Skip to content
Knightshoots Landscape Photography
  • Home
  • Biography
  • Galleries
    • Landscapes
    • Animals and Birds
    • Still Life
    • Portraits & Headshots
  • Blog
  • Headshots
  • Contact
  • Shop

Blog

Tutorial

Planning, Prep and my Self Challenge

There once was a time when I would just get a call for a job, and I would head off into the sunset and wing the trip. This often meant I had no clue what I was heading for other than a few basic ideas and I missed a ton of opportunities at what might have otherwise been awesome locations and conditions!

To some, (to many photographers actually), this might have been perfect, but I am, sadly, not a natural explorer and as such, just wandering off into the great unknown poses me a lot of problems, inner turmoil and stress. Don’t get me wrong – I will happily wander on my own on a hike… but I seem to only be able to do so if I know a destination – so a big 8 hour hike is fine, but only if I know the end goal. Where I am not at all observant, this adds an additional restriction of simply not seeing things, so again, knowing what I am looking for, is a massive help. I am hoping that, in time, a growing confidence and skill set will help me get over all this. (There has been the odd occasion showing this might be happening already, so I feel hopeful that I may be able to explore proper as things progress). For now, I just dont feel confident enough to venture forward in this way… yet.

Some time ago, I watched a video by French photographer Serge Ramelli, and one of his suggestions when starting out, was to set yourself a personal project. As it goes, I had the perfect one. For Christmas I had been given a scratch off map of the UK. It was a present to celebrate me buying my first camper, and to encourage me out to see the country (as I have yet to brave international travel!!) When I didn’t have a job, I could go to a different county and visit there. My only rule, was that I had to visit at least 3 different areas of any one county before I could scratch it off… and its proved to be a fantastic way of getting me to explore a new area. I just need to do this in a way that doesn’t clash with my psychological restrictions.

My Scratch off map by Jan 2020.

So I plan. My Skye trip was the first trip that I planned out. I didn’t plan a day by day itinerary, but I made myself a little booklet of 16 possible locations, and decided to let the weather, and where I had parked for the night, dictate which ones I would visit. This proved to be a huge success, and the trip was my most successful one at that point. I am now planning two new trips, and since I have adapted my technique a bit, and learned more about searching out elusive locations, I thought I would share how I do this with you. My trips can now be planned anytime, and stored safely in a way that if I get a last minute call taking me somewhere new, I may already have some locations that I can pull up at any time. This isn’t just a photography technique I am developing, its good for any visit, work or holiday, that might bring me to a new place where I might have cause to search out what’s there.

So. to start. I signed up to Googles’ My Maps. My new best friend. I also got the app on my phone, signed to the same account. This meant that no matter where I am, if I see anything that inspires me, I can now note it immediately, and mark it on the map for future reference. Anything I plot onto the map on my pc at home will show up on my phone instantly, so I don’t have to print any more booklets, the information will always be at my fingertips. As my County challenge is in smaller areas, I can even have a different map for each county ready for a visit. I can always add more locations to each map as I go along, there is no ‘finished’ map as such, so revisits, and new areas to see will all be together, and easy to identify.

Next up will be hunting the sources of the inspiration. Actually this is my favourite bit. My search can start with a simple image, idea, job offer in a new location, something I spot in a video, or simply, ‘I haven’t been to this county yet… what’s there?’. From there the search starts and I simply follow the rabbit hole to all the different spots it takes me.

First experience of planning… my 2019 Skye booklet

I will give you an example. I have been spotting a number of images on Instagram of a really interesting rock formation on a coast in Scotland. I had seen it a few times, but didn’t note its name. Then by pure chance, I stumbled across a You Tube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qn6gOyqDxo) of a chap (Imran) photographing it, and it really intrigued me enough to note its name. Bow Fiddle Rock. I found out where it was, and noted it in my little county book that I had been keeping to facilitate my county challenge. Should I ever get to Moray, That was first on my list. Some time went past, when I stumbled across a fab lady photographer and vlogger, Kim Grant, and in watching one of her videos, saw a really interesting cave behind her when she discussed Portknockie. This was also in Moray. It got added to the Moray list… and so it grows.

Fast forward to now and my current plan. Daughter is changing her student digs, and boyfriend is moving in with her, can I drive his stuff up and help move as soon as lockdown allows? Glasgow here I come…!!! Ohhhh, but hang on… as I have no work at present, why don’t I simply turn this into a huge photographic trip? Initially, as British lockdown ended earlier than Scottish, I intended to move her in, drop down to Northumberland for 10 days, and then go back up to Scotland to do a further 2 weeks touring up there. I really wanted to get the Highlands scratched off my map! So, I started searching locations for the two areas. (Sadly, flat after flat fell through, so the plan didn’t quite come to pass as I initially hoped.. but it did give me more and more time to add locations to my Highlands My Maps)

So, for this trip, I started with google images and the simple request ‘places to photograph in…’ a whole bunch of images started to cross my path, some interesting to me, many not. I looked at the places that caught my eye, and started plotting them on my map. I then followed the images I liked, and found them from a variety of sources, Instagram, Flickr, photo libraries, You Tube videos, photographers portfolios, trip advisor, hiking sites, even fishing sites – there are so many more too! By clicking on an image I liked, I found myself following leads from each site that led me to yet more locations that I could add to my list. Then there was google maps itself. when I looked at a location that looked bereft of markers, I could zoom in and see if I could literally spot anything that might look intriguing, if I did, I typed it in to see if anyone, anywhere might have tagged the spot to help me see it any clearer (quite often, local village groups). Then there were Googles own markers with little cameras on – mostly just average pictures of random dogs or food available nearby, but some gave me some ideas I might want to investigate. The rabbit hole seemed endless!!!

Slowly, my maps grew from a couple of locations to over 70 in the highlands! More than enough to keep me going for a LOOONNNGGG time, and a fantastic variety of subjects. Knowing my post Covid fitness level, I couldn’t consider any long, strenuous mountain hikes, but I know there are even more options for those shots I could add if I wanted to. (There is one I really would love to do though…*ponders the idea*)

Scotland locations map growing daily – and now I add my own photos and notes to visited locations for future reference.

As I plotted each site on the My Maps app, I could add a screen grabs, website details, hints and tips, my own notes and even hiking instructions… anything that might help me find the locations that I had been researching. The app on the pc immediately added it all to the app on my phone, so I have it all when I am on the move. As time goes on, I will replace the yellow ‘I want to go here’ marker with a green ‘been here!’ one, and I can change the screen grabs to my own photos and my personal notes for future reference… or, indeed, for others to follow in time. My excitement at looking at these maps really helps build anticipation, and the love of the hunt absolutely thrills me. I added my Skye sites, and the Glencoe ones I had noted on scraps of paper… and my map grew and grew!

So, for the trip that should start any week now, there is a downside. On the Scottish part (not sure if Northumberland will come off just yet), many of the locations are on the NC500… a long route of around 516 miles that ring the highlands, and as such they are largely bucket shots. This may be a two fold issue. One, the NC500 will be packed with tourists keen to get out at last, and the narrow roads will be hard to navigate if I keep crossing paths with other motorhomes, and two, where they are such popular bucket shots, everywhere will be targets for those same tourists. Getting people free images may be a huge issue. A bucket shot, by the way, if you don’t know it, is one that you dream of shooting if you are a photographer, or a shot that you have seen that you desperately want to emulate or recreate in your own way. For a tourist, its place they have spotted somewhere, and simply want to go to see for themselves.  On the flip side, my list is now in my phone… I can visit any time. The locations, on the whole, aren’t going anywhere… so what I cant get on this trip, I can try another time. I suspect I need to consider this trip as a recce, rather than a full on shooting expedition, just so that I can judge how I might like to try these shots myself when I can get them (sunset? sunrise? spring? winter? misty, moody or bright and cheerful??)

