Photo of the Month: December 2015

Anchored

 

8th December 2015, St Monans, East Neuk, Fife

After checking tide tables and the weather I set off for the East Neuk.  I had planned to photograph on the beach directly below St Monans Parish Church but the tide had already receded from here so I turned my attention to the rocks of Long Shanks further west. I have looked down on these rocks many times from the Fife Coastal Path without giving them a second thought. Today, from the beach, I was looking up at a raggedy skyline.  It was as if I had found a new location. The rocks were cut with deep channels of water being fed by the sea swell even though the tide was receding. As it receded further I was able to move within the rocks to reach a small beach. With the low winter sun providing some dramatic lighting and a storm sweeping over the Firth of Forth, the scene looked very foreboding. They are moments which are too infrequent in my opinion.  I was determined to make the most of it before the storm hit but with the air full of spray the most difficult task was keeping the filters dry using a small reflector as a shield.  Eventually the rain became too heavy and I had to pack everything away and retreat to the harbour but I had enough images on the card to make the trip worthwhile.  

Technical Info: 

Taken with a Fujifilm X-T1

Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R lens

EXIF: ISO-200 / f/11 / 1/10sec

Lee filters:
RAW File converted to TIFF in Fuji RAW converter powered by Silkypix, developed in Adobe PSE9

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Other images from the same afternoon:

Photo of the Month: November 2015

Four of a Kind

3rd November 2015, Devilla Forest, Fife

Devilla, a productive forest managed by Forestry Commission Scotland, on the A985 between Dunfermline and Kincardine and only 5 miles from home. Much of the forest is native Scots Pine, planted in regimental fashion, but recent forestry activity has thinned areas of the forest allowing more light to penetrate.  Today was a foggy autumnal day and I went to Devilla specifically to photograph in the fog. I know where these trees are from previous explorations of the forest. They are not readily identifiable from the forest road, but by taking 10 paces 'off-road' all is revealed. I used the low vegetation to fill the foreground and frame the trees. The last of the leaves have lifted the foreground and the fog has created a lovely softness.

Technical Info:

Taken with a Fuji X-T1
Fujinon XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens @ 34.5mm

EXIF: ISO-200 / 1/20sec / f/11
Lee filters: None
RAW File converted to TIFF in Fuji RAW Converter powered by Silkypix, developed in Adobe PSE9

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Photo of the Month: October 2015

 Mysterious Ways


7th October 2015, Thrunton Woods, Northumberland

Thrunton Wood, a Forestry Commission woodland in Northumberland 5 miles North of Rothbury and just off the A897. It is a commercial woodland covering 10sqkm with plenty of forests roads as well as two waymarked trails in the northern section of the forest. Fog and rain gave the woods an eerie atmosphere as we walked the Castle Hill Trail (5 miles). I had been searching for a suitable composition to photograph throughout the walk but nothing really grabbed me.  It wasn't until we were returning to the car park along Thrunton Crag that I saw what I was looking for. I was immediately taken by the recession along the track created by the fog, the branches over the track, the dark tree trunks on either edge of the frame and the earthy tones of early Autumn.


Technical Info:

Taken with a Fuji X-T1
Fujinon XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens @ 18mm

EXIF: ISO-200 / 0.4 sec / f/11
Lee filters:

RAW File converted to TIFF in Fuji RAW Converter powered by Silkypix, developed in Adobe PSE9

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Photo of the Month: September 2015

Dead Calm

7th September 2015, Lochan nan Corp, Ben Ledi, Trossachs

My second wild camp of the year, this time on the Bealach nan Corp (Pass of the Dead) at a height of 670m/2200ft on the northern slopes of Ben Ledi. After pitching my tent at sunset I walked up to the summit of Ben Ledi (879m/2884ft) by torchlight following a line of old rusty fence posts all the way to the top. The sky was clear, the stars were out, as was the Milky Way.  It was quite something to see against a black sky. The following morning I was up at dawn (6a.m.) to photograph Lochan nan Corp (small loch of the dead). The dawn sky proved to be clear with the central plain of Scotland covered in a blanket of fog. Eventually the sun rose high enough to light the eastern slopes of Ben Ledi with golden light that lasted for a few minutes.  Lochan nan Corp was dead calm.  The vapour trails of two airliners were mirrored in the lochan to suggest the flag of St Andrews. By 8a.m. I had struck camp and ready to descend when the midges came out in force. Suddenly it was no place to hang around.  I was down at the car park for 10a.m. where the first walker of the day asked me what time I had started. 

As a footnote, there is nothing sinister in the names as the pass is an ancient coffin route through the mountains. However, some say that the pass and the lochan were named after a coffin party tragically met their deaths by falling through the frozen waters of the lochan one winter.  This is highly unlikely given the lochan is quite shallow.   

Technical Info:

Taken with a Fujifilm X-T1
Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R lens
EXIF: ISO-200 / f/11 / 1/10sec

Lee filters:
RAW File converted to TIFF in Fuji RAW converter powered by Silkypix, developed in Adobe PSE9

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Photo of the Month: July 2015

Nights of Thunder

 3rd July 2015, Crombie, Fife

Another visit to my local fields to witness more sunset colour.  With thunderstorms forecast for the early hours the clear sky is starting to cloud over as the storms approach. The setting sun lights up the underside of the black clouds with fiery reds and oranges whilst clearer skies to the south change to deep blue.

 
Technical Info:

Taken with a Fujifilm X-T1
Fujinon XF 14mm f/2.8 R lens
EXIF: ISO-200 / f/11 / 0.3sec

Lee filters: 0.6 GND Hard

RAW File converted to TIFF in Fuji RAW converter powered by Silkypix, developed in Adobe PSE9


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Photo of the Month: June 2015

Cast a Giant Shadow

14th June 2015, summit of Beinn Ghlas, Perthshire

Ben Lawers, at 3984ft (1214m) and on the north side of Loch Tay, is the highest mountain in Britain outside the Nevis and Cairngorms ranges.  The mountain path starts from the car park at Ben Lawers National Nature Reserve and climbs over Beinn Ghlas, which, at 1103m is also one of the highest peaks in Britain. I reached Beinn Ghlas a little after 8pm to explore its summit with a view to photographing Ben Lawers at sunset (due soon after 10pm). Just before 9:30pm the sun appeared from the clouds far to the NW and strong backlighting has cast giant shadows of Ben Lawers (L) and Beinn Ghlas (R) onto the hillsides on the far side of Loch Tay.  The tops of the shadows are 8km away. The clouds were only partially in direct sunlight which added another element to the composition.

I completed the ridge walk to Ben Lawers after sunset before retracing my steps down to my car well after midnight. A headtorch was not required until I reached the NNR below Beinn Ghlas as there was still enough ambient light in the sky to walk along the mountain paths unaided.  

Technical Info:

Taken with a Fuji X-T1
Fujinon XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens @ 18mm

EXIF: ISO-200 / 1/28 sec / f/8
Lee filters: 0.6 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Fuji RAW Converter powered by Silkypix, developed in Adobe PSE9

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