Photo of the Month: March 2015

Tentsmuir

8th March 2015, Tentsmuir National Nature Reserve, Fife

Tentsmuir, on the north-east coast of Fife above St Andrews.  On an OS map it looks like many other Forestry Commission forests with a regular pattern of forest roads and uniform conifers. But on closer inspection it is different. Yes, the forest is extensive covering 14 sq km's, making it one of the largest forests in Fife, but it extends along the coast for 8km's with a line of sand dunes separating it from miles of sandy beaches. The coastline is now a National Nature Reserve, and the dune grasses are littered with decaying trees giving the appearance of a desert. The afternoon was sunny and unseasonably warm as we walked from the forest through the dunes and along the beach towards Tentsmuir Point.  On the return leg I knew what I wanted to photograph and I knew that black and white would give me the look I was wanting.  I wandered through the grasses until the right combination of light on dark appeared in the viewfinder.  I also wanted one of the decayed trees to provide a focal point.

 

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 1/60 sec / f/11 
Lee filters: 0.6 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9



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Photo of the Month: February 2015

Track of Turret

20th February 2015, Loch Turret reservoir, Perthshire

  

Loch Turret at the head of Glen Turret in Perthshire.  It is a reservoir, 4km in length, with an access track running along its eastern side that ends in upper Glen Turret below the summit of Ben Chonzie. I had all four seasons in an afternoon. Sun, rain, snow, hill fog and lots of cloud. In the sky were eagles, buzzards and a red kite too. With an hour to go before sunset I watched cloud descend from the north along the loch, laden with snow. The dead bracken below the track was lit by the sun which would soon disappear as the cloud engulfed the loch creating a ghostly atmosphere. The final image was blended and stitched from 3 overlapping frames.   

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 35/2 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 1/15 sec / f/11 x 3 frames, stitched
Lee filters: 0.6 Soft GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE 9

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Photo of the Month: January 2015

Dreich day at Dysart

23rd January 2015, Dysart harbour, Fife

The picturesque harbour at Dysart lies beneath a high wall of natural stone which offers protection from storms. With stone piers and buildings, cobbled surfaces, old sheds and cast iron lamps, it has the ambience of a bygone age. During the winter months many of the small craft line the piers. Soon after arriving today it started to rain. I sheltered as best I could, waiting for the rain to stop, even for a few minutes, but this was more in hope than anything else.  I resisted the urge to pack up and instead set up beside the Harbourmasters House using a small reflector as a makeshift umbrella to keep the lens and filters dry.  The rain has reflected light on both the cobbles and on some of the boats which is why I was reluctant to miss this opportunity as it has given the composition an ambience which would have been lost had it been dry. 

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 35/2 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 0.5 sec / f/11
Lee filters: 0.6 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe Photoshop CS5 with Topaz Adjust plug-in

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Photo of the Month: December 2014

Gloaming light, Ben A'an

23rd December 2014, Ben A'an, The Trossachs

This was my fourth visit of the year to the summit of Ben A'an, this time a few days after the winter solstice.  I was motivated by my article on Ben A'an which has just been published in Outdoor Photography magazine - Issue 187.  I arrived to find both the Ben A'an car park and footpath closed due to forest operations on the lower slopes of Ben A'an.  Fortunately, work has ceased until Monday 5th January 2015 so restrictions have been eased until this date and both the car park and footpath have been re-opened for the holiday period. It took 45-mins to reach the top where, once again, I had the summit all to myself.  As on my last visit the sky was relatively clear, with the sun now setting in the south-west.  I used the summit rocks to fill the foreground.  The best light was the gloaming light, which lingered for 40 minutes after sunset.  The resultant image, whilst dark and moody still shows some of the lingering light.  I descended by torchlight.

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 4 sec / f/11
Lee filters: 0.6 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

Outdoor Photography Magazine - Low Light Landscapes Challenge / runners-up - Issue 192 / June 2015

Shortlisted image - 'Light on the Land' category - Outdoor Photographer of the Year 2015

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Photo of the Month: November 2014

Illumination, Callander Crags, The Trossachs

2nd November 2014, Callander Crags, The Trossachs

The waymarked Callander Crags walk behind Callander is fairly strenuous on steep gradients.  Officially it is closed, with a diversion in place, due to windblown trees blocking the path. Today was a dull and overcast day with thick cloud. We decided to ignore the diversion and use the original path to get to the crags but navigating through the trees was more like being on an assault course.  Hundreds of trees have been blown over as a result of a winter storm and it will take time to clear the fallen trees and re-instate the path. We arrived on the crags quite late in the afternoon to be greeted by thick cloud everywhere so decided to descend back to Callander on another path. But then quite unexpectedly the sun shone through a small gap in the clouds and illuminated everything with orange light.  It was quite magical and by working quickly I was able to record the scene before the sun disappeared for good. Loch Venachar is below the sun with Ben Ledi in profile to the right. 

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 1/4 sec / f/11 
Lee filters: 0.9 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

Shortlisted image - 'Landscape' award - Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year 2014

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Photo of the Month: October 2014

Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland

 8th October 2014, Dunstanburgh Castle, Northumberland Coast

Dunstanburgh Castle on the Northumberland Coast. There is not much of it left but its dramatic location on a prominent headland, part of the Whin Sill geological formation, means it is popular with photographers, especially at sunrise.
Lit by the late afternoon sun and with a high tide bringing big waves and a lot of sea spray, conditions were fairly dramatic. I didn't want to freeze the action in the waves by using a fast shutter speed. Nor was it possible to decrease the shutter speed to 1 second to create a sense of movement in the waves.  In the end I went for the opposite look and by using a Lee Big Stopper filter I was able to bring the exposure down to 45 seconds which has smoothed out the wave action and created ghosting over the rocks to suggest movement in the sea. Black and white development has increased the mood further.

 

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 45 sec / f/11
Lee filters: 0.6 Hard GND / Big Stopper (10-stop ND)

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe Photoshop CS5 with Topaz B&W Effects II plug-in

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Photo of the Month: September 2014

Ben A'an sunset

11th September 2014, Ben A'an, The Trossachs

Ben A'an lies in the heart of The Trossachs within Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park.  It translates as 'small rocky peak' which is very apt because from the viewpoint on the Dukes Pass, which carries the A821 over to Aberfoyle, it does look like a miniature mountain with a craggy cone-shaped summit, cliffs and steep slopes that descend west to Loch Katrine.  It has two summits; at 461m its east summit is higher, but it is the rockier west summit, at 451m, which gets the visitors for the view it commands over The Trossachs to Ben Venue and westwards along Loch Katrine towards the Arrochar Alps. I climbed up for the sunset and, like earlier in the year, had the summit to myself. At this time of the year the sun sets at the far end of Loch Katrine and lit up the summit rocks as it did so.

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 1/6 sec / f/16
Lee filters: 0.6 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

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