the focal point being the sun, I predominantly wanted stars.
Unlike the fairy pools there was some ambient light coming from the small village of Staffin close to the horizon line. From my position though, you couldn't see two feet in front of you.
I set up as usual and exposed my first shot with an extremely high ISO just to get my composition right. I looked at the back of the camera to find a small sheep in the bottom of the frame, it was only a few feet away but I had no idea it was there. A stroke of luck! A bit of foreground interestand a welcome visitor to the scene.
For anyone interested in camera settings, I shot this a 20mm at 1.8 as this lens lets in the most light. I had to manual focus to determine how to get maximum DOF shooting at 1.8. The shutter speed was 20 second to let in as much light into the sensor, any longer and the stars would move causing streaks in the sky. The ISO was at 1600 which I was happy with, a higher ISO would have but degraded the shot. I swapped camera’s back to the Nikon D750 as the ISO performance is far superior to the D810. I have tested this numerous times!
The next shot was a bit of fun shooting light trails showing how winding the road to Quiraing really is and the elevation of the climb. The final shot is at sunrise.
A change in the weather directed my attention towards unplanned visits whilst putting my final destination of Elgol on stand by, until there was an up-turn in the weather.
Off to Talisker Bay! Without doing a lot of research here and only seeing photos, I wasn't expecting the long walk out to the beach. It’s about 2k walk but a pleasant one. As this was unplanned, I had no idea of tide times and really struggled with any kind of composition as the tide was fully out. I was actually just about to leave but decided to go right around the base of the cliff, across extremely slippery rocks to the pinnacles. I could feel the wife’s eyes staring at the back of my head “where on earth do you think your going”. When I got there, it was such an eerie feeling, just so desolate. Unsure of tide times with out any phone signal, I wasn't going to hang around long. I found a quick composition, a boulder covered with brightly covered moss and seaweed looking onwards to the pinnacles. A simple composition and might not be everyones cup of tea but I think it works well.
Then we ventured up to Fairy Glen, obviously there was no “magic light” to be seen but the site of Castle Ewen with the narrow path, I knew there was a photo to be had. The castle itself sits aloft on a ridge and a short climb will get you there. It was extremely windy at the top and be honest, I wasn't a fan of sitting on that ledge with drops either side, just because of the wind. A straight forward shot with direct sunlight above the castle. I really like the way this turned out!
My final trip was to Elgol, a small village set on Loch Scavaig. It is generally occupied with many photographers with panoramic views towards the Black Cuillin mountains. On route to Elgol, you pass by Loch Stafin where there are spectacular views across the loch. This next shot is of a small house dwarfed by the mountain above. Taken just after sunrise where beautiful light from behind was catching the autumnal colours whilst leaving a dark moody mountain.
When visiting, best times are just when the tide is receding. I stayed here for a few hours as the light was changing every few minutes capturing a wide variety of shots. This one is a very long exposure of about 6 minutes, I wanted a surreal atmosphere. Again not to everyones taste but i think it works well.
We had a fantastic time on Skye and will be back again!
Any questions on the photos or locations, just use the contact form and I will be glad to help
Dunstanburgh Castle
Summer is not the best, or should I say ideal for photographers. The long days with sunrise and sunsets 16 hours apart!
Today, I decided I needed to make the effort and get out of my bed, albeit with a really early start. Yesterday, I scouted google and numerous websites for different ideas on what to shoot. Then made several visits all over fife searching for a hidden treasure I’ve previously missed.
Well, it all came to nothing! When you start to progress in photography, you always want something different to, or better the last photo and that’s the challenge. You also want to shoot at places that you’re not familiar with, giving you that extra buzz. That feeling of arriving at a new destination feels fantastic, even if it’s been shot a million times by other people. There are some locations that I must have visited about 50 times trying to achieve perfection. To be honest, Im never really happy with any photos, there is always something that I feel I could have done better.
Anyway, I felt the need to head out further a field in search for a new challenge. About 8 months ago I went to little place in the Scottish borders called St Abbs, near Eyemouth. The scenery is fantastic and I genuinely didn't think I did it justice in my previous photos. I ended up with a black and white version of the lighthouse as the light wasn't great. Time for another go!
Sunrise was at 5.40am with a 1.45 hour journey time. I set off at 3 o clock so I would catch the best of the light and to find a location to shoot, although my previous shot with better light might do the trick. I arrived in plenty of time and took a general wonder round the area, I'm actually not sure what I was expecting (a miracle perhaps) but I just couldn't find the perfect spot for sunrise. I took 3 or 4 photos from different spots but like my previous attempt and school report cards, can do much better :). Ah well maybe next time. I must admit, even without a photo to show, I really enjoyed the tranquility watching the sun come up over the horizon and couldn't have picked a better location to do it!
Like I mentioned previously, a new challenge was in order and St Abbs was only a pit stop to my main objective, the wonderful coast of Northumberland!
There are 3 locations within a very shot distance, the Holy Isle of Lindisfarne, Bamburg castle and Dunstanburgh castle, my personal favourite. As time was ticking on, I left St Abbs and set out towards Dunstanburgh castle. I had planned on passing by the other two locations mentioned but Lindisfarne was to good an opportunity to miss. A quick stop off and I’ll be on my way!
Did I say quick, it wasn't half quick, there is only one car park and its pay and display. YES, that is correct I didn’t have any money! What a bloody fool. That’s twice I have done this, never again!!
The whole area is just begging to be explored, I had a quick look at what might have been and it looked stunning, better than all the images I had seen. There was a low lying mist sitting just above the horizon covering the rising sun. I just felt so foolish!
Off to Dunstanbugh castle it was then! I have done my research into the area, but I am sorry to say nowhere does it tell you where to park? How long the walk is? What’s the best tide times?
This was all going to be research into my main visit in the coming weeks.
For anyone interested, I parked at Dunstan head as I think this was the closest area I could park. The walk out to the castle is about 2 miles, but that is all dependent to where you want to shoot, I was directly below the castle. It was low tide which I had a feeling was the opposite of what you actually want. There is a footpath from the carpark down to the beach, but just before you get to the beach, the path is on the right hand side. If you do go at low tide you will need to clamber over the the large boulders to the sea and my god they are slippy! I couldn't even count with both hands the amount of times I fell. This is definitely not for the faint hearted, I started thinking after slip no7,”how on earth have I not broken my ankle” because of the rock formations, once you slip, your foot goes between two rocks.
I eventually made my way to the waters edge, set up the tripod, camera and filters at the ready and a rogue wave drenched me, trying only to save the camera, reactions took over and I fell in! I don't think Ive ever use so many swear words in one sentence in my life! I took my socks and shoes off to dry out and placed them on a rock, no way was I leaving without one test shot!
I dipped my toe in the water, just a tester as you do. It was arctic in August I swear, I think this was the first time my feet have touched the Scottish water since I was a child.
I eventually managed to take a few exposures. The light was still ok, not my preferred conditions but like I said, this was a test run!
After a few minutes, I decided to call it a day and turned to collect my gear to find my socks had blown into the water! Near boiling point, I actually questioned whether there was a God ;) After the initial shock of seeing my socks floating, I actually became quite delirious (I hadn't eaten anything yet) and burst out laughing like a school kid that had pumped. Im really glad nobody was on the beach to witness it!
My photo of Dunstanburgh castle was shot a F16 with an exposure time of 75 seconds. I had the polariser on to take glare away from the rocks and water and a 3 stop ND grad for the sky.
The second photo was blended from 5 exposures using photoshop for dynamic range but no HDR software was used.
St Abbs Lighthouse
Loch Leven
This morning I decided to do a bit of exploring which is really unlike me! I always enjoy planning a shoot through various apps like sun surveyor or my new best friend, Photopills! which I have started using to plan upcoming shoots!
Anyway, I set out for the Lomond hills at the back end of Falkland and headed for west Lomond. After only about a 15 minute walk and with a clear view to the hill that it was very barren, not even a tree, just a wall and a path so I headed back to the car realising that east Lomond should have been the choice. The view across to east Lomond was superb, great light with sporadic trees lining the narrow path.
