Dusk at Rannoch Moor Photo

Photographer’s Note

Rannoch Moor as a place of wonder, one of the last really wild places in Scotland. Imagine a triangular area, stood on its apex, about 10 miles across its base and about 10 miles from top to bottom. Imagine that this 50 square mile inverted triangle is a roughly level plateau that sits at an altitude of a little over 1000ft. Imagine that its surface is dotted with innumerable lochs, lochans, peat bogs, and streams; that it is surrounded by mountains that rise to over 3000ft to the south-east and the west and to over 2000ft in the north. And, finally, imagine that this area is crossed by a railway line, running a little inside the south-east side of the triangle, and a single road, running a little inside the south-west side of the triangle. Congratulations: you've just invented Rannoch Moor.

Most people first see Rannoch Moor when driving north from Bridge of Orchy. Near Achallader the main road and the railway line diverge and the road makes a sweeping climb up to the Rannoch Moor plateau. What you find there can be a glory of heather and lochan surrounded by distant mountains. Or it can be a grey cloud-shrouded landscape through which you catch occasional glimpses of an other-worldly landscape. If Achallader marks the southern apex of Rannoch Moor's triangle, then the other two are equally distinctive. In the north-east lies Rannoch Station and the end of the public road in from Pitlochry, 40 miles to the east.

This amazing area is also very popular spot for photographers with its many water spots that reflect the amazing countryside around. I have to admit that this was not my first visit to Scotland by far. Scotland is on top of the list of my favorite places to visit and I had a chance to do it quite few times already. I more than welcomed change of scenery from nearly never ending dust storms here in Kuwait to all that greenery around me. I have however made proper plan of places I wanted to visit at given (best times) to capture wonderful shots. I was only hoping that the famous playful Scotland weather will play its part too. I was indeed rewarded with fantastic weather and light for most of the time there which I was very thankful for. (Only the temperature difference from 45C+ here to 14Cmax there was something to adjust to, temperature when I took this shot was 5C !!!).

cayden, scampi, danasam, siggi, luisafonso, wolves00, delkoo, robinlawr, Mistral, SELU, cherryripe, giorgimer, lilimih33, robiuk, C_W_McCabe, Yffic, josevescovi has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

filidor (665) 2008-07-09 1:12

I can imagine. Moreover with Your grat captured, moody shot my imagine comes true!

danasam (1057) 2008-07-09 1:14

Well done Lucie, lovely colors and excellent DOF, great use of wide angle and long exposure, fantastic foreground and background.
very well seen and captured.
Sam.

cayden (1683) 2008-07-09 1:15

Hii Lucie,
You represented the every detail of this beautiful place, perfect colors, sharpness and details.
Thank you
Cem

nabarun (332) 2008-07-09 1:19

hi Lucie!
i love the way u have composed the picture! Beautiful colors, sharpness and detail.

regards,
Nabarun

Gregtom (7119) 2008-07-09 1:20

Hello, Lucie!
Fantastic colors! Long time of exposure caused nice blur on the sky. I like this detailed and sharp foreground as well...
best regards,
greg

InasiaJones (20038) 2008-07-09 1:20

Hi Lucie,

Even with hundreds litres of paint, I wouldn't be able to blast so many soft colours in a single image. This yellow patch is sublime, offering a reflection we are not expecting from the sky.

The mountains might be a bit dark, but it's the colours we are attracted to. Gorgeous landscape, simple but high impact.

Cheers!

André

siggi (1419) 2008-07-09 1:20

Hello Lucie,
Wonderful scenery , with beautiful lightand colors and good composition , very good capture.
Regards
Siegfried

luisafonso (858) 2008-07-09 1:24

Welcome back my dear friend. :) This is just wonderful Lucie. Guess you followed me into the lands of her majesty. You have a wonderful photo here. I am jealous. ;) Your composition is great and seeing the colors reflected in the lake I can only imagine that dramatic colorful sky. This is perfect!!!

smarcell (14279) 2008-07-09 1:24

All the colors of the light in this picture. An excellent work
Regards Stefano

scampi (688) 2008-07-09 1:24

Hi Lucie,

Nice shot, good composition and special light

Well done!

Ha Thanh

scalerman (25729) 2008-07-09 1:25

Lucie: some great work and a superb note. best, c

postvikram (1199) 2008-07-09 1:30

Hello Lucie ,
this is an awesome shot. The colors are amazing and so are teh silhouettes. The contrast on this image is what makes it so appealing.Good softness and a nice frame.
The Note is very well done too.
Thanks for sharing - Vikram

wolves00 (152) 2008-07-09 1:36

Lucie,

Just fantastic, this is a very special photograph. Fantastic colors! Longer exposure creates a nice contrast between the 'movement' in the sky and the stillness of the lake.

TFS,

Richard.

CMJC (3104) 2008-07-09 1:52

un cadrage vraiment superbe, au grand angle je présume.. et quelle lumière!

sn00zie (2384) 2008-07-09 2:00

WOW!
beautiful.. truly beautiful. love the light that you've captured and the colors are splendid. this place looks and sounds drop dead gorgeous!

jimkilgallon (0) 2008-07-09 2:23

Hello Lucie
The capture just oozes stillness, the rocks show awesome detail and the colours are very subtle to compliment the scene perfectly.
Well done
Regards, Jim

delkoo (34220) 2008-07-09 2:38

hi lucie
this is the "photo of the day", The colour and clarity is very good, allowing us to see everything so clearly that it's almost like being there. The yellow tone in particular adds so much to this scene, as it provides a nice contrast with the water and sky. Well done.

didier

cbrman (18800) 2008-07-09 3:30

Hello Lucie,

Une lumière magique et splendide sur le lac. La composition nous entraîne dans un univers coloré et très sauvage. J'aime beaucoup l'exposition parfaite de cette photographie.
Tu as su garder une très belle ambiance.
Bravo.

jonathan_hart (22570) 2008-07-09 3:56

well composed, great tones, a world of fantasy, a fantastic mood
regards
jo

dkeus31 (26144) 2008-07-09 4:11

Hi Lucie,
a nice image you show us, as usual :)
great colors in the sky and reflecting in the foreground lake, the rocks brings a strong foreground also.
really nice
didier

greekscapes (339) 2008-07-09 4:43

What a magical shot Lucie!

desman (2130) 2008-07-09 10:39

tres beau pastel, bravo !

robinlawr (898) 2008-07-09 12:17

A wonderful, wonderful shot Lucie. I thought you had abandoned us for flikr so am very pleased to see this post. You've managed to capture a very popular location with a completely new eye! Cannot be faulted technically nor on any other point of view. Sharp, well balanced composition and perfectly exposed. The sky and the yellow highlight in the foreground are just special. Excellent note too! TFS

Excellent!

Best regards

Robin

velocista (881) 2008-07-09 13:46

olá,
beautiful photo! great, great colours and a lovely reflex on the water. the effect of the clouds in the sky is awesome. great sharpness. congratulations and Thanks for Sharing
pedro

Mistral (13694) 2008-07-09 14:38

Ciao Lucie,
you painted with light... this image is fantastic and colours and composition are really stunning!
Absolutely excellent with a dreamy mood!
A smile
Luca
PS: I'm fine and I'm planning a trip to Tanzania (?) for next September. Still I hv your images to share...

npecanhuk (13679) 2008-07-09 14:49

Hello Lucie!
A few colors... a small quantity of light... the result... a wonderful picture!
TFS - Congratulations!
Greetings from Brazil,
Neyvan Peçanhuk

BWJ (1771) 2008-07-09 17:17

Hello Lucie,
I especially like this picture of the water aglow with warm color, the blue sky filled with dramatic colors of sunset and silhouettes of the mountains. A very pleasing scene. Nice work!
Warm wishes,
Betty

Butterflyka (518) 2008-07-10 2:26

Hi Lucie

Incredible capture of this wonderful place.
Great colors and light management.
Amazing sky and smooth surface of the water.
Excellent sharpness and clarity.
Regards

Karina

SELU (492) 2008-07-10 7:13

HI LUCIE,
YOU COLOUR AND LIGHT IS PERFECT, VERY GOOD SHOT. A GREETIG.

XavierJamonet (2207) 2008-07-13 3:43

Hi Lucie!

Rannoch Moor is a really wonderfull place. I was absolutely amazed by the landscape of this area during my trip to Scotland last August. The light is alwas changing (like the weather ^^)and it is a real paradise for the landscape photographer.
Your picture shows some great colors of this wonderfull part of the World. I love the long exposure effect on the clouds and the rocks in the foreground.
A superb shot for a wonderfull place!
Thanks for sharing!
Regards
Xavier

cherryripe (18931) 2008-07-14 6:58

Hi Lucie
The Scottish light is gorgeous and you really must appreciate the contrasting weather. My Mum just came from a few days in Dubai to here and it was the same for her. I like those boulders in the foreground, the graphics of the thin reeds, the strong silhouettes and the dynamic sky with the amazing colours.
Regards
Nikki

giorgimer (21034) 2008-07-14 14:40

Hi Lucie,

impressive shot, extraordinary effect given by the long exposure. Can I ask you if Sigma 10-20 works well? I was thinking to buy it.

TFS

Gio

lilimih33 (9872) 2008-07-15 7:19

Hello Lucie!
Fantastic sky, amazing reflection, wonderful colours in your composition!
Dreamy atmosphere!
Best regards!
Lili

robiuk (10763) 2008-07-19 0:55

Great shot, Lucie!
Beautiful pastel colours and careful composition.
Given the grass is so sharp (for 22-seconds exposure),
seems like there was no breeze...
Lovely,
Robi

hdl (6735) 2008-07-24 4:25

Great colours! Sublime effect due to the long exposure.

Asiulus (1066) 2008-07-28 0:22

Such pictures make me consider leaving my country and living in a tent out in the wild ;-)Wonderful colours, clear, superb image... They should pay you for advertising the place.
Best regards
Joanna

C_W_McCabe (4) 2008-08-15 10:29

I love the blur of the clouds caused by long exposure and the lighting is just excellent. Great image here, well done! - Colin

meb (744) 2008-10-01 8:00

Hi Lucie,
wonderful shot and note. I love Scotland too!
Best regards
Marica

Yffic (6106) 2008-10-01 8:22

Hi Lucie,

Nice picture with great use of your wide angle lens. The use of long exposure time gives a great job.
Colors are really nice.

Regards.

Yves

Didier38 (710) 2008-10-07 12:16

Bonsoir Lucie,

superbe photo, les couleurs sont géniales et la composition parfaite. bravo !

Didier

syrus_persia (2150) 2009-03-02 22:24

Salam Lucie
Very good capture with perfect light management and amazing graphical effect.
Very nice notes as well.
TFS and best regards
cyrus

josevescovi (1660) 2009-04-17 13:07

Foto com idéia, composição, tema, cores e nitidez geniais. Trabalho muito competente. Parabéns.

Jose Vescovi.