Kitchen Window - D700, 24-70mm
When we stayed with some friends in Crail, Scotland I saw this scene in their kitchen. The light was glowing softly through the window…Bob had all the objects set up perfectly for me.
Kitchen Window
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Monthly Archives: October 2009
Autumn Swing
Autumn Swing - D700, 24-70mm
This scene was right beside Inverlochy Castle in Fort William. Might have even been on the castle grounds. The castle was pretty much old ruins and the light wasn’t flattering the ruins much. I saw this as I was walking around the grounds. That’s a wee bit of Ben Nevis in the background. Now if we just had a child playing on the swing it would be perfect. Just imagine there’s one there…OK.
Crail Cottage
Crail Cottage - D700, 24-70mm
On our way down to Edinburgh we stopped in Crail to visit some friends from 30+ years ago. We stayed with them for two days. One morning I took the camera for a walk down by the harbor and shot this cottage. Just loved all the texture layers…single image processed in Photomatix Pro and some Topaz Detail added.
Gypsy Wagon – Cawdor Castle
Gypsy Wagon, Cawdor Castle - D700, 24-70mm
As we were leaving Cawdor Castle I saw this yummy scene. The light was good, benches, tables and a RED gypsy wagon in the background, how could I resist? I could hear that mantra in my head “always shoot RED when you see it”. Not a bad idea…
Glen Coe
Glen Coe - D700, 24-70mm
The drive from Stirling to Fort William was one NOT to be forgotten. Apart from the spectacular scenery it was raining sideways with 70mph gusts. You could feel the car move in the wind. It all added to the ambiance to say the least….this was taken (quickly between the rain storms) at the visitor’s center in Glen Coe. Sure wish we had a little better weather through here so I could have taken more photos.
Scotland – Assorted Impressions
Moran Beach - D700, 24-70mm
This batch of Scotland images are some assorted impressions that I shot. Sometimes I was just shooting what attracted me with the idea of interpreting the basic image later. The first one was shot off a bridge on the “Road to the Isles”, middle of the day with the traffic blowing by me. The more I worked with this image the more towards a moonlit beach scene I went.
Ruins at Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh - D700, 24-70mm
I shot a fair number of shots similar to this, just love the texture and sense of age.
Edinburgh Hotel Lobby - D700, 24-70mm
These two are less ancient but reflect the mixture of old and new found throughout the country. The Scottish Parliament building is a very modern structure, not quite what you might expect.
Scottish Parliament Building, Edinburgh - D700, 24-70mm
Road to the Isles
Road to the Isles - D700, 24-70mm
Here’s another shot taken on our drive on the “Road to the Isles”. There were plenty of scenery like this all along the road but nowhere to a park and get out to take the photo. This spot had a parking area where I could safely get out and take some images.
This is a 5 shot HDR processed with Photomatix Pro and further work in Photoshop with Topaz Adjust, Topaz Detail and some Nik Color Efex Pro. The sky was blended back in, for a more natural look, from one of the 5 bracketed shots for the HDR.
St Mary & St Finnan Church
St Mary & St Finnan Church - D700, 24-70mm
We came around the corner as we traveled the road to the isles and made a screeching stop to pull into the parking lot in front of this church. Here is a bit of history from the visitscotland web site:
The church was consecrated in 1873. Designed by E Welby Pugin in the Gothic style, the church enjoys an elevated and commanding position overlooking Loch Shiel with a spectacular view of the loch and surrounding hills. The church is a memorial chapel to the MacDonalds of Glenaladale, the family with whom Bonnie Prince Charlie stayed prior to the raising of the Jacobite standard at Glenfinnan in August 1745. The church contains memorial stones to the Prince and to members of the MacDonald family.
Queen’s View – Loch Tummel
Queen' View, Loch Tummel - D700, 24-70mm
This is one of the iconic views in Scotland, The Queen’s View looking westward along Loch Tummel near Pitlochry. Seems to be some question which queen this is named for, Queen Victoria in 1866 or my preference, Queen Isabella of Scotland, wife of King Robert the Bruce, 550 years earlier.
The light was quite good on the day we were there, a little later in the day than you might want to shoot it. I did not have the luxury of choosing a time of day for most of the locations we visited. Just went with what I was presented with…
Queen' View 100% crop
Here’s a 100% crop of the image above. It’s the island on the middle right. That’s a house out there and another way back at the end of the loch, just to give you some sense of scale of this place. Hard to project the real majesty of the landscape, no matter how hard you try…
Scotland Trip
Stirling Castle Tree - D700, 24-70mm
We have finally returned after a two week tour of Scotland. Spectacular to say the least! Yes I did take a camera but did not spend a lot of time doing serious shooting. I was doing all the driving and had to concentrate on staying on the left hand side of the road. Stirling, Glen Coe, Fort William, Inverness, Pitlochry, Crail, St. Andrews and Edinburgh were the cities we visited, with side trips in those areas. More photos to come as I get to processing what images I took. Visited a few friends I had not seen in thirty plus years…