NikonGear'23
Travelogues => Travel Diaries => Topic started by: David Paterson on September 10, 2017, 17:39:57
-
Mayumi and I have just spent a week centred in the tiny village of Stoer in the north-western district of Assynt, Sutherland county, arguably Scotland's most scenic region. The landscapes are dramatic and the weather was dramatic too - dramatically good and dramatically bad - and some patience was required to wait out the bad spells.
I can't describe the region without sounding like a tourist brochure, so I'll let the images do the talking. I will be posting batches of jpegs over the next couple of days, and I'll start with the journey north.
1. and 2. Water-carved rock along the River Garaidh, Inverness-shire.
3. Fireweed by the roadside in Easter Ross.
4. and 5. Rivers flow into Loch Shin, east Sutherland.
6. and 7. Mixed conifer forest at Achfary, Sutherland.
8. and 9. Heading northwest across Sutherland, the hills start to get bigger.
10. Loch More and Ben Stac.
-
You are painting a lovely portrait of a stunningly beautiful area. It is the rapidly changing weather and lighting which makes that area so photogenic.
I remember staying for a few days at a Pub on the Oykel River in Sutherland.
The riverbed was almost dry (after an extended drought )and there were some very distressed city-slicker fishermen (with all their expensive and newly purchased gear from Hardys!) staying there too.
At about 10:00 p.m. someone came into the Bar wearing a sou'wester and dripping wet. It was raining and raining hard.
The "Fishermen" looked much happier.
By the morning, the depth marker post on the river was no longer in sight: the river was filled to its banks with a swirling, peaty, un-fishable soup.
Angry "Fishermen" once more.
-
David, you know how much I enjoy your photographs from your beautiful country.
-
Thanks, Ann and Jakov - please look in from time to time - I will be posting several sets of images.
-
I love these Travelogue topics because it gives us the ability to add further sequences of images and to tell a much more comprehensive and cohesive story about those special places which we have been so fortunate to visit.
I am much looking forward to reading David's next installments in this thread
-
Really great pictures (I love rocks)!
Last time I went to Mallaig, I didn't have time to travel further (and didn't have a camera with me). Your pictures are giving me a desire to return there on a more timely pace :-)
-
I love these Travelogue topics because it gives us the ability to add further sequences of images and to tell a much more comprehensive and cohesive story about those special places which we have been so fortunate to visit.
I am much looking forward to reading David's next installments in this thread
Thanks again, Ann - I'll try not to disappoint!
Really great pictures (I love rocks)!
Last time I went to Mallaig, I didn't have time to travel further (and didn't have a camera with me). Your pictures are giving me a desire to return there on a more timely pace :-)
Thank you also, Jacques. It is against the law to visit the Scottish Highlands without a camera ;D well, it should be . . . and at Mallaig the good stuff is only just starting; the further north you go, the better it gets.
-
David,
Thank you for another beautiful series. My favorite is the first. They are all keepers.
Dave Hartman
-
Dave (Paterson), apparently we could spend a whole week looking for interesting patterns on the rocks there. ;D
The dramatic scenery is definitely worth spending as much time as possible to look for seemingly infinite shooting opportunities.
Thank you for starting yet another exciting thread. Am looking forward to more posts to come!
-
I am generally a landscape guy, but the first rock image beats them all.
Honourable mention to the second mixed conifers wood shot that has some lovely sense of depth and warm colours.
-
Many thanks to David, Akira and Simone - nice that you all chose the first rock image which is also one of my own favorites.
Dave (Paterson), apparently we could spend a whole week looking for interesting patterns on the rocks there. ;D
Akira - I shot about 20 different rock patterns in a very short time, all of which were interesting at least, and I had some difficulty in choosing two to go in this selection. And I do plan to spend a day there very soon, this time with a tripod. On last week's trip, everything is handheld - because I forgot my effing tripod!!!
-
The area we visited is extremely mountainous and though these mountains are not particularly high, many of them have a rugged, dramatic appearance. However this selection concentrates on the quieter aspects of landscape and nature in Assynt and the surrounding region.