A final note. As I write this Thomas Heaton has just released a video covering his tips for planning. He does point out one very big issue with my method of doing things right now… that the problem with going with pre planned images or copies of those taken by someone else, is that you will very, VERY rarely get the same conditions as any photograph you try to emulate. If you set yourself up to take THAT shot, you are setting yourself up for disappointment and failure. He is 100% correct with this point… so if you follow what I am currently doing, do NOT expect to see or take the same images as any of those you may have saved for a reference. The landscape will be how it will be, when you get there, I have no illusions about that when I compile my self guide. You shouldn’t either. The screen captures I have plotted, are starting points on what might be possible, and when I get to each of these, that’s when I will try to put my stamp on things, or make notes for a revisit.

I cant wait to see what I might find!!!

 

Introduction

Second introduction… Lets start again…


Well, here’s the thing. I started this website nearly a year ago, and got a few posts together. Then when my ‘tech advisor’ did the student exchange thing, everything suddenly got much harder… I had no clue what to do on the technical side! This seemed to put a whole block into my head and then when life took over, the Knightshoots revamp ground to a halt. On the plus side, the filming jobs I had all over the winter and early spring, took me to some great locations for photography, and I had an exhausting time out at several of them… and yet more eventful adventures. My Instagram shows some of them. One of those adventures in particular, was so scary, I ended up putting up four posts to chat about one single, really bad, day. I hoped to warn others about the sea and its dangers. This was much more akin to the posts I wanted on here… fuller, and able to tell the whole story much better. Interestingly these also ended up my most liked posts, letting me know, that you do prefer to read a fuller adventure. Shortly after that, I was busy with work again, and a lack of self discipline mixed with some low periods, just compounded the issue I was having in updating this site.

Then Covid-19 happened, and I suddenly had a lot of time on my hands.

As it goes, I was able to fully make use of the time, both in house, and with some personal projects… and I actually complained that I STILL didn’t have enough time for everything! I am very lucky compared to most, in that I have an absolute TON of interests, and actually found the restrictions really helpful in getting me to narrow down my focus and get the things done that I had been neglecting for far too long. (I imagine, that this happened to many people up and down the country, judging by the queues outside the DIY shops!) Anyway, once the main jobs were well under way, I had a conversation with a friend about all things camera, and had to confess to him, that apart from three very small in house camera sessions, I hadn’t gotten the camera out once. He embarrassed me by telling me he had been able to get out more than that himself… and I knew he was working excruciatingly long hours. I haven’t been out of the house AT ALL except for a few shopping trips, and that was only because I had to. Embarrassed and ashamed doesn’t come close to how I felt!! My only answer for him, was that I had been able to get back onto working on this website, which was the only thing photography that I had been able to really engage in.

Dandelion seed macro was surprisingly easy. Hardest bit was getting hold of a syringe and needle without feeling like a junkie!

I have absolutely NO idea what’s stunted the photography. Just about everyone I know and admire were working on projects in their own homes. Don’t get me wrong, I did try a couple… water droplet refraction… dandelion clock macro’s… but they just didn’t excite me enough to get me going. My main household ‘Covid project’, is to kill the concrete look by adding some plants, and making it more of an inviting ‘garden’, this (and my friends achievements with his pictures) encouraged me out into the garden to try and photograph some birds. Although, without much greenery, it proved complicated and I got a bit bored of just shooting sparrows and starlings, as very few other species visit at present… Oh – apart from one blue tit that I have kept trying to capture without much success – (yet!) The sparrows have been fun though…

Am I not the most gorgeous boy your eyes have EVER beheld?!

I tried to learn Photoshop properly. This wasn’t particularly successful either, as I struggled on knowing where to start, and then when I thought I had worked out a good learning path, I kept getting distracted, then got lost again. All this tells me that I probably have attention deficit, or something, as I literally cannot stay focussed on a thinking job for too long (never have been able to) and when I do, I get very bored very quickly. On top of this, memory retention has always been chronically poor as well, as fast as I learn something new, I’ve forgotten what I learned yesterday. Rather interestingly, I did try ‘twirl’ editing… I did this one over and over for a whole day without getting bored, and had to force myself to stop – I found it really addictive and it produced some stunningly beautiful images… actually it also produced quite a few that didn’t work so maybe it was not knowing the final result, that kept me entertained…

Twirl art. Playing with a photo in Photoshop.

Despite everything though, I learned a little in all the things I did, and if my brain can retain it long enough, hopefully I will be able to use it when I do get out again. Meanwhile, I focussed on getting this site going again. Reliving my adventures was easy, and no chore at all.

I started by looking at the few posts I had already written for this blog. I want this to be a big part of this site, so decided that I would readdress what I had written, and literally write the whole trip out with all the ups and downs that I had experienced. I went back to the start, and pretty much rewrote everything, editing new pictures where needed, and wrote a lot more posts to fill the story up in a fuller way. Weirdly my memory came flooding back as I looked at the photos and my diary entries, and I was able to fully relive the events to such an extent, I was in a really foul mood (mimicking the one I felt at the time) for several days as I typed the Loch Fada/Bheinn Shuardial and Loch Slapin/Elgol/Portree entries!!! I put all the trip entries into order, so you can follow each day as I experienced the trip.

I decided to keep some of the original photo edits in. I was rather interested in seeing where I had grown in that area, and thought that it might be nice to continue watching that. Its good for me to see my growth, and if that interests you, or if you are just starting on your own photography adventure, its good for you to see too. This is all about my learning curve after all, and though its likely to be a slow curve, its a good boost to go back and see that change and improvement has indeed been happening. Sometimes I go back to some of the old edits I did a year or two years ago – pictures I was proud of at the time… and I cringe at them big time now. Its a good cringe though, because it shows improvement, and we should never be embarrassed of improving, or of the steps that we have had to take to get us to where we are going.

My first selfie as a photographer!

To that end, until I can get myself out again, or when I have times where I cannot go anywhere, I am going to go back and revisit other older trips, and let you see the other stops in this journey. I will try and use original edits where possible, and maybe even use them as a discussion point in a different post. For now, I am going to press ‘live’ on this site, and let you get started with me on this whole adventure. I hope you enjoy following these with me!

Review

Isle of Skye, Highlands, Scotland


This will be my first review of a location. I aim to tell you more in depth stories of each individual adventure in separate posts, but for here, this will be my thoughts on the actual location as an overall whole. If you want to read the individual stories, and see the photos from there, check out the blogs, starting from the first one at Neist Point and Blackhill waterfall.

Well, lets kick off with my most memorable first properly organised and planned trip. The Isle of Skye in Scotland. Without a doubt, one of the most photographic, and photographed, locations in the UK that I have visited so far. It’s highly unlikely anyone could get an original shot any more, but it’s one of those places that every photographer will have (or should have!) on his or her list… simply to see some of these locations with their own eyes. And rightly so, because the whole island really is stunning.

Classic view from Old Man of Stor

For myself, I first had the opportunity to visit Scotland when my daughter needed to move out of her halls at the end of her first year in Uni. My choice was to tour a handful of key sights all over Scotland, or to stay local to a smaller area. I opted for the smaller area so I could hopefully get a more in depth view of a place, with the possible options of returning to a site a second or more times. I plumped for Skye because of the sheer number and variety of sights I could add to my ‘to do’ list within a small area. I hoped it would keep my busy! Decision made, I visited Skye, between 19th -24 June 2019, and drove everywhere in my camper van. Because of this, I cant comment on any places to stay, but can speak of my experiences of Skye from a tourer’s perspective.

