Rocky Outpost Photo

Photographer’s Note

-= Ben Aan, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park, Scotland =-

View from the top of Ben Aan (455m)

You can see Loch Katrine and Ben Venue (737m) on the left.

It's my second attempt to photograph this location - but let me describe how it was at the first time.

Since I've heard some good things about this spot I decided to visit it by myself. Weather forecast was highly optimistic - as more than 90% chance of cloud free sky was forecasted (not that I prefer cloudless skies) - but it was just the general weather description for that day.

My plan was therefore quite simple - early wake up at 1:30am, set off at 2am, arrival at the location around 3am and one hour uphill walk through dark forest with a light torch in my hand.

It is a fact that weather forecasts in this country are nothing but a joke - and that's probably why Brit's talk so much about it :)

And it was probably heavy rain (raining while I was driving to the location) that made me sure about the effectiveness of Meteo-Gov institution.

Needless to say - early walk through unknown, dark forest, when all you hear is your breath and rain drops falling down the trees is nothing but unforgettable experience. It would have been even more unforgettable if I had met some wild bear or other forest creature on my way up :D

Once I reached the top and set up my camera all I had to do was to wait. Unfortunately no amazing sunrise took place. The whole area was covered with thick clouds.

That was the story with my first attempt.

On my second one I decided to capture a sunset scene instead - and had more luck this time. Hope you'll like it.

Your comments/critiques much appreciated.

Piotr

Elaine_Blath, asajernigan, npecanhuk, Dpbours, lechmt, luisafonso, gary91, peterd has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

fotoguy22 (1956) 2008-06-17 5:15

Piotr: Excellent detail in the foreground rocks and I like how the line formed by the ridge of those rocks lead the eye towards the sun. Overall composition is excellent.

Greetings from Florida...............Greg

CMJC (3126) 2008-06-17 5:26

ce paysage est vraiment grandiose!
soleil du matin chagrin... et donc plus
soleil du soir espoir et donc cette belle photo!
le choix d'un grand angle pour ce paysage rend vraiment très très bien avec une importance donnée au premier plan comme à l'immensité du lac et aux sommets aux longs... très belle photo à mon gout

asajernigan (14138) 2008-06-17 5:29

Piotr,
This is a fantastic sunset shot, your diligence was well rewarded here. The long exposure created an amazing DOF with nice crisp sharpness throughout the scene. Your composition is great showing the rocks in the foreground with the river leading the eye through the shot. The timing of the shot is perfect catching the sunset just before it disappeared behind the mountains. The lighting and colors are great as is quality of this shot.
TFS,
Asa

npecanhuk (13963) 2008-06-17 5:30

Hello Piotr!
What a wonderful landscape!
What a gorgeous sunset!
Your picture is excellent and very beautiful, with great colors, sharpness, POV and composition! It's so good to look at it! I wish I could be there to see it personally!
TFS - Congratulations!
Greetings from Brazil,
Neyvan Peçanhuk

arghya001 (310) 2008-06-17 6:07

Hi,
Nice landscape. Good details in foreground. Thanks for sharing.
Regards
Arghya

Dpbours (220) 2008-06-17 8:00

Hi Piotr,

That is a wonderful landscape! Wow, you really had more luck the second time around. At least you knew the way you had to walk by now ;-). Very very nice! Wonderfully exposed.

Greetings,
Dennis

lechmt (835) 2008-06-17 8:14

Marvellous one.. delight for the eyes.. perfect sharpness and great capture of the moment...

Estelle (2319) 2008-06-17 11:09

Hello Piotr,
This is a fantastic point of view for this sunset.
Well spotted, well framed
Estelle

luisafonso (858) 2008-06-17 14:26

Great note Piotr. Thanks for that. The picture is also great. Technically it's perfect. If you used HDR or ND grads, I can't notice either one, so congratulations. Perfect editing on this one. Clarity is what I expect from that Canon combination. So sharp, so well defined. I really have to get a 5D... :) Grand photo!

gary91 (15321) 2008-06-17 21:16

Hello Piotr,
Magnificent composition and superb light, the quality of this shot is superb.
Congratulations for your single-mindedness, but you were right in trying another attempt...
Nice note as well, I can imagine all this ;-)
Have a nice day.
Best regards, Christian

Elaine_Blath (6170) 2008-06-18 1:21

Ahoj Piotr,

beautiful nature landscape no doubt, and the note even more ;-) well done!

Take care, Ivana

dkeus31 (26188) 2008-06-18 2:54

Hi Piotr,
superb image, the light and the colors in the sky are simply stunning!
a great image, good foreground also.
like i like them :)
didier

ollie59 (776) 2008-06-18 12:55

sheer delight piotr ,great image ,super foreground and what a view ,real eye candy
ollie

chawax (5977) 2008-06-18 13:00

Hi Piotr,
What a wonderful shot ! The view on loch Katerine is outstanding. The details in the foreground are excellent and the colours are very nice. Thanks for posting.
Regards,
Olivier