I jumped back in the car and made the short journey north to Loch Leven through the scenic villages of Scotlandwell and Wester Balgedie onto the back entrance for the loch. I was really not expecting much as like I said, I was heading into the unknown (photography wise)
I parked up and headed for the loch which was only about a minute or two walk. I wondered along the narrow beach area to find this broken tree, it honestly felt like someone had put it there for photographers! It was picture perfect although, I did make a slight alteration to the positioning of log. Looking at the photograph, this might not seem that big but bloody hell, it was heavy! I tilted it upwards, while almost falling in as it was only just within reach, as I wanted the peak of the log above the horizon line. It really did make for a beautiful composition as the lighting was still fantastic.
The first photo was was taken with my very first exposure which is always pleasing, there is very little editing done to it as it looked great the way it was. The second photo was taken a bit later once the light had gone and converted to B&W and used silver Efex pro and lightroom for the processing. Both shots were taken from identical positions as I never moved the tripod. I used F16 in both photos for DOF as I was so close to a foreground object, ISO was at base 64 on my camera and using the Lee big stopper to smooth the water and clouds.
Loch Fitty
It’s been quite a while since I updated this blog so I thought I would write a short post from this morning!
As it’s summer, I generally don’t photograph much, just the occasional snap shot or two due to the rise and fall of the sun being at ridiculous times of the day for me to get up. Don't get me wrong, I love the early rise and seeing what most other people don't experience, but to get to different locations that I want would mean leaving my house at about 2am to catch a glimpse of sunrise.
I always do a bit of research before making decisions on a shoot but lately, due too the early sunrise, I have become somewhat bored with going to the same locations over and over trying to capture something different.
This morning, I decided on somewhere I had never been before! Loch Fitty near Dunfermline. I once tried to get there but the gates were locked and no though entrance for cars, but after a search on google maps, I decided to take the plunge. I set off about 4.10am with about a 15 minute drive, the sunrise was at 5.16 so the gave me ample time to set up. Unfortunately for me, on arrival the gate was locked again. So I parked the car at the closest point I could and set off on foot. Little did I know, the loch was about a mile from my parking spot so now, I was on the clock!
To be honest, it was great just to be out shooting again, the fragrancies in the air, the silence and tranquility you only experience at that time of the day just makes sense to me! In saying that, the walk down to loch was far from my peaceful expectations. It is still quite dark at that time in the morning which can be quite eerie, you hear every movement from the wildlife. With trees and bushes on both sides of the narrow path in a place you have never visited is daunting. Midway down the narrow lane a deer decided to jump out in front of me and hurdle a fence. WELL!!! I was tempted to go straight home for a change of underpants!! My heart was beating so fast I thought I was going collapse! I actually shouted at it! for what reason, god only knows.
When I eventually got down there, that brilliant light that was once there, has sadly diminished. I was left with more sombre tones so I decided on a long exposure of the old jetty. Im not entirely pleased with the final result but so glad I had the overall experience, just great to be out!!
This shot was a 5 minute exposure on F13 ISO64 and at 20mm.
From Glencoe to Skye
From Glencoe to Skye.
Just back from a fantastic photography holiday in Glencoe and Skye with some interesting stops in-between.
Firstly, I set off with a vision of what I wanted to capture and a few words were in my thoughts! romanticism, drama, atmosphere and mystery to name but a few.
Starting with the word romanticism, what could be more romantic that a visit to kilchurn castle on the banks of loch awe. Before setting out, I checked the weather, loch water levels, wind speed (for reflections) as well as sun surveyor to to find the exact location to set up. Like always, luck plays a massive part in photography as nobody can accurately predict the weather. In saying that, the met office had it spot on this time with sunshine and showers. I arrived in the rain and trudged across a field ( just as well I had the welly boots on as the ground was extremely marshy!
I tried many different angles to shoot from before settling on this. Generally, I always try to find something in the immediate foreground to draw the viewers eye up the photo, but by doing this the castle itself was only a distant subject. Now it was just a matter of patience and waiting for the sun to creep over the hills. The sky was quite dark and mysterious looking so I was some what apprehensive as it was moving in my direction. Just then, the sun came over the hill lighting one side of the castle, it really was a perfect moment and one that I will remember. The camera settingswere 1/5 sec shutter speed so the tripod was essential, although I could have chosen a higher ISO but wanted it as sharp as possible so was set at 64 and F11 for DOF and 50mm on 24-70 2.8.