1. Loch Awe with Canisp in the distance.
2. Lily-pads, Loch Roe, Achmelvich
3. Loch Duartmore, on the Scourie road.
4. Floating leaves, Loch Assynt.
5. Island in Loch Assynt.
6. Evening at Clashmore
7. Pink Yarrow by the roadaside near Scourie.
8. Duartmore Forest.
9. Pines at Drumrunie.
10. House and fields at Achnacarnin.
-
First image is really striking, very nicely captured ;)
-
Beautiful scenery, but for some reason I keep going back to the strands of grass against the dark water.
-
Superb as always, my favourite area, what a treat!
-
I would have to say that the second series is more enjoyable and emotional.
The "Lilly pads" would be my favorite. I enjoy "Floating leaves" as, forgive me as a broken record player, your typical "seemingly-nothing-but..." style image.
The last one stimulates my nostalgia by reminding me of "The Little House" by Virginia Lee Burton.
-
I really like the lines formed by the stone fences in the last one. I must be able to travel to Scotland one day...
-
Great promotion for your countryside ;)
-
I do plan to spend a day there very soon, this time with a tripod. On last week's trip, everything is handheld - because I forgot my effing tripod!!!
May I suggest that you forgot the "effin" tripod because you rarely use one? ;)
I have never seen you using a tripod when we went out shooting together and even remember you saying you rarely feel the need to use one.
-
Again some wonderful shots. Specially those two where we see that human modified landscape with those stone walls limiting fields. They seem to escape time, and the sheer quantity of those stone walls convey the feeling of multiple generations building them. It reminds me of John MacPherson's writing in "DuckRabbit" about the surrounding of Fort William, very emotional.
-
Many thanks to all who have commented so kindly, and I'm pleased that these images are popular because this part of Scotland is very special for me.
May I suggest that you forgot the "effin" tripod because you rarely use one? ;)
I have never seen you using a tripod when we went out shooting together and even remember you saying you rarely feel the need to use one.
You are right, of course - I relatively rarely use a tripod; however, I like to have one in the car, at least. And when we last worked together I didn't have the monster - the 200/500/f5.6 - now there's a lens which even I prefer to use on a tripod. But just to prove that all thing are possible I'm attaching a moon-shot, made the night we arrived in Stoer, and therefore hand-held.
The "Lilly pads" would be my favorite. I enjoy "Floating leaves" as, forgive me as a broken record player, your typical "seemingly-nothing-but..." style image.
Yes, I like "floating leaves" too. It follows rigidly to my precept that even a minimalist image must have two elements.
In this case the two elements are: the floating leaves, and the sound of the water . . . . . . . . . 8)
-
Wonderful series
#1 rock patterns is really nice, stands out on it's own
-
Yes, I like "floating leaves" too. It follows rigidly to my precept that even a minimalist image must have two elements.
In this case the two elements are: the floating leaves, and the sound of the water . . . . . . . . . 8)
When you let a "viewer" feel something other than the sense of vision, you are succeeded in opening doors to different world...
-
Great promotion for your countryside ;)
+1
-
Your second group — and also that splendid shot of the moon — continue to delight me!
-
Thank you very much, Ann, Eddie, Akira and Armando.
Next, some mountains from a region whose mountains have a character all their own. I have wandered them all, when I was just a little younger . . .
1. Ben More Assynt - highest and most extensive mountain in the region.
2. Arkle - the famous racehorse was named after it; both were owned by the billionnaire Duchess of Westminster.
3 and 4. Two views of Stac Pollaidh.
5. Cul Mor from the north
6. Loch Assynt with Bheinn Gharbh and distant Canisp (right).
7. Suilven - "The Sugar-loaf"; at dusk.
8. Quinag (Koon-yag) seen from the north.
9. Loch Lurgainn and Sgurr Tuath.
10. Mountains of the Loch Glencoul / Kylesku area.
-
Thank you for sharing these wonderful series, David. Spectacular colors and variety. And not to forget the light that plays with the shapes in the landscapes. It must have been a spectacular trip.
PS: Did you have problems with the midges? I was in Scotland during the last 2 weeks and they attacked me every time I stopped during my time on the west coast.
-
Thanks, Peter - I'm glad you like the pictures.
Midges can be a problem. Where we were last week there was nearly always some breeze, and that keeps them away. But in warm, calm, moist conditions they can be a nightmare. There are various anti-midge sprays and ointments which work to a certain extent. My wife wears an anti-midge jacket, face-mask and hat - all one garment - made of very fine black net. This works totally against midges but has other downsides - hot, stuffy, etc. and not designed with photographers in mind!
