Towards Glen Etive

[Tim Tucker 2]

@weepete - We were within stone throwing distance, shot at midday on the 18/12/2019

And, towards Rannoch Moor:

 

[weepete]

@weepete - We were within stone throwing distance, shot at midday on the 18/12/2019

Lol mate, great minds and all that! I probably passed you on the way home . I was considering a walk up to Loch Tulla, but decided to go hit the Buachaille first. Shame the day never amounted to more, I only just caught these two shots before the cloud rolled over though it was threatening to be good for a while. I was seriously considering going back on Thursday, but ended up just chilling in the house.I'll maybe go back up soon if I think there's a weather window. Shooting tomorrow though then fishing on Sunday so that's two days out.

 

[Soocom1]

No. 2 really does it for me!
Great work!

 

[Tim Tucker 2]

Lol mate, great minds and all that! I probably passed you on the way home . I was considering a walk up to Loch Tulla, but decided to go hit the Buachaille first. Shame the day never amounted to more, I only just caught these two shots before the cloud rolled over though it was threatening to be good for a while. I was seriously considering going back on Thursday, but ended up just chilling in the house.I'll maybe go back up soon if I think there's a weather window. Shooting tomorrow though then fishing on Sunday so that's two days out.

I liked your shot Buachaille 2, (I really do), it has a realism to the light. But it also fails in a way which is why I've never sought out *my version* of it. I know this is personal preference, but it looks more like a checkbox shot, as in foreground water against snow capped mountains with blue sky and *good (sun) light*. The problem is that in order to get it you have to use a wide angle lens, and this distorts the very scale that takes my breath away when I round the curve, albeit in a V-dub camper rather than a DB5.

There are two main things that I find stunning when I round that curve and leave Rannoch Moor to that point when you're presented with two paths to the sea, (though we have to think back beyond the A82 days more to Mel Gibson in his *Saltire Blue* phase).

The first is the colour in winter, when you see it in all it's glory. In the foreground you have the almost dark burgundy of the peat stained water against the slight blue/grey of the rock. Against this the matte black of the peat where the grass is now almost straw coloured and inter-dispersed with the deep red/brown of the winter heather. As the distance gathers you see less detail and more of an average which is the straw of the valley floor to the deep red/brown of the heather that lightens with distance. As the slope turns to the mountain this goes purple before the snow line and mountains rise.

The second thing is the sheer scale of the place. The proximity and steepness of the slops adds a scale that's almost Himalayan, especially when the cloud brings the sky to the level of the peaks and they really do reach it.

Of course the biggest problem in winter is that all the impressive vistas are to the south and so pointing towards a sun that barely clears the peaks at midday, (in Glen Coe proper there is no direct sunlight in winter), so you're shooting into the light for the scale and reducing the colour to the shadows. Also the low contrast that produces these conditions photographs very poorly on high DR cameras that inevitably push the colours all in towards middle grey away from the light, (14+ stops of DR simply isn't where it's at in a Scottish winter...), or leaves them in the shadow of the bright sky. It's hard to catch with digital, but almost impossible with film.

You didn't miss anything by leaving as the clouds only thickened and with it came the rain.

 

[Jeff1548 48]

Nice, but number one for me.......

 

[K9Kirk]

Nice set!

 

[Tim Tucker 2]

Thank you for the comments. But I have to admit that in a true senior moment whilst culling my output of the day I discovered that there was actually another shot to the pano...

I think it balances slightly better:

 

[stapo49]

Beautiful winter shots. Great stuff!

 

[weepete]

I liked your shot Buachaille 2, (I really do), it has a realism to the light. But it also fails in a way which is why I've never sought out *my version* of it. I know this is personal preference, but it looks more like a checkbox shot, as in foreground water against snow capped mountains with blue sky and *good (sun) light*. The problem is that in order to get it you have to use a wide angle lens, and this distorts the very scale that takes my breath away when I round the curve, albeit in a V-dub camper rather than a DB5.

...

The second thing is the sheer scale of the place. The proximity and steepness of the slops adds a scale that's almost Himalayan, especially when the cloud brings the sky to the level of the peaks and they really do reach it....

Thanks Tim, I appreciate the feedback and I know what you mean here. One of the things I liked about my shot was the realism as well.

Sure, one of the downsides to that location is the loss of scale, just due to the lie of the land and having to use a wide angle to get the waterfall. Ideally I would have had all day to wander about and find some good compositions with good light but I knew I was loosing the light and I don't know a whole lot of good photographic locations I can just rock up to and shoot yet. Indeed, I only got two shots here before it clouded over completely. The idea was go somewhere I could get some kind of half decent shot, bank a couple, then do some exploring and see if I could get anything better.

I do also want a "good" shot in that location, it's a place I shot a few years ago, again in poor conditions. Though my latest is better than my last attempt, I'm aware it's a 2 star shot (out of 5). But I still feel like it's progress.