NG Scotland 2016

[Frank Fremerey]

Simone. Not meant harshly. Sorry. I enjoyed every minute of our tours. It was just wonderful to watch your
determination. It required a lot of us and brought us to new heights of creative expression. Thank you again!

[simato73]

Simone. Not meant harshly. Sorry. I enjoyed every minute of our tours. It was just wonderful to watch your
determination. It required a lot of us and brought us no new heights of creative expression. Thank you again!

OK then, we are pals again
Pity that I cannot go to these NG get togethers more often, I had lots of fun too.

[Frank Fremerey]

ddd

[simsurace]

"Scotch Castle at 90 mph"

Simato wanted not to be where perspective and light were best but where he had preorganized to be. So I had to take my shot at speed, through a car window zooming through the landscape.

This shot turned out very well! There are probably enough pretty shots of the castle at sunset already on the internet, but I doubt that I could find another one like yours.
Sometimes I enjoy giving up control/planning to find things I would not seek out myself. In the case of the day trip with Simone, it turned out to be very worthwhile, everything we saw was worth seeing and even though we missed the sunset at the castle by a few minutes, we had great fun shooting the blue hour.

[simato73]

This shot turned out very well! There are probably enough pretty shots of the castle at sunset already on the internet, but I doubt that I could find another one like yours.
Sometimes I enjoy giving up control/planning to find things I would not seek out myself. In the case of the day trip with Simone, it turned out to be very worthwhile, everything we saw was worth seeing and even though we missed the sunset at the castle by a few minutes, we had great fun shooting the blue hour.

In retrospect we should perhaps have spent some time at the "wrong" location first.
In the future I'll try to be more open to serendipity and the unexpected.
Having a plan is a good thing but it can be a limit when one sticks to it too rigidly as I tend to do.
I am aware of this and am trying to work on it, not always successfully.

[David Paterson]

Since all you guys left -

1) The weather has been like this.
2) Spring is looking like this.
3) Bluebells are looking like this.

[David Paterson]

My last set of images for this thread, then it's time for me to wake up from this dream we were all having.

1. Backlit rowan-tree, Glen Etive.
2. Summit rocks of Ben Starav, Glen Etive.
3. Finlarig Castle.
4. Gorse bushes below Ben Starav.
5. Buachaille Etive Mor ("The Great Shepherd of Etive"), Glen Coe.
6. Trees at the head of Loch Tay.
7. Larch needles in woodland beside our lodges.
8. Tree, isolated by soil erosion, River Lochay.
9. Rock pool, top end of Glen Etive.
10. Stob Dubh - a Glen Coe mountain, seen from Glen Etive.

That was the week that was.

[simsurace]

In retrospect we should perhaps have spent some time at the "wrong" location first.
In the future I'll try to be more open to serendipity and the unexpected.
Having a plan is a good thing but it can be a limit when one sticks to it too rigidly as I tend to do.
I am aware of this and am trying to work on it, not always successfully.

I think you did a great job, the research was very good and we made the most of the time.

[Frank Fremerey]

In retrospect we should perhaps have spent some time at the "wrong" location first.
In the future I'll try to be more open to serendipity and the unexpected.
Having a plan is a good thing but it can be a limit when one sticks to it too rigidly as I tend to do.
I am aware of this and am trying to work on it, not always successfully.

We all go trough this endless phases of change and see deeper and deeper as we absorb the world into our system.

We cannot control forces of nature like Bez and many others. We can just love every minute we are given to spent with them.

[Frank Fremerey]

Dave. I love the greens and blues especially.
Thank you again for your book. There is so much to learn!!@@

[simsurace]

What inspired me most about the Scottish landscape were the different kinds of trees and how humans deal or don't deal with them. Seven images of trees:

[Jakov Minić]

Phenomenal images of landscape and trees by Dave and Simone!
Thank you all for photographing stuff I simply didn't see 

[Akira]

Since all you guys left -

1) The weather has been like this.
2) Spring is looking like this.
3) Bluebells are looking like this.

What a pleasant "after-the-storm" scenery.   

[rosko]

it's time for me to wake up from this dream we were all having.

I don't want to wake up...

Dave, we can't thank you enough for all this work you made, resulting a such successful week !

And this is not just flattery, but a sincere statement.

This was my first trip to Scotland and I discovered a very beautiful country with interesting history and nice people. And there are so many more things to discover ...

The first pic I want to post is a symbolic image from isle of May. As nature/bird photographer, I dreamed for long time to get puffins through my lens.

Got it !

Df + legendary 300mm f/4.5 ED (non IF), freshly chipped by our Dr Lens an Bjørn...

I have to say that I have taken some risks to get it as I had to crawl on the very edge of a cliff with about 60 metres high. But rocks were very dry.

[Andrea B.]

Interesting trip back home to the US from Edinburgh...

Because President Obama was speaking at the Rutgers University commencement in my home state of New Jersey, we were warned at the beginning of the 7.5 hour flight that we might be delayed in landing because the Presidential jet, Air Force One, would be using Newark International Airport thus causing all operations at all three terminals of this huge airport to totally shut down while AF One was active. Our pilot announced over the loudpeaker, "Don't worry folks we will have enough fuel for hours of delay" -- thus causing everyone on the plane to groan in unison.

Fortunately, however, the Edinburgh tower was able to slot us in for an earlier departure, we were granted a higher altitude flight path and the Newark tower was able to land us before airport chaos broke loose due to Presidential motorcades.

I recall attempting to explain at some point to some of my European companions, that our US President does not have as much power as is generally thought. I should have added "except when traveling by air". 

*****

I enjoyed the Scotland Meet-up tremendously. It was wonderful to meet NG members and get to know them a bit more than is possible online. Scotland itself was delightful, interesting, friendly and beautiful. The Scottish people were ever helpful and friendly to us. I hope everyone had as good a time as I did. 

Amazingly I did not gain any weight from all those steak & ale pies, beef burgers and Scottish shortbread cookies which I consumed!! Nor from Frank's delicious banquet.

*****

Dave, thank you heaps & heaps for arranging the lodging, the groceries, the informative packets and the most excellent excursions to the forests and glens. We will have a lifetime of memories and photos to recall these happy days we all shared. Best regards to Mayumi for her friendly & cheerful assistance. And a pat on the head to sweet Sally.