If you come in a car, I hear Portree has some very comfortable places to stay, and some cracking restaurants. I tended to cook in the camper so haven’t experienced any of them, apart from ‘The Chippy’ in Portree Harbour, who served up a delicious fish and chip supper one night. If you are in a car and Tent, I did stay at a site in Sligachan. It wasn’t huge, but it was comfortable enough. There was electric hook up available, and a clean, and comfortable shower/toilet block, but very little else. The chap taking payments, was very friendly and informative, and I was pleased to see the showers were included in the pitch price, so I would give this site a thumbs up for my needs, but those seeking a full on campsite with a shop/clubhouse/children’s play area et all, will have to look elsewhere I am afraid… and I cant actually say I saw another site… although since I wasn’t actually looking for one, it has to be said that I would be surprised if there wasnt one somewhere!! There is nothing else at Sligachan but a hotel/pub/restaurant, which unfortunately for me, was hosting a wedding on the night I stayed, so the restaurant was closed… I therefore can’t comment on the quality of that either!

Fred Parked up… somewhere gorgeous ready for the morning adventure

For the bulk of my stay, I had to stop in rather remote spots, purely because of the need to save money, and to facilitate getting to locations for really late night, and early morning photographs (meaning that getting to bed and up at… oh no… wait… NOT getting to bed for anything much more than an hour, because SOMEONE forgot to check what time the sun sets and rises in Scotland during the solstice week (Duh!!)) Thankfully these spots were fairly plentiful, tucked away, and non obtrusive. When not out with my camera, I kept myself to my van, and left nothing behind at any location of course. I would urge anyone considering doing this, to do the same. As soon as people begin leaving litter, or soil of any kind, there will be a stop to this, and therefore any freedom to roam that we may currently enjoy. For us photographers, the biggest enjoyment, and some of the best photography, will naturally involve getting to remote locations very late in the day, or as early and as easily as possible, so PLEASE remain respectful, so that this may continue.

I found Skye to be largely unspoiled. I don’t know how much longer it will stay that way, as even at this point, it was impossible to not notice just HOW MANY tourists were flocking to the area. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people visiting such a tiny area at one time, and this wasn’t peak season! This did impact photo opportunities at some points, but you have to take the rough with the smooth, and after all… I guess I was just another one wasn’t I? The saddest bit for me, was, that over my week, I think I heard a Scottish accent on no more than a handful of occasions. There were numerous tour buses every day, at every location I visited, dropping at least 30 -50 people off at a location, who tramped everywhere (some without any consideration for the environment, I was sad to notice) for half hour or so, and then moved on to the next spot, just as another bus pulled up. I hope this will be controlled soon, as I can see another 10 years passing, and the gorgeous locations that are the core starting places for photographers to visit, being little more than wide expanses of trodden brown footpath.

View from Stor 2012
View from Stor 2019

The most noticeable place where this is seen is at Old Man Stor. I came here briefly with the children in 2012, and we walked through a lovely forest footpath to the base of the Stor, where we then found a few thin, single file foot path trails up to the Stor itself. This year, I was really sad to see all the trees had be cut down and were being replaced by ‘native trees’, which I get, as the trees that were there, were not apparently natural ones for this area. But it looked baron, and my heart bled in the silence. It felt almost morgue like, for the lack of birds, and wildlife which had now gone, having lost so much of their protective cover. I know the plan is good, don’t get me wrong, but I am unlikely to see it looking as beautiful in my lifetime again, as trees take years to grow, and I wished more than anything that for the sake of the wildlife, they had done it in stages, so the animals could have stayed. Anyhow, that’s just a minor, personal gripe… I diverge… the tourist effect… The little narrow path up to the Stor had mostly gone, in favour of a huge brown worn path to the right, that led up to the photographers viewpoint. I can see where it started, but the numbers of people have clearly widened it immensely, to the point that as you get higher up, the route becomes completely unclear, as it’s all just a big brown trodden area. Where the path becomes less secure as it wears down further, and wet weather makes the muddy path slippery, people will naturally widen their route onto yet more of the grassy area, and the problem just gets worse. On the route lower down, the footpath that has been laid is already being ignored, with people cutting through, walking on the edges etc. This will only get worse I imagine as the numbers grow. My biggest fear for Skye, is that this will happen in other places too.

On the other side of the coin however, I was pleased to see that some locations are beginning to control crowds. Lealt falls is a good example here, with a purpose build viewing platform overlooking the falls, keeping people safer from the edge, preserving the landscape, but affording good views of the falls. Toilets are being planned for The Fairy Pools car parking area, and up at the Quiraing, it looks like a better car park might be being created too, just at the top and out of the main walking route and view that attracts everyone. I am reading online that there has been further funding (granted as of June 2019) for visitor access for Old Man of Stor and some for parking at Portree, including Motorhome day Parking (YAY!! – I couldn’t park anywhere so ended up pretty much avoiding the place entirely). (See Jan 2020 update below about these!) Its also really nice to see that (so far) Skye has staved off the usual trappings that come with hordes of tourists…big ugly hotels, fast food chains, shopping /tourist malls etc. This helps Skye maintain its charm, so I really hope that it can keep them away, or find a small, tucked away area, where they might hide it all, should it become an absolutely necessity. It should be noted however, that the lack of a number of familiar shopping facilities will mean that should you loose your lens cap?, or smash your very expensive filter on your third day?, you can forget finding replacements for the remainder of your trip…because even Amazon wont deliver here in anything less than 3 days, and the nearest city is several hours drive away!! (Hmmnn… unless someone opens a dedicated camera shop on the island….???)

one of the many passing places

On the whole, I found Skye to be an awesome place to travel around. The roads were fairly clear at this time of year for me, and even during (the few) busy periods, I found frequent passing places everywhere (with the very clear signs visible from a distance). These were an absolute boon that allowed for easy flow of traffic in the many areas that only allow for single lane roads. And by many, I mean nearly all. Well done to the road designers who thought that one through…there are many other places in the UK that could take a lesson on how you achieved that! My camper is Transit van sized, and it managed really easily… but as the season picked up I wouldn’t like to comment on how it all might work with the growing numbers of tourists, and the ever increasing sizes of motorhomes, that no doubt headed that way.

Weather wise, my week was essentially cloudy. It didn’t rain every day, but did most of them, and several days had a full spectrum of weather, bit of blue, plenty of cloud, a sprinkling of rain (and the occasional torrential downpour), so this actually makes Skye perfect for interesting shots rather than just the traditional postcard type ones. I am told this is normal for here, and that even a few miles can bring entirely different weather at times! I had several moody shots of mountains, and I know that there are often, still, calm days that afford beautiful reflection shots in Skye’s many Lochs. I wasn’t especially lucky this time, as it was fairly breezy every day, but these shots are visible everywhere online, so they aren’t lying. With this variable weather pattern, you will need to bring wet weather clothing, sturdy waterproof footwear, and some rain protection for your gear for the bad days. I had an old rain mac from a visit to Niagara many years ago… it did the trick, but I have since invested in other alternatives for my camera.

Duntulm Castle

As for locations, every landscape photographer is completely spoiled for choice. Mountains, rolling hills, coast, rivers, waterfalls, towns, villages, abandoned cottages, historic houses, castles, harbours, bridges, lakes, ponds, wild and birdlife… well just about everything I can think of, is here, within this tiny speck of land… all within an hour or two’s drive, a gentle stroll or a good hearty hike. Nearly everything is free to enter (for now at least!) with exception to the private houses/castles (one I looked at was Dunvegan Castle, which I ended up not doing on this occasion), and all I visited were pretty near the road side or car park, either the actual view, or the start to the official hiking path. You really are are totally spoiled for choice, making it a pretty impressive place to start landscape photography, especially if you aren’t totally sure what your favourite type of shot might actually be. Here, just about every theme could be tried, and with quite a few experienced photographers around, you wouldn’t be alone long if you needed a bit of advice either. Oh, by the way… this last point shouldn’t lead you to think that ‘that shot’ is already over done because of the numbers of photographers here… ‘that shot’ changes every hour with the weather here… and YOUR shot, will be entirely different. It will have the light that was exclusive to the moment that YOU press your shutter, and it will have your memories, and your adventure in getting to that spot embedded within it. My advice would be to try not to plan a weather dependant shoot too much, but to remain open to whatever the conditions throw at you, and be fluid and adaptable around it. You will be less disappointed or frustrated if it’s left as a ‘surprise’ on the day, and it will help stop you restricting yourself on the amazing shots that ARE available to you.

Brides Veil Falls

My opinion ultimately is that Skye was pretty perfect for me. It enabled me to really improve my photography, offering views I was pretty familiar with, whilst giving opportunities and challenges that both stretched my existing skills, and encouraged me out of my comfort zone to try something new. Sometimes the weather, or the crowds, sometimes my own inabilities… the challenges are plentiful, but not insurmountable. I was able to be entirely alone in the moment, and yet I was able to mix and chat with individuals or groups of people around me. I am fairly confident that this stunning place would do much the same for any photographer, be they a day tripper just taking snaps. amateur photographers hoping to get themselves off the auto setting, or highly skilled pros looking to build their portfolios.

My score?

***** Highly Recommended!

Update: Jan 2020… the car park at the Quiraing is indeed in place, and a really good one too, if you are in a car. Its very unclear where my camper should park however… I assume its to park up in the bus spots, which I feel very loathed to do. I can’t get into the car park itself due to the height barrier… and the sign is hilariously confusing….

Quiraing car park conditions Jan 2020

Note that permitted vehicles include Motorhomes, but clause (m) says that vehicles made to sleep in are not… I’d love to see a motorhome that wasn’t designed to sleep in!!! Either way, it left me unable to park in there, and very confused where I WAS supposed to park.

At the Stor there is definitely work going on, a large area too, I am assuming a visitor centre will be made there – either that or its a VERY big car park… hopefully the signage will be clearer when they finish!! Portree was unchanged so I await a better camper experience there.

Review

Vanguard VEO 265CB travel tripod review


 

Looking for a tripod? The first things you might want to consider are the reasons behind your purchase…Are you just a holiday maker, hoping to get some lovely vistas in a warm and comfortable environment, but needing something light in the suitcase for the flights? Are you a hobbyist just wanting a simple tripod to get to grips with using one? Are you a hard and fast hiking photographer, who wants those stunning landscapes from unusual positions and need to carry their tripod out in all weathers for a long time? Are you a macro enthusiast, itching to get close to the ground to capture the micro world that lives there? Are you purely studio based? There are probably as many reasons for wanting a tripod as there are photographers, but before you start looking, you need to be realistic about what you are going to do with it, and this will help you narrow down the multitude of options out there, and might even open up the market to some you hadn’t considered.

I am the furthest thing from a photographer with experience in tripods. Very much a newbie in fact. So when I went looking, my biggest problem was that there isn’t a good camera shop near me where I could go and have a real play with a bunch of different makes and designs, to actually compare them all, and to see what the differences might be between them. If you have one near you, I would really recommend that you go and play. Go feel the different weights for real, see how small they really are to hold, and have a fiddle with all the knobs and buttons. Ask yourself a whole bunch of questions relevant to your personal needs. Are they easy to operate for your hands? If aiming to be outside in the cold, will you need gloves and if so, are they as easy to operate now??? Is it light enough for a big hike? Is it too big for a simple holiday trip? Is it sturdy enough for variable weather? Do I need anything complicated for my studio? Posing all manner of questions to yourself will help you know what you actually need to work with, how heavy you could realistically cope with comfortably, and a fold down size that you can deal with for your main purposes. I regret not having the chance to do this…instead I followed advice from wherever I could on the internet..from people who may not have actually been out and about for a period working with their tripods, from people paid or supplied with free samples to review, and from sources that had no clue as to what I needed. There is a lot of invaluable information out there, don’t get me wrong, but nothing compares to a hands on examination of a selection of options to help give you a clearer idea on what YOU might be needing.

If you are looking for a small, lightweight tripod to carry around in your travels, chances are you may be considering the Vanguard VEO 265CB. It rates highly in reviews on the internet, is made by a highly respected company, and is fairly affordable if you are looking to step up from the lower market priced tripods out there. I purchased this tripod for much the same reason as you may be considering it and gave it a good 6 months trial from June 2019. Given that length of time, I think its worthy of a good honest review having been well and truly tested in the field.

I bought this, because I needed a lightweight, travel tripod to carry around all day – whilst hiking up and down hills, mountains, rivers, woodlands, waterfalls – and well basically whatever terrain I was heading to! My older Vanguard, although a very sturdy tripod was just a little bit too tall for my bag, and it often snagged on trees or fences, (or once even on another person!), where I would duck under, over or around things. so, 6 months ago I began a search for the perfect travel companion to go with my kit.

I finally ended up purchasing the Vanguard VEO 265CB, partly on recommendation from a Vanguard Ambassador, and partly, because I knew I liked my bigger tripod, also made by them. It ticked the lightweight box, it ticked the small size box, I already owned one by Vanguard, and to be brutally honest… I was just SO tired of wading through all the different options, I just plumped for this one, recommended by another landscape photographer – or maybe I should have looked a little closer… a TRAVEL photographer. This tripod is pretty perfect for him, and if you are a travel photographer, yes, it’ll likely be perfect for you too.

On unboxing the tripod I was really happy to see that it folded down to a really sweet 41.5cm, and was super light at 1.35kgs, fitting into the side of my camera backpack very tidily without poking up above it. On playing with it indoors, I found I liked the twist lock legs much more than the clip lock on the bigger tripod. Those are sticking, squeaking, and getting harder for my hands to manage. These were really easy to undo all together, and pulling the legs out quickly was much easier. Not that I generally have need for speed unpacking of a tripod but I didn’t consider that bit, and it is nice to just whip it all out quickly! It looked really nice, was very comfortable to hold, and well, it made me very happy to think that I wouldn’t be lugging about that hefty weight any more, and would have a thing in my bag that would be an absolute bonus.

In practice, maybe things didn’t quite turn out as well as I hoped for the usage I needed it for. My very first trip was a week after it arrived, and a few days into that the first disaster happened. Up to this point I was really happy, carrying it was certainly a dream, however, it was so light, that, well, it was TOO light. Disaster struck when a simple gust of wind that came out of nowhere, took the whole thing over smashing my camera, expensive lens and my 10 stop Lee filter onto a rock. The big stopper shattered, and holder bent badly. It saved my lens thank goodness, but the replacement ended up costing more than the tripod, and for the rest of the trip I had to manually hold filters in front of the camera. This didn’t happen just the once either, its now happened quite a lot of times, and the one thing they could have added to the design to help with this, (i.e. a hook on the centre column to hold a weight or a camera bag) is simply not there. There is a hole on the neck but – maybe I am supposed to put a carabineer in there to hold my bag??? – as its to the side of an already unstable tripod, I have been very loathed to try that option as the weight should ideally be directly under the centre. This ended up being a huge disappointment for me, and an extreme frustration. Its never felt safe since, and its proved me right too many times now. On the third or fourth blow over in my rush to save it, I inadvertently stepped on one of the legs…it snapped instantly, and, although it still fits in the column above it, its come right out several times to my complete irritation. I have had to mark the leg so I know not to pull that one out fully – gone are the days of the quick unpack. Lesson here, is that there is light, and there is TOO light. Consider this when you choose your tripod. If you are likely to be out in windy conditions, this one is NOT for you as you will need to go for a heavier model, just to ensure you get the stability needed.

Broken tripod leg *sob* with insert showing what broke.

I have always had a ball head on my tripods. I actually don’t know any different, so really need to explore other options. I say that, because I found this ball to be a little temperamental. There are three knobs to get the full use out of it, two for the ball and one for the column and I was often blindly turning and tightening two of them, accidentally turning the third so the whole thing turned round 360 degrees by accident. I never did get my head around it all properly, and often battled with it to secure the camera. I found it really hard to get a good, precise positioning, and I am sad to say often plumped for the ‘oh, that’s straight enough!’ attitude when the levelling on my camera struggled to sit on the green line. In researching new heads, it seems that a bigger ball is better, and the one on this tripod is on the smaller side. It held my kit with no issues, but struggled to position itself with the weight on. I ended up recently purchasing a 3 way geared head head to replace this (more on this in a later post) The Arca style plate that sits on the camera, was very easy to get onto the tripod. I did like that the attachment always felt secure, and attached so easily to the tripod head. I had no complaints there… other than that when you swing the camera in to portrait mode, it would slowly droop. You definitely cant get a long exposure in portrait orientation when that happens! I couldn’t hand tighten the screw into the camera anywhere near tight enough, and have even used a screw driver to tighten it – but after a little bit it happens again. A stubby screwdriver travels in my kit as a permanent item now to try and prevent this happening. Oh, and by the way, going back to that 360 knob I keep accidentally turning… that’s now come out. I had tightened it a week or so ago, and then it suddenly just started going round and round. Seconds later, it just came out in my hand. Can I get it to go in again? Nope The thread looks perfect and yet, it doesn’t seem to fit in there at all. No idea what’s happened… but when I messaged Vanguard asking if they could help or if the tripod was guaranteed, I was met with the very loud sound of crickets. No acknowledgement of my email, no suggestions of help, not even a ‘no we cant help/ send it to us/drop in here’… nothing. That’s even more disappointing.

Tripod head, with screw that wont go back in.

I think this tripod would be good in many conditions where there is no wind, and it has worked a treat in many situations. However, I have struggled in even lightly breezy conditions, although it didn’t go over, it vibrated the camera and therefore I couldn’t get a pin sharp image. I suspect this is due to the fact that the lower legs are very spindly, so if you have the thing fully extended to get a good view for instance, it picks up any movement. The answer would obviously be, don’t raise the central column, or the lower legs… but then that kinda defeats the purpose…

For my needs therefore, I would have to say that I am not as impressed with this as I had hoped… to the point that I have been looking for another lightweight tripod to suit my needs. For now, it will be back to the bigger, heavier one so I can rely on the shot I am after, rather than ‘hope’ it will be OK. This one has ended up in the bin, less than a year after purchase.

As for Vanguards customer service. Highly disappointed, and I wont be looking at any of their products again.

My Adventures

Eilean Donan Castle


Skye 2019: Part Twelve

24/25 June 2019

As I left Skye, I felt a weight lift. I am not at all sure why that happened, perhaps I was loosing the pressures I had been putting on myself or maybe it was just that I would be heading home. It was half past 7 in the evening when I left Portree, and after an hour and a half of driving, I passed by Eilean Donan castle.

The first time I had seen this castle in person was on my way up to Skye. I had only stopped off then for just under an hour, to see what this place was about, and it had totally captured my imagination. I can see why so many people photograph it. It’s set in an absolutely perfect photographic setting, jutting out into the loch, with a fantastic backdrop of the hills behind. The first flyby visit, saw the tide fully out, and masses of tourists… but as I headed towards it tonight, I could see that the tide was in, the sun was setting, that the castle lights were alight and it would likely be tourist free. I had to stop to investigate! I took a quick walk around, and realised that although I had just missed sunset, the shot that I wanted most was going to be a blue hour one (the name given to the period of time after the golden colour of a sunset had gone but before pitch black of night sets in. This happens just before dawn too). I had seen a number of these shots and really wanted to try one for myself. Another photographer pulled up, and also walked around for a bit. The light was still a bit too bright for me at the moment, so I thought that now might be a good time to grab a quick bite to eat and make a cuppa. Food at last… my body was extremely grateful – and as I calmly waited, I felt the whole world come to rights again.

I watched the other photographer for a bit, he took a few shots, disappeared into the back of his van, then reappeared in what looked like a complete beekeepers kit. When I eventually got to speak to him, I questioned the outfit. He explained it was to keep the midges at bay, as they normally cover him with bites and he suffered a lot with them… damned good idea that one, I thought, as I started scratching at my newest bites for this evening. I didn’t seem quite so plagued by them however, as I had been that morning, so maybe as the sun sets, they also drift off… anyway, as the sky darkened, I eventually got my kit out and walked over to my chosen position with River at my heels, firing off shots that I loved. This reflection was awesome, and the blue light just made it all the more magical. It was an easy shot to capture for once.

Eilean Donan castle at night

I think my only disappointment was that one of the lights seemed to be out of order, putting one of the buildings into darkness. It didn’t spoil my time though, and after my fill here, I wandered around to the other side, and took a few shots from there. Unfortunately, although this would have been nice too, there were a small group of teenagers there dancing around in front of the beams of light. This cast great big people shaped shadows across the building, which although, quite fun, wasn’t really a shot I was after! As I finished my wander around the second side, I went back to the car park side, and joined the other photographer again. He was out of his midge prevention kit by now, and looking a little more like a regular photographer, perhaps the net facemask had been getting in his way. He told me he wanted to try something different, that this location would be perfect, and on seeing that my curiosity had been peaked, asked if I could I watch his camera while he picked up a few bits from his van. I did so, highly intrigued by what he was hoping to do. When he came back, I knew immediately what he was hoping to do.

Fire spinning!!!

Now I have experienced this once, as part of a big group some time ago, so I recognised his equipment… a balloon whisk, steel wool and a rope. Oh yeah, all highly technical equipment in this game you know! I was most fascinated with his set up in doing this alone. He sorted out where he hoped to focus, set his camera on a timer, and did one test run. He used a lighter to set fire to the steel wool (which he had stuffed into the balloon part of the whisk), jumped into position, then started spinning it in a big circle. Where his camera was set on timer it meant he was in full spin when the shutter fired. Once lit, the steel wool burns in seconds. By spinning the whisk that you’ve tied to a rope (or dog lead), tiny hot embers flick out, giving us these awesome photos… but the time you have is very short, so working on your own is very difficult! How he managed this all on his own, was quite interesting, and it actually amazed me! I always assumed this needed to be a two person job but he proved me wrong here. I bet this wasn’t easy the first few times he tried! He repeated this twice more, and seemed happy with the shots, then as he loaded the last bit of wool into the whisk, he asked if I wanted to take a photo of my own. I had been so mesmerised, I hadn’t thought to ask! I said a grateful ‘OH! Yes please, thank you!’ and then realised I had no idea what I needed to set the camera to. With very little time to work it out and only one shot, I hastily set my camera up next to his, fumbled my way through the settings in the dark, guessing mostly, and pressed the shutter. I feel my shot should have ended up a longer exposure than I did, (15 seconds) and maybe it would have had more drama at the top of the circle, perhaps a 20-25 second exposure…and maybe a lower ISO at that speed to help keep the background dark enough to highlight the embers. (I took this with an ISO 0f 500) but all in all, for a sudden rushed shot, I cant say I was unhappy in the slightest! Perhaps I WAS learning after all!

Fire spinning

Once the last of the wire wool had gone, he packed up, said his goodbyes and went on his way. I had the place entirely to myself by now, so I took a few more photos from the car park, wondering whether the castle lights stayed on all night. As I wandered up and down, I decided to see what a low to the water shot might look like, so carefully stepped down the rocks to the waters edge… A few seconds later I heard a massive ‘SPLASH!’ to my left, and realised that River had decided that now would be a good time for a midnight swim. In any other lake, ocean or river this might have been OK, funny even – but this place was just FILLED with seaweed. Apart from feeling concerned that she might get snagged by weeds in the now, nearly pitch black, this place smelled anything but fragrant…!! I called her back out and as I did so, saw the lights at the castle wink out. Oh, OK, I assume the lights go off at 11 then! I looked down at the stinky dog that I assumed was next to me (judging by the smell) and packed everything down. I made my way back to the camper, and moved to a spot for the night. As I settled down into bed, I considered going back briefly in the morning before leaving for home. I was hoping a high tide may give a pretty daytime reflection. As I turned off the lights, River decided that I might need some extra company, and tried to jump on the bed. Wet and stinky, she had an almighty shove in the opposite direction… NO WAY was she getting in MY bed tonight!!! Sorry little girl…

I got back to the car park very early next morning, feeling fully refreshed (even with just 6 hours sleep) and was disappointed to realise that the tide had gone completely out. We were back to a castle surrounded by a bed of seaweed and mud. (I really should check these things out !!) Nonetheless, I took the opportunity of an unpopulated scene, and took photos from every angle. Where the tide was right out, I was able to get down under the bridge and on both sides, even crossing where the water would have been, onto a small bit of raised land. Whilst taking this shot, the sun beamed through the overcast morning clouds that hung behind me for a brief moment, to shine directly onto the castle with a soft diffused glow. I was grateful for that, as the castle had looked a little dull in front of the blue sky behind it. I finally felt that things were working in my favour again, and that maybe this photographic lark was a good thing for me to be doing after all…

Dawn shot at Eilean Donan

The great joy of photographing Eilean Donan was that there are still other opportunities I could try at another time – A daytime with a high tide, views from two other spots that I have since discovered, a proper moody, misty shot perhaps. I ended leaving on a high, and although very tired as the day drew on, I didn’t have a repeat of the mood overload I had suffered the day before.

I felt this trip had, after all that, been quite a success.

 

My Adventures

Loch Slapin, Elgol and Portree


Skye 2019: Part Eleven

24 June 2019

As I drove, I finally found myself at Loch Slapin. Now here was a place worth stopping for, not least because I needed to stretch my legs. (well OK… that’s just polite speak for this old lady bladder needed emptying, alright…?!) As I rounded the bend and came down the hill, I saw a lovely big area where I could park safely off the main, single lane road. As I looked around me, I immediately noticed a white house across the Loch, standing alone with a gorgeous backdrop of trees and mountains. It was a lovely sight, and totally worthy of a photo for sure. This would only serve me as a memory note however, because the light really needed to be much nicer for this to be anywhere near a stunning shot. But for me, I certainly felt it had the potential to be just that at some point. I took my photo and then went on my way again. According to my satnav, I wasn’t going to get to Elgol until gone 4, so I didn’t want to waste much time here now I had noted it for future use.

Loch Slapin

As the hills climbed and dropped, I found myself squeezing past buses and other vans, but very few cars which surprised me because I thought this would be a really popular place for visitors. Maybe it was a little late in the day for them? It felt like a long trip down that road, and after Slapin, nothing particularly drew my attention. To be fair, I wasn’t really looking… I arrived in Elgol and initially parked up just before really steep hill down to the bay. The sky looked pretty grim – not characterful grim, but certainly not pretty, and no way was there going to be any chance of a nice sunset. I felt tired, totally uninspired and his hill looked steep with the prospect of walking up it with all my kit on my back being the furthest from encouraging! My mood continued its route downwards and I just sat in the drivers seat considering my choices. I could a) stay and see what I could do here b) go back toward where I had been or c) park closer…

I decided to see if I could park closer first, then consider. I had to drive down the hill as gently as I could, as this was, I think, the steepest one I had done in Fred (the camper) to date, and it worried me. I struck lucky and found that there was one small area that I might be able to squeeze into in the bay car park. From here you could easily see the rocky beach, and I decided that, as I had actually made the effort to drive all this way, I may as well stay and see what I might get. My seascape photography was still poor, as I hadn’t really tried it much on this trip, so here was another opportunity. I was here. Why waste the chance? It took a lot of persuading to get me out of the seat, but I did eventually get out.

An hour later, I left even grumpier than I had arrived and in a very similar mood to the one this morning. The same problems had returned in major style, and I didn’t feel anything was working. Sorely disappointed that I had yet another view in front of me without clear mountains, or that fitted in with the shot I hoped for, I found it hard to see the scene. to see a composition I liked, to work the settings to my satisfaction or to enjoy anything about where I was. I basically felt like I was forcing everything, and struggled with it all.

In hindsight, all I needed to do was ease up on myself. All this pressure to get something was hampering my enjoyment, and I struggled to see the wood for the trees. I didn’t like anything in my viewfinder, and although tried, felt like I was a useless, and terrible photographer, and I wondered what I thought I was even trying to do. I forgot one of the golden rules. Slow down, take a breath, and just chill. This should never have been about ‘getting a shot’, but in checking this location out! It was about seeing what was here and taking it all in for what it was. I had totally forgotten. Being a subject I didn’t consider as a strong one for me, probably didn’t help, although on reflection, all things considered, and without my hopes for the day in my head any more, I really needn’t have been quite so uptight with myself…

Elgol

I feel now, that I had totally overdone everything and I had just ended up developing a steely determination to just get there and take the photo. This attitude stank as far as I am concerned. That’s definitely NOT what I wanted this to be about. I feel that perhaps it was all part of the big bag of tiredness, lack of food (when had I last had a proper meal??) and over saturation from the days where I had been packing multiple locations in. This was a very bad habit I was to find myself repeating over and over whenever I went away. When will I ever learn?? There’s no rush, these places will still be here next time I come here… and I had every intention of coming back. I forget that rest, food and the enjoyment all add to the end product. I have still SO much to learn…

I got back into Fred, and headed back towards Portree, where I hoped to get a photo of the harbour houses, and find somewhere to stop for the night. As I drove my negative frame of mind hammered at the nail, nearly sealing the fate of my Skye visit. I got to Portree, and (as I had experienced every visit to this small town) struggled to find anywhere to park. I ended up parked in one bay (residents only- oops) and wondered if I could even get find where the shot I had been seeing online had been taken. I walked up and down, and back up again, but to no avail. The only shot I eventually got was looking down from the roadside and when I looked, was absolutely no better than the tourist shot I had caught way back in 2012. This just crippled me, and I snapped.

I got into the camper and left Skye.

This was all just too much.

My Adventures

Loch Fada and Bheinn Shuardail


Skye 2019: Part Ten

24 June 2019

After such a long day, I ended up just staying parked up at the foot of the Old Man. It was gone 11pm, dark, and I hadn’t plotted an overnight spot to stay, where I had made a spur of the moment decision. This meant I needed an early start to vacate. So at half 5 despite my tiredness, I roused myself, made a quick breakfast and left so that I wasn’t imposing on anyone. Today I was aiming to go to Elgol. but before I left this area I really, REALLY wanted to try and get a dream shot at Lock Fada… literally just down the road. This may be my last chance, I mused, as so far the weather hadn’t been especially helpful in getting my shot from any loch and I wasn’t sure how many more days I might be able to stay on this break. The sky had a light high cloud, but I hoped for, dreamed of, a sunrise shot, with smooth water, stunning reflections maybe a perfectly placed rock or two…  Oh yeah… the works please.

Today, however, was NOT going to be that day.

I arrived at the spot, and was a little disappointed to realise that there wasn’t going to be any colour because the high cloud was building fairly quickly and basically just whited out the sky. A second disappointment was that the wind was dancing about all over the surface of the water, so my glass like reflections were not going to happen either. The third issue disrupting my plans? Summer + water+ Scotland = Midges (I keep forgetting this!)… oh, and a fourth. tiredness. This all mixed together to form a highly entertaining view of a grumpy, plump, older lady cussing the camera, the wind, the light, the boats, slapping herself every two seconds, feeling frustrated, totally inept, chronically unable to think this thing through and eventually, just stomping off with the biggest frown on her face imaginable, leaving a few colourful words floating around on the air behind. Oh today was gonna be a corker… I could just feel it!!!

Basically my issue was simple, there was quite a strong breeze blowing across the water. This caused a few problems… mostly that I was completely unable to get the glass like reflection of the boats on smooth water. I tried a long exposure shot to cheat the water movement a little. This might have worked if the boats weren’t blowing around and moving in every shot, spoiling the image. Then there was the constant tickling, distracting the addled brain still further. All I needed now really, was a full bladder to distract me completely and utterly… oh… wait… From start to finish, I barely spent half an hour here and then left. I was totally annoyed at my inept skills, questioning everything from my abilities (or lack of) to my whole life, and especially my inability to solve a simple problem or find a suitable alternative. It wasn’t even 6.30 am and I had the whole of the day ahead of me yet… Part of me wasn’t looking forward to this.

Blurry boats are a pain…and they spoil pictures.

I cut my losses and drove back down the isle and headed towards my final destination Elgol. I had with me my self made guide book, and another one, a Fotovue guide to photographing Scotland that I had flipped through. In this book was a place that I was going to drive past, and that I intended to stop at en-route. The picture was of an abandoned cottage in front of a mountain, and I hadn’t seen one of these yet, so I really hoped to find and photograph it. Nearby was an old church too, so a possible double opportunity excited me. A few hours later finding it was fairly easy, so I started with the church, literally on the roadside with a car park right next to it.

As I walked around the site, I found it was standing in a awkward spot, on a bit of a hill that didn’t allow for the mountain behind to fit in the frame – nor anything in fact. The book had the church with the Milky way behind, but there was obviously no hope of that right now…and the cloud was still building, so avoiding just getting white sky was totally impossible. It just looked drab. I didn’t even get my mobile out. Disappointed yet again, and even more frustrated, I decided to try and find the abandoned cottage instead. The description I had noted on getting to the location was mildly hard to find, and as I have absolutely no sense of distance, I ended up feeling like I was just walking around lost on the Scottish Moors for ages… My distress just kept growing.

Then I spotted it, and the sight just lifted every ounce of tiredness and bad mood away. The cottage looked amazing.

With nature on its way to reclaiming it, it had small trees or shrubs growing up the walls inside, and grass all in the interior floor. I could see where an upper floor might have been, although I could only see windows facing the front upstairs. I saw two tall fire places, so tall that they obviously heated the top floor too, one each end of the cottage – clearly this can be a cold place at times! I noted a wall at the front just laying, near complete, across the whole floor. Had some strong winds just caught it at the right spot and pulled it down in one go? I tried to imagine a family maybe living here, the crumbled walls all around outside, maybe a smallholding for animals? I would have loved to have read something about the story of this place, but it was just in the middle of nowhere, completely on its own, its silent history blowing away with every hour that passed. Maybe I should have read the page before this one, in the Fotovue book… it did actually give a suggestion of what this house might be linked to. Later, on my return home, I discovered that this was, in fact, part of a marble quarry works for a very short period at the start of the 1900’s so maybe this was a workers cottage for them to have a break, or to meet and start the day. Did someone live here full time to keep a watch on the place for thieves I wondered? I would love to get back, and find the rest of the quarry, apparently still evident, with a small rail line used to transport the, then, highly popular, stone away. Lost in the magic of the place now however, I tried to photograph it in a way that would highlight its isolation, the thing that struck me the most. A little mist would have helped the view I feel… but on the moorland it still looked pretty bleak. Once the pictures were taken, I turned and my heart stopped.

Abandoned Cottage at Shuardail

Oh ****!

Without me even realising, the mountain behind me had been slowly gathering a hugely impressive cloud, and as I watched, frozen on the spot, the cloud darkened, with huge great fingers clawing their way around the top of Beinn na Caillich. I didn’t quite know what to do, hold my spot, or, literally, RUN! This was surely going to bring some extremely unpleasant weather my way… possibly lightening… and out here, with no cover, standing here would most definitely NOT be the safest of places to be. Realising the length of time the walk (run!) back would be, I decided to hold my spot, and to photograph this instead. This was what I was out here for after all… using whatever the weather threw at me, right?! Part of me even secretly hoped that there would be a little lightening… (but only over there please…!)

The pictures looked amazing in the viewfinder, and after a short while it did indeed roll right over me, and downpour in the best possible fashion. It was a quick downpour, no thunder or lightening though, and the remainder of the black cloud just ended up fizzling out, and filling the whole area with a light misty drizzly rain the lower down the mountain it came. River and I made our way back to the camper. I felt a little invigorated by this experience, and looked forward to seeing what Elgol might offer. I was still physically exhausted however, so as the drive progressed, I felt its grip slowly clawing at my resolve to keep positive. I drove on past several really beautiful views, but with my main aim solidly set in my mind, and the clock ticking away now, I stubbornly refused to stop at any. I have no idea why I did that. to this day it confuses me. My single visioned determination to get there, had blinded me to all the possibilities that were flying past my windows, and in hindsight, that was a decision I sorely regretted

My Adventures

Lealt Falls and Old Man of Stor


Skye 2019: Part Nine

23 June 2019

After the glorious sunny day at the Quiraing, it occurred to me that we may have an equally glorious sunset to match the one the previous evening. Added to the fact that there were still at least 4 hours to sunset, I decided on the spur of the moment, to try and get a shot from the Stor, and squeeze two big spots on my list into one day. Again, my lack of planning, and in fact, lack of understanding of the locations, really proved to be my biggest challenge. This visit to Skye was a good learning curve in a lot of respects. It seems to me that there are possibly two ways to do Landscape photography- In my situation, as the complete noob that I am, I was plumping for one of those ways…turn up and see what you get, react to the conditions, and be surprised. Possibly very pleasantly so. I suspect this is every beginners route, and its not a bad one to learn to react and just deal with the things being thrown at you. The other side of the coin is to plan a trip around all the details, you hope for. This can also work extremely well of course, although the weather, and other conditions, can always throw a curveball, and you may go to great expense in cost or time, to come away completely disappointed. Ideally you kinda want to utilise a little of both for the best chances, but I suspect that’s a skill for further down the line as I learn both aspects. In this instance, I had two different issues I hadn’t planned in…first one?..err…the sun doesn’t set this side of the island (kind of important really if you want a sunset shot!!) and two..a glorious day, doesn’t mean a glorious evening… BUT, neither necessarily means that its a completely wasted journey, because this isn’t just about the shot…its about the JOURNEY. Its the journey that gives a photo the meaning it has for you, the photographer, and hopefully in time, you learn to translate this to the viewer if you do your job well.