Onwards and upwards to the stunning location of Glencoe. I have been here many times before and the photo opportunities are endless, with the changing seasons making every visit a new experience. I have been trying to take a particular photo for about a year now, it’s a waterfall with Buachaille Etive Mor in the background. The majority of my previous images of this weren't quite right. You really have to go numerous times, as the water levels change as does the strength of the waterfall itself. From my experience the best time to go is spring where melting snow coming off the mountains gives a much stronger energy to the fall. Even just six weeks previous to this, the fall was nothing more than a trickle.
The waterfall is located on the road to Glen Etive about half a mile down the trail where you will find a couple of parking spaces. Once parked, the fall is behind you over about 100 yards of muddy ground.
I scouted the scene again and took a couple of test images, but the light was poor and it started to rain again so I packed up again and decided to try the following day. We set out the following morning hoping to get a sunrise shot as the met office predicted good light and visibility. Yet again, I was so disappointed to find it overcast with mass low cloud covering the mountain. I was starting to believe that I would never get the shot I wanted. I travelled around the surrounding area looking for photos but the rain just kept coming. Another check of forecast and there was to be a slight break in the weather at sunset, another chance to return to the falls!
Taking the photo was extremely challenging, to say the least, for the shot I wanted I had to get down into the water as I wanted to get really close avoiding all the distracting elements in the scene. My wife was also in the water as she was shielding the spray with coming off the waterfall with an umbrella, protecting the lens, retracting every time a shot was taken. There was also a bit of drizzle coming down but the sky was turning an amazing colour. My tripod was balanced between two rocks while my back was up against the banking making it awkward to clean water off the lens. While trying to do so I slipped down a hole and water poured into my welly. I must say though, without my wife, the shot was not possible. So if your looking for a similar shot you will need someone to shield the lens between shots as spray hit it between every shot. Just to make sure, I took plenty of shots ensuring, or hoping, that I would have one without spray.
Onwards to Skye, my favourite place in the world!
As I have a few shots of skye from previous trips of the usual places like Quiraing and kilt rock, I wanted something a bit more unusual and mysterious. My main focus of interest was Elgol and the view across to the Cuillin hills! Although this has been shot thousands of times before, my challenge was to capture it in a alternative light that I haven't seen. As we were staying in Broadford, Elgol was just 16 miles away, although it took about 45 minutes to drive those winding, single track roads in darkness. I try to get to the locations about one hour before sunrise when the lighting is at its best so another 4.15am start. On arrival, the lighting was perfect for moody kind of photo, the sky was still black with just a hint of magenta. It was high tide and the waves were crashing into the shore. You get a real sense of isolation and harmony, nothing else matters! This is the reason I love photography.
My first shot was the Cuillin hills with huge boulders in the foreground covered in lichen and grass. It was still before sunrise and the sky was lit up with fantastic colours. It was still dark, but I was getting reflections on the rocks in front of me so I put on the polariser to bring out the colour in both the sky and the foreground. It was shot at F16 for maximum DOF as I had a foreground element and the usual ISO 64 with a 3 minute exposure. It just looks so tranquil to me!
For the second shot, I noticed these pebbles gleaming, as if they were polished. As the sun was coming up, it looked like it was creating a hole in the sky! A very simple composition but its the kind of shot I wanted. It has basically all the same settings as the previous shot.
Next was a trip to the fairy pools!
I found this to be more of a challenge as its hard to find a composition that hasn't been shot before. We set out in darkness again along the winding trail out to the pools when I came across this beautiful scene! It was lit under the moon with the foreground rocks gleaming, the small waterfall appeared almost blue. Not sure if my photo does it justice but it was a truly stunning scene.
The second shot further up the trail is rather a tourist shot, although still a lovely scene with the four small falls with the mountains as a backdrop.
The walk itself at that time in the morning is such a joy that many will not experience. It feels so peaceful and remote. It is such a different experience from during the day, which I have also done, as it is always busy. You can shoot anything and we never met anyone until we were leaving.
The fairy pools of Skye, just like Quiraing is a magnet for tourists, it can get really busy and rightly so! It is such a lovely walk. Once arriving at Glenbrittle, the walk out to the pools takes around half an hour but you wont regret it. You honestly could spend a week at this location. My advice for the photographer is go before first light.
On my way home the weather was extremely poor but couldn't help myself stopping at Eillean Donan Castle for a quick photo as the light and clouds were so dramatic. We waited for a couple of hours for a bit better light.
Newark Ruin
Photography is such a challenge!
Well, it’s now March and the mornings are getting longer, yes that means an early start again!
Yesterday, I visited St Monans in the East Neuk of Fife to get a sunrise shot that I have been aiming to get for such a long time now. The weather conditions were to be a clear night heading into sunrise which takes place at 07.05. Now, you might think that these conditions seem to benefit a photographer but having clear sky’s doesn't make for a great photo. Anyway, I took a chance and headed for the coast. I had previously checked the tide times so, but didn't expect the tide to be as far out as it was, eliminating the chance of the image I had in mind. So I came home without anything!, another disappointment!
I have now been to this location about five or six times resulting in zero photos. It’s either, the weather, the tide, the wind speed or a combination of all.
Time to try again!
The forecast for this morning was very ominous, mass cloud cover but the tide times were good so I thought I would give it another shot. Sunrise is at 07.02 so I left at 05.30 with a journey time of about 40 minutes. All the best light comes about half an hour before sunrise so I had plenty of time to set up. My shot was Newark castle, an old ruin about half a kilometre away from St Monans on the coastal path. (Please Note: If you are heading there, you cannot take the coastal path at high tide!)
As I approached, the light was already magnificent, a real pleasure! I took my time over the actual position to shoot from, making sure there were no unwanted elements in the scene. Before I take a photo, I always have an idea of how I want the picture to look or visualise a print so I took a couple of test shots making sure I had the correct exposure time. The sky was such a vibrant pink colour, it almost looked like someone had painted it. I have truly never seen anything like it before!
Although the view was remarkable, it is a very challenging scene to photograph. The sky was extremely bright where the foreground, was the opposite. Like always though, you have to meter for the sky hoping to bring out detail in the foreground in post. I like to do everything I can in camera so I had a 3 stop ND grad to neutralise the sky and a polariser to take the reflection away from the water. I also wanted a more surreal look so I put on a 6 stop ND filter (Lee little stopper) to give me an exposure time of 8 minutes. This is so hard to gauge as it gets lighter be the second, (usually I set it to aperture priority and take a reading). I then use an app for the correct exposure time and reduce it according to how I think the light has changed. Generally, I take off about a third of the exposure time set. ( This is only at sunrise/sunset).
This first photo was taken 40 minutes before sunrise atF11, ISO 64 to get the least amount of noise I could and an eventual exposure time of 355 seconds.
The light changed very quickly from pink to reds and oranges, almost like god threw a bucket of rainbow paint down, it really was the best sunrise I have witnessed to date. This is genuinely why I love photography, millions of people miss this every day. Just standing, admiring, and taking in what nature brings!
This shot was taken about 15 minutes before the sun came up with the same setting as before with a shorter exposure time of 225 seconds to accommodate the light. The exact same filters were used.
Another glorious morning had come and gone and the sun had come up beyond the horizon. This is the point that I usually head home for some much needed breakfast but to my surprise, due to the cloud cover, there was still gorgeous light. Time to head for Elie!
I have shot here on numerous occasions as the little lighthouse has such an obvious attraction to a photographer. I was looking for a different vantage point that I hadn't previously looked at. After some consideration, I decided to follow the sun! I clambered onto rocks seeking out a view of the sun directly over the lighthouse. Now, where photography is concerned, I can be very reckless and I did it again. Looking at the sun and the overall scene, while clambering over rocks, I slipped and almost ended up in the sea!! not once but twice, and with camera and tripod in hand!. Luckily I was that cold to begin with and totally numb,I didn't feel it. ( bloody sore now though)
I managed to capture this shot of Elie lighthouse with the sun overhead shining down. I had a 3 stop ND grad as the sky was so bright and for the first time in a while, I got out the Lee big stopper (10 stop ND filter) to give an exposure time of 154 seconds at F11, ISO 64.
I generally go out looking for one photo that I am happy with but I actually quite like them all!
Glencoe
Glencoe.
Spent a great couple of days in Glencoe during February. like always, it starts with planning and preparation. I researched many different locations along with tide times and weather charts. My main goal on this trip was to capture the beautiful mountain landscape covered in snow and hope the met office and local weather stations were correct.
I had originally planned to set off at 5.00am so I could catch a glimpse of the sun rising over Rannoch moor, but decided against this as temperatures were down to minus 5 degrees. I have driven this road a few times before and it can be treacherous, especially with those temperatures in the dark, (I was extremely close to hitting a few deer on my last visit.)
So I set off at 11 o clock with a perfect weather forecast ahead only to be hit be torrential snow half way there, I had to pull over as I couldn't even see the road! So much for the Met office!!
I was planning to stop off at Rannoch moor on the way up but the lighting was terrible, dark grey clouds with a hint of mist, occasionally, this can add to the drama of the shot but visibility was about 150 meters therefor, the mountains behind the moor were none existent.
I travelled further down the A82 to take the tourist snap of the black rock cottage with the mountain in the backdrop. As you approach, you can see why this image has been captured a thousand times, the setting is like a picture postcard! As the lighting was very flat, I chose B&W as the contrast of the white cottage against the snowy mountain worked well.
There was spots of rain in the air and the clouds were thickening, I was thinking that this might be my only shot of the day but travelled further north stopping to take in the absolute majesty of Buachaille Etive Mor, (the great herdsman of Etive). I just sat in the car as the rain ran down the window praying for it to stop! My camera was all set and tripod at the ready just in case my luck changed. YES, that moment of magic! A slight break in the clouds and a hint of light was touching the top of the pinnacle of the herdsman. It really was a special moment and the reason I take photos and create images.
As these moments don't last, I pulled out the camera and took the shot, I couldn't risk the time delay to put on an Grad filter so all camera settings were, F8 and ISO 64 for sharpness and all the out to 70mm on a 24-70mm. I usually try to get the shot in camera but it was really easy to fix in Lightroom. Everyone has preferences to photos but I love this one!
Very similar to the first shot, I stopped off at a little quaint cottage sitting below the mountains, so isolated amongst the grandeur of the range, I found it hard not to take it. Again I chose B&W due to conditions and camera setting were the same as the previous shot.
Day 2 was a little better for weather, I was off to a little village on the outskirts of Fort William named Caol, to shoot a ship wreck. I wanted a long exposure with maximum cloud movement. It is very difficult to predict a scene, with never having been before so a bit of guess work is involved in regards to the tide. To give myself a better chance, I went the night before to gauge the tide but that didn’t help! I arrived to find the spot I wanted to shoot from was submerged in water and the tide had came further in than my estimates. I was forced to shoot at the side of the wreck nearest the shore line. This was shot at F8, iso 64 with an exposure time of 208 sec. I was using a polarising filter to see through the water as the pebbles added a bit of interest and a Lee little stopper, 6 stop ND filter to give me motion in the clouds. If you didn't notice, that is Ben Nevis in the background!
Back I went to Etive Mor to take another shot of this awesome mountain. I stopped at the side of the road having done research on google earth. It’s wasn't a lay-by as such but I managed to park quite close to the Kings house hotel near a bridge. I loved the leading line of the river leading up to the mountain. My intention was to shoot this at sunset as the sun falls just behind it, as checked with sun surveyor.
It was bitterly cold, -4 degrees and the water had frozen which made for a lovely photo. With the polariser on you could see through the ice unveiling the small pebbles and rocks beneath the surface. All my usual settings applied but F16 for DOF taking two photos, one focused on the foreground and one on the mountain to get maximum sharpness, then blending in photoshop.
Like I said though, this was a scene I wanted to shoot at sunset so I came back later. I surveyed the scene and came across another shot. In amongst with marsh, there was a frozen segment of ground which gave a great foreground. This was to be my spot for sunset! unfortunately, I had a half hour wait and temperatures were falling. I had two pairs of thermal socks on and had just about lost all feeling in my feet. The dark clouds were coming in from my left and Im fearing the worst, stuck in the middle of a marsh, no light, no sunset. Im so glad my remote shutter was plugged into the camera as there was no way I could have done it, my hands were completely numb beyond the point of being sore now, I flicked up the shutter and waited with anticipation. I only had one shot at this because of the long exposure and the good light. Job done!
Don’t think I've ever been as cold as that!
Day three and desperate to capture Rannoch moor in good light! the temperatures were still below freezing so I was very hopeful of a decent shot.The light was stunning and gave an almost pinkish and surreal effect to the snow, the mountains in the background were truly a sight to behold. The only filter used was a ND grad to balance the sky and shot at F16 with base ISO.
I visited a number of other locations but Im a bit fussy with the lighting conditions, during a three day period, there is only 6 times to shoot photographs and the window of opportunity during this is very small indeed. Kilchurn castle was stunning and one to re-visit, as was castle Stalker. I also went to glen Orchy but conditions weren't quite right.
On my way home, I couldn't resist the urge to revisit Rannoch moor as the forecast was fantastic.
I arrived in plenty of time to find the best position for my shot. Temperatures had dropped further leaving the moor completely frozen. As i approached, I was struck by what seemed to be circles in the ice, almost as if i were on another planet. As strange as it were, the shapes gave me a somewhat unusual leading line. Again, temperatures were about -6 and I was having difficulty keeping my lens and filters from freezing, constantly wiping frost and condensation.
All of these shots were roughly the same exposure of 3 minutes using a 2 stop graduated filter and a 6 stop ND filter with ISO 64.
I forgot to mention my wife! She had to bear every minute of the cold with me and helped get all my gear sorter for the next shot. After the last shoot she was shaking so much, I thought she was dancing:) bless! honestly though, I wouldn't have got some of the shots without her!
Glencoe is such a fantastic place a so much to photograph. I only managed to capture a tiny proportion of what I wanted but was well with the effort. I will definitely be back for more!
For any info on locations, just contact me and I will be glad to help!
St Abbs
Finally got a chance to shoot some photos after the disaster with my camera!
As this is my first photo shoot for 2016, I decided to try something a bit different and head to a new location in the Scottish borders. A beautiful little village called St Abbs . It a very small and quaint fishing village on the southeastern coast of Scotland in Berwickshire with close proximity to Eyemouth.
Like always, I had a look online and my attention was drawn towards a lovely lighthouse, sitting on the top of a cliff. I wanted to capture a couple of different viewpoints and alternative-processing methods, as there is so much contrast with the predominant colours being black and white.
I set off at 6.15 with an hour and a half expected journey time which would leave me an hour before sunrise to find the right location and set up. I am generally quite good at doing my research but got this one wrong. I presumed that the lighthouse was at St Abbs head but didn’t realise the size of the area.
I parked up at harbor and asked for directions only to find the lighthouse was over an hours walk away!
Bang goes my sunrise shot!!
Although I generally shoot at blue hour and sunrise, I wasn’t too disheartened as my main focus was in the contrast of the building itself and had all intentions of doing a black and white anyway.
After the walk along a very treacherous and icy path, I arrived! I looked at all angles to find the correct position to showcase it. I went for the obvious choice of the leading line of the staircase while trying to keep the surrounding area nice and simple, with no distractions. I also wanted a little drama in the photo to chose a 4 minute exposure time using a 10 stop ND filter and a 2 stop grad to balance the sky with an ISO setting to base 64 at F9 for sharpness.
The whole area is fantastic for photography and I wish I could have spent a bit more time there to explore, but it’s winter and get about 6 and a half hours of daylight, so I had to push on. Next, I went back the harbor area as my eye caught a glimpse of rocks looking towards the cliffs.
I always look to capture something a bit unusual from a standard photo and this one was no exception. I wanted a more mystical look from the sea but also, some contrast in the cliffs behind. The tide was coming in really quickly now and some of the rocks were becoming submerged under the water, only visible now and then so I went for a 5-minute exposure time so the rocks would stay in the shot and create a surreal look to it. The first one was done in B&W and the second, in colour. I quite like them both as both have their own qualities.
It was getting late and the sun was lighting the whole sky so time for a quick snap shot before I headed home.
What I didn’t know until the end of the day was, that you can actually take your car the whole way to the lighthouse along a farm path. Yes, it’s very narrow and can only fit one car (glad I didn’t meet any other cars are there are very limited places to pass). The light was absolutely fantastic with pink sky’s and the light was on in the lighthouse. I didn’t want to drive that road in complete darkness with all the potholes so took a few snaps with a higher ISO of 800 and down to F5.6 focused on the lighthouse but it still looked ok.
I will definitely be back to this area, as I now know what to expect! I always get my best photos on a return to any location but I thoroughy enjoyed my trip to the Scottish borders!
Kirkcaldy Old pier
Stayed local again this morning before I venture further afield after the new year. As I stay in Kirkcaldy, I decided on the old pier which I have photographed many times before.
I arrived about 45 minutes before sunrise and walked along the coastal path towards Kinghorn only to find that there was no way to access where I wanted to shoot. I knew the tide was out before hand and wanted to get a closer image of the pier. There was a large steam flowing down the extremely slippery rocky surface and I had left my wellies in the boot of my car. I was so disappointed as there was a beautiful cloud formation in my viewing angle with terrific light and colour bouncing of the stones and walls. I took a couple of shots just with the polariser on to take some glare away from the water but the overall scene is just too overcrowded as you can see in the image below.
I made a quick decision to leave and head back the way I came and access the pier from the other side! But as luck would have it, the beautiful light disappeared very quickly, howeverI was not totally disheartened as there are so many shades and colourings that morning light will bring and I was still waiting for the sun to rise.
Mistake number 2!! I came across this lonely rock covered in bright green moss looking towards the pier so I decided to take a chance. Out with the camera and tripod alone with multiple filters to balance the scene. ND grad for the sky and as I wanted a somewhat different image, I stuck on the 10 stop big stopper to get plenty of movement in the sky. So, with the remote shutter in hand, I went for it! locked up the shutter using a remote trigger then checked my exposure time on an app on my phone to find that the correct exposure time would have been half an hour!! Not what I thought. The sky was getting lighter by the minute so that would effectively reduce the time, but this is not what I had in mind. I decided to let it carry out time and do a bit of guess work in timing.
It’s not my usual kind of shot but think it works quite well.
My next couple of shots were more planned out! For the first image, I went for a high contrast black and white using more sensible camera settings of a 1 minute exposure using f8 for sharpness with a 2 stop graduated filter to balance the sky, and a polariser to cut the glare off the water.
The final image was very similar settings, but the sun had just come up so I just couldn't ignore the wonderful light, it really lit up the whole sky with a warm glow.
Same location, different result!
After looking at the forecast and tide times, I decided to have another look at Aberdour as my last blog explained, I wanted the tide to be in so the pier was submerged more in the water. It’s not often that this occurs (the tide and sunrise together) so I set out about 7.30 to give me plenty of time to set up! The weather was meant to be ok for the first hour, just enough time to capture sunrise.
Sunrise was coming up to the east so I was hoping to get some kind of colour in the sky. There was far more cloud cover than I anticipated or should I say, than was forecast by the met office so it was extremely dark. Windspeed was around 15 per hour so I was hopeful of a little cloud movement in the sky, but that would alter the shutter speed dramatically. I am often wary of this because the length of exposure can effect the quality of the image. To explain, the longer the shutter stays open, the more chance there is of camera shake, even on a sturdy tripod. As I was on the coast and having that wind speed and cloud cover, I was having to shoot a 7 minute exposure.
As said in my previous posts, you can go to the same location over and over again with different results. That’s the great thing about photography and that’s the main reason I never tire from it.
This photo is taken at 50mm using 24-70 @ f11 for DOF, ISO 100 for sharpness and a 7 minute exposure.