-
Wow. Thanks for sharing David!
-
Wow. Thanks for sharing David!
Thank you, Peter, much appreciated.
-
A final set of images - as well as fine landscapes and mountains, west Sutherland has a beautiful coastline with lovely sandy beaches and dramatic rocks and cliffs. Here are a few samples.
1. Rock island off Drumbeg.
2. The natural harbour at Lochinver.
3 and 4. Achmelvish Bay.
5. CLashnessie beach.
6 and 7. Bay of Stoer.
8, 9 and 10. Point of Stoer.
-
Wonderful, David!
I keep on admiring your ability to highlight patterns and moods of light in your photos.
Always a pleasure to follow your excursions through your beautiful country.
Cheers,
Günther
-
David,
Wonderful series! Thank you.
Dave Hartman
-
Yes, fantastic!
Looking on this pix I did find out, that I really miss Scotland...
How many years? I think over fifty...
-
Thank you, Gunther, David and Andrew. It's a great pleasure for me, to post images of Scotland on this forum.
Andrew - 50 years is a long time, about the same time as I have been photographing Scotland. You should come here again soon . . .
-
Stunning landscapes. Still, the Clashnessie beach image caught my attention because of the composition, the colours and the minimalistic "tidyness" of the scene. I do also like the golden Bay of Stoer among others.
-
Such a funny feeling,,, glancing at your images it's like having a short break while walking around in Scotland - Storytelling,,, there is just something that visually works so well in the framing and light - Thanks for sharing.
-
David:
What a feast of stunning photographs you laid before us!
You have captured the play of light and shade and the varied topography of that region masterfully.
So many really great photographs and the Stoer Coastal8 shot is just one of them.
This collection would make an outstandingly beautiful book.
-
Thank you all very much - Ann, Erik and Kjetil - for your kind comments.
This collection would make an outstandingly beautiful book.
Ann - I've had similar thoughts. These days I don't do "proper" books with "proper" publishers - too many false promises, too may compromises to be made, etc, etc - I just self-publish using blurb.com and use the books as gifts for family and friends. And very occasionally sell a few. But the books can be exactly as I want them to be - none of those compromises. As well as publishing a number of books through mainstream publishers, I also ran my own little publishing company for 10 years. I used the best far-eastern printers, such as Toppan Insetsu, but the repro I get from Blurb is FAR better.
-
I also use Blurb and get excellent, reliable (and consistent!) production from them.
I use Blurb's "Pro" PDF/CMYK work flow — not the Lightroom sRGB one.
I send them an Indesign PDF (with pre-converted CMYK images) and the printed results which I receive back from them are a very close match to the way that the file looks on my monitor.
The first time that I used Blurb, I asked them to print the minimum 24 pages and I used that as a "MatchPrint" to adjust the Black Generation curve in the CMYK conversion profile because I found that their presses run a bit too heavily in the blacks. By using that adjusted CMYK conversion and their Premium stock, I get great results from Blurb.
Here in the USA, they seem to use a different plant for printing a PDF workflow.
-
Beautiful Images, David. The colours you can wring out from the NEFs amaze me.
Great series. Numbers 1 and 9 in particular.
-
Super series, David. Especially the colours and framing of Clashnessie beach are amazing.
-
Thank you again, Ann (you are much more thorough than I am), and also John and Mike.
Mike - nice to hear from you. I would like to have taken you up to Assynt when you were here in May, but the time was too tight. Maybe next time?
-
David, you know how to tease the viewers! The sets are increasingly enjoyable as the thread grows! I love the various lighting captured in the latest set!
-
Thanks, Akira - it was natural, I think, to try and build to some sort of crescendo. But actually, few of these jpegs are from finished "masters files" and nearly all still require a few final tweaks, mainly tonal - especially the last set.
-
What an enjoyable and beautiful series to conclude! Stoercoastal08 is probably my favorite. It captures the mood very well in a minimalistic way.
Thanks for sharing.
-
David - another amazing series! I really admire your work - scenery, composition, timing, light, colour, contrast. I get an impression of a deep knowledge and fascination of the landscape, various seasons, weather conditions etc.
-
Lars and Peter - thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments.