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Glencoe Mountains
During the Easter break I had planned a photography visit to the Glencoe mountains in the Scottish highlands. I was hoping to capture dramatic snow-capped mountains and waterfalls. I was not disappointed.
Location:
The Glencoe area offers many photo opportunities within relevantly easy reach from the A82 road that cuts straight through. Initially I had planned to wild camp but unfortunately due to recent rains the area was very boggy. This forced me to find an alternative spot for my camp. Luckily the Kings House hotel allowed wild camping behind it and also offered great food and drink. All of my planned locations are within a short hike from this spot.
Equipment:
- Nikon D600
- Nikon 16 x 35mm wide angle lens
- Manfrotto tripod and ball head
- Lee Circular Polariser/ Lee ND Filters
The Shot:
The visit started off very damp with relentless rain, drizzle and sometimes snow, this made for very tricky shooting conditions. I spent the first couple of days exploring the area and pinpointing the locations that I wanted to photograph. The morning after was forecast to be dry, with that in mind I woke early and hiked along the West Highland trail towards my first location that was the waterfall below the Buachaille Etve Mor mountain. At first sunrise seemed dull with very little light in the sky. I set up my tripod and camera with a Lee little stopper to smooth the waterfall and composed my shot whilst waiting to see what would happen with the light. After a short time, a dramatic band of light appeared on Buachaille Etve Mor as the sun rose above the mountains behind. The waterfall was still in the shade, this aided the long exposure and an ND graduated filter helped to balance the band of sunlight against this. I’m sure that you will agree that it made a very dramatic shot.
Results:
