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.
Like a previous blog stated, I have been trying to get a shot of the bridges at night with the intention of being there for sunrise (two birds with one stone). The only trouble is, the conditions have to be absolutely perfect to get the right shot. For my “perfect shot”, high tide is a must and no lower than 4.5 metres. The main reason is that I wanted less distractions in the photo, where the water would cover the majority of the rocks making it a cleaner image. The second is flat calm conditions so I could get refections. The reasons might seem simple but getting the Scottish weather to behave is a different story.
In the first picture, I was there for a night shot but it just didn’t happen, there was just too much wind!. The reflections weren’t quite right. I did stay on for sunrise which Im quite glad I did. It might look calm in the photo due to a long exposure but there was an 8-10 mile an hour wind blowing. It was still a gorgeous morning with beautiful colours lighting the sky.
Two weeks past and time for another shot as conditions were looking fantastic.
With the bridge only 25 minutes away, I set off at 4 o clock which gave me about 2 hours of complete darkness. It was still 45 minutes before high tide which enabled me to find the best position and get a couple of test shots in, just to make sure the focus is tack sharp. At that time of night, your camera cannot focus, all settings must be in manual. It can be really tricky to manual focus, you have to use live view on the back of your camera and zoom to 100% using micro adjustments.
With that said, I was glad I was early as the first couple of test shot were slightly out of focus.
I am happy with the results of these as it’s taken me such a long time to get the desired conditions. These shots were taken over a 4 hour period showcasing the contrasting light. As you have seen from the photo I took a couple of weeks ago, the reflections are much more prominent.
I couldn’t have asked for better conditions on the night with clear skies and not a breath of wind. Some people might ask the question “why are they're no stars in the photo” and the reason is, I masked them out in post production. I wanted the cleanest image I could, therefore, I was using base ISO on my camera settings causing star trails as it was a 5 minute exposure. If I wanted the stars clearly shown in the photograph, I would have had to expose for about 20 seconds raising the ISO to about 3200. This causes a lot of noise or grain and not what I was after on this occasion.
I decided I really needed a change of scenery away from my local area. I looked back at some of the older photo’s that I had taken and felt I could improve upon. One place that I absolutely loved was St Abbs in the Scottish Borders, next to Eyemouth.
Well, not the village its fabulous lighthouse. It is situated within close proximity but along a single track road with occasional passing places.
With sunrise just after 7, It was an early start for my wife and I, (I had promised I would take her after telling her how beautiful the area is). I knew before hand the angle I wanted to shoot from so it made it a much more relaxing morning. On arrival, it was just as stunning as I remember! You can park very close to the lighthouse so there is too much walking involved. A hop over the wall, positioned the tripod and waited for sunrise to approach.
It is very eerie if you’re visiting for the first time, especially at the time of the morning. There is a small cluster of square holiday lets within the complex while an iron gate guards the main stairwell down to the lighthouse. I always thought that could make a great horror movie. To me, it feels like you're on an island with vertical cliffs on one side and a long winding track over cattle grids back to the village. The only sounds to be heard was the over whelming noise from the gulls perched on the cliffs.
With that said, it is still one of the most picturesque and tranquil places that I have visited to date.
Back to the camera with sunrise fast approaching. I was all set up with a soft ND filter of the front balancing the sky and the foreground, a 5 second exposure and base ISO as always, F16 to capture the whole scene. The clouds had now gathered lighting the sky in a glorious magenta leaving the main stairwell glowing as if it had its own independent lighting. I got the photo pretty much straight away and quickly jumped over the wall to capture the photo that I had previously taken. I tried for some symmetry with the leading lines of the wall placing the lighthouse centre frame. This was one of the shots I previously switched to B/W as I thought the contrast would suit the scene better. With the stunning light and colour that morning, I refrained from B/W and stuck with the colour version. Again, I got the shot I was after straight away and time to move quickly to my last destination before I lost the light.
My wife was still sitting admiring the views from the cliff top watching the sun rise over the horizon. Realising that it's time to go she attempts to climb back over the wall, Well!! What a palaver, she got stuck midway with one leg on either side of the wall asking for me for a little help. I initially thought it was a joke but soon realised she was actually stuck. One foot on a railing and the other dangling on the other side, I did what any loving husband would do!!. Got out my phone and took a snap of the woman doing rodeo on the wall 😂. I think you had to be there, her wee legs dangling, one on the railing and the other floating a few feet from the ground. The picture is a bit deceiving as it was quite a drop. Even with my help, it wasn’t plain sailing, I EVEN put down my camera bag to help.
Time for my last shot! Just a few hundred yards back down to sea level is a rock, with a walkway leading out. To be honest, I was there for a several minutes contemplating if I should take my camera out of my bag. My wife convinced me saying ”well you’re here now, what’s the harm”. The light was still excellent with the sun catching the tops of the hills, so I experimented with exposure times using filters. I was a bit surprised with the outcome, the photo turned out fine and I was quietly pleased with the result.
I thought I would finish this quick blog with a photo I took of the kissing trees near my home. It was taken in between taking photos of the Forth Bridges and St Abbs.
I was checking photography apps the night before looking at cloud cover. They are not always that accurate but their predictions on this occasion were spot on. I parked my car to the side of the narrow road, just up on a grass embankment next to a hedge. On the other side of the hedge is farm land with a gulley in between. With no traffic and a stunning morning, I preceded to open the boot of my car and placed my tripod on the grassy verge. As I turned to get my camera out, two massive pheasants jumped out the bush, WELL!! Arse about elbow I went, straight over my tripod landing flat on my back, my head somehow missing my car and the road. Im still amazed at the language I use when I get a fright. “C’mon for F**k sake, you A**e Ho**s, what the F**k was that all about”. I think they were making out underneath the bushes. I’m certainly not the type of person to use language like that, there is just something I hate about being scared to death that brings out with worst in me.
Sometimes I don’t think Im cut out for this morning photography!
Anyway, it was another beautiful morning in the Kingdom with a fabulous array of clouds lighting the sky. It’s actually funny though, I met a couple out for a walk and they said, “what a beautiful morning eh, it’s just a pity the clouds are ruining your picture. :)