Slow Down

 As I am writing this and selecting photos for today I am listening to the new album by Yann Tiersen Rathlin From A Distance/The Liquid Hour. It is very mellow and full of beautiful compositions, well worth a listen. I will be going to see him perform the new album in Liverpool tonight so I am really looking forward to that. Anyway the title of the blog fits well with the music and fits with the images below too.

The scene in these photos is Glencoe Lochan which we reached after a decent walk from the campsite, following the Glencoe Orbital Walk. I took several shots from different points around the lake but have just chosen these two for today, maybe I will come back to some of the others another time. If you look on Google Maps the lake is almost completely dry so I was very pleased to see it was full when I visited allowing me to get some long exposure shots of the lake and its surroundings. These were both about 2 second exposures using an ND filter to help smooth out the surface of the lake (it was a little breezy) and get these beautiful reflections.

There is a clear path around the lake and this part of the walk is very accessible (the woodland walk we took was less so but very enjoyable) and there were several people out enjoying the weather. I was pleased to be able to slow down and really take in the surroundings and to capture images which I think show off this location at its best. You can tell that spring is well under way with the fresh colours of the trees and in the reflections.

It was so good to visit here with my brother, making memories. I can think of a few people I would happily share this spot with.

GET ON WITH IT!

 At the start of April I got to go camping with my youngest brother in Glencoe, in the Scottish Highlands. I had never stayed in this part of Scotland before and so I was really excited as I prepared for this trip. The weather was perfect with clear skies the whole time and despite strong winds at night and freezing overnight temperatures (only minus 4C) I don't think I stopped smiling the whole time I was there.

The scenery is beyond amazing and the big sky is something you don't experience living in or close to cities around the UK. 

Normally whenever I go away I plan meticulously, I have a clear idea of where I want to go, what I want to see and what I hope to photograph. I love the planning process and I feel great satisfaction when everything comes together. I don't like leaving too much to chance however I like to think that I am also quite adaptable so if circumstances change then I can change with them. For this trip, apart from picking the campsite I made no plans at all and that was actually quite a freeing experience as my brother and I just went with the flow. 

On the Saturday afternoon we drove along the edge of Loch Leven to Appin we walked across the Jubilee Bridge and around the bay. On a review of the walk it mentioned views of Castle Stalker so I was keen to see that and I admit I went a bit mad taking lots of different photos of the castle. As soon as I saw it I recognised it from a movie I have watched many times. I sent a quick snap to my family's WhatsApp chat and received a swift reply from one of my sons "Get On With It!". I was really pleased that he had recognised the castle as the one which features in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. We watched it so many times when my kids were growing up, so much so that we could recite large parts of the script at mealtimes and even now snippets of the dialogue from the film enter our everyday conversations.

As you can see below I have photographed it from different angles and vantage points, while I was there a couple of other photographers were out doing the same and one guy turned up to capture the scene in oil paint. 

Castle Stalker