View of Lealt Falls from the platform
shot of the viewing platform overlooking the Lealt River

So I left the Quiraing with quite a bit of time on my hands, and headed over towards the Stor. On the way I made a quick pit stop at a location that caught my eye from the road. Lealt Falls. I spotted it because of the car park, literally on the roadside, and decided to have a look. I didn’t take my camera, as this was only going to be a very quick visit, and I left River resting in her bed. As soon as I entered the site I saw that there had been a specially made viewing platform. The first specially made tourist control thing I had seen here during my visit, other than the barriers at Mealt falls. It offered a nice view over the waterfall to our right, and certainly helped keep people away from the edge that pretty much led to a steep drop from what I saw. I personally found the top most big, horizontal, wooden bar on this platform, to be at a bad height for my not so tall frame, so grabbed a photo with my phone as best as I could over the top. (I tried under it, but it was just awkward, and a naff view) I doubt very much if it would be worth trying to get a nicer shot from here, as the position and heights makes it pretty hard to do so. I would love to know if it IS possible to get to the bottom of the falls however, as surely a shot from below would look awesome. After a quick wander around the rest of the site, I made my way back to the camper, and drove on up to the Stor.

I arrived at the car park, and then had the joyful experience of trying to coax a stroppy toddler out for the next walk. Well that’s certainly how River acted. Firstly she wouldn’t get out of the camper, choosing to hide her face with just her backside hanging out of her dog bed, then after the first drag out, she ran back in, hid at the back of the bed giving me an ‘I don’t wanna’!! eye, peeking out from the side mesh. Once I managed to get her out for the second time (camper door immediately closed this time), she crawled along at such an impossibly slow snails pace, that I felt very much like I was literally dragging a dead dog behind me (pretty much akin to all the best comedy sketches)

I got the hint… she didn’t want to come.

I left her with a bowl of food, water, a puppy pad by the door in case of emergency, and started the hike on my own instead, letting her have her way.

Stroppy Toddler

I started my walk up the Stor when the time had gone 6pm, and after about half an hour in, became rather concerned that there may be a problem with my self made guide book’s advice on timing. ‘The hike is aproximately 45 minutes’ said the note I had copied from somewhere. Yeah. Right. OK. Really? It became evident very early on into the hike that this was quite possibly not the case in SandyPlod mode. By 45 minutes into the hike it became clearly evident that this was definitely NOT true in my case, and that I was running a risk of missing any sunset. On top of this, I was only roughly aware of where the famed photographers viewpoint actually was. I pushed on nonetheless, my mind wandering over a number of things to keep it off the aching legs and breathless proof of my unfit state.

I had been here once before about 7 years ago, and thought I had walked through a forest at the start that time. There was no forest here now, and I had passed decimated stumps that absolutely broke my heart. At this point I had no idea what had happened to the trees or why, but the site looked ugly, and sounded dead. No birds sang, no animals scurried around me, no leaves rustled in the breeze… The breeze. There’s a cold breeze…I suddenly stopped focussing on the dead route and my physical tiredness, and looked up. To my complete and utter sadness I suddenly noticed the sky… at least 1/2 of it was covered in cloud, and when I followed the direction they were coming in from, there was a lot more coming.

Gutted, I realised that I had actually made it over 3/4 of the way, so had to make a decision. I chose to continue. You never know I mused… there might be a lovely glow from under the clouds that will look fantastic… I day dreamed my way through the next bit of the route. Hope is a nice thing sometimes. Sometimes.

Towards the last part of my walk I met a lovely lady from Singapore. We chatted as we walked, and she was incredibly interesting. At one point I mentioned to her where I was aiming to walk to, showing her a photo on my phone of the view I hoped to see. She loved the look of the sight and hurried off to the rest of her family who were at the rocks of the Stor itself, telling me she would see me up there. This encouraged me to keep going despite my growing disappointment at the weather. There wasn’t too much further to go I told myself… not much further…

As I climbed my last steps onto the viewpoint, the remains of my daydream fluttering away with my exhausted sigh of relief at having made this trip finally, and my realisation that the cloud had indeed come in much more. I was alone at the point to start, and was joined a few minutes later by the lady and her family. After spending time chatting to them, and laughing at the antics of the 3 teenagers, they had their fill of selfies, photos and funny video antics, and started to make their way back down again. I was left alone to enjoy this sight all to myself. The view, despite the weather, was everything I was hoping for. It takes your breath away, and I just soaked it up for a while before getting my camera out and snapping my first photo.

Stor from the Viewpoint

Shortly after, I was joined by another photographer, and together we spent the next hour just casually chatting, taking the odd photograph, offering each other advice (not that I had much to give), swapping stories and kit info, and getting all hopeful or excited together about how the cloud was looking, or how the light was reflecting on the water of a loch, or even… might we get a sunset??? I think this was one of just a handful of times I had ever experienced this kind of interaction with a fellow photographer, and it was the most joyous experience. It was peaceful, quiet, innocent and completely without any pressure or expectation. Both of us were fairly new to landscape photography, having come with a little experience from other places, so we were pretty much learning and enjoying the scene in front of us together. Moments of silence were understood without explanation, and the time went both quickly, and yet slowly at the same time, if such a thing is at all possible.

My pictures were not what I hoped for, and the dreamed of sunset, definitely didn’t materialise. Interesting cloud formations did however, and thankfully, no rain. Off in the distance way behind us, we saw a pretty pink sky, and as it gradually faded, clearly not planning to show here, my companion for the last hour packed his things away, and bade me goodbye. I myself followed shortly after, but instead of going directly down. I decided to walk closer to the Stor itself, and see what the shot might be like from there. I quite liked the view, so took everything out again, and took a few more pictures, just for the hell of it.

closer to the Stor

The light really began to drop now. it was gone 9.30, and estimating at least an hour and a half to get back down, I decided I had better get my backside into gear, and get off this big hill before it got too much darker.

In the end, the highlight hadn’t been the photos at all… they were far from the ones I dreamed of… but this reminded me that the simple experience of connecting with strangers, of working alongside another photographer, were all part of the experience. They had made what might have been a hugely disappointing evening, one that felt so warm and satisfying, and I arrived back to the camper feeling far from disappointed with my evening.

Tonight was most definitely not about the photo, it was totally about The Journey.

Oh, and I wasn’t in the dog house with River either…I was greeted with a yawn, a stretch and a happy waggy tail. Phew!

My Adventures

The Quiraing


Skye 2019: Part Eight

23 June 2019

OK.. I wont lie. I pre judged the Quiraing. Based on photos I saw online, I was left with a rather ‘meh.. its pretty, but no different to anywhere else pretty’ I was far more interested in Skye for the other, interesting, dramatic hotspots it had to offer, and the Quiraing, actually didn’t even make the cut on places I wanted to visit. Yea, yea…I know! I can hear you all screaming at me….. (Lesson. Do not judge a place based on others photos or your own preconceptions.) Actually.. that’s not a bad lesson for life either. One shouldn’t judge anything or anyone at all…

The Quiraing ended up on my back up list… the ‘I suppose I should go, just to tick the ‘I’ve been there’ box…’ Oh how foolish I was eh?!

Needless to say, when I drove through this random unnamed road on 20th June having taken a wrong turning, I was quite taken aback by this unexpected, stunning landscape that came into view, so much so, I had to stop for a quick snap so I could revisit later on. As I stopped, I noticed lots of other people and cars. What IS this place? I asked myself…

Then I recognised it. ‘THIS is the Quiraing! Oh. My. God. I had misjudged this place COMPLETELY!!!!’ The Angels of Fate had clearly been tutting at my stupidity, and felt the need to intervene to highlight this stupidity to me personally… thus distracting me with old memories and disabling the sat nav deliberately, so that I would take a wrong turn.

Thus a new love affair began, and it immediately went to the top of my must see and explore list. (am I forgiven now?)

Despite the way I had perceived images on the online photos, the Quiraing is huge. The land around here is a massive landslide, that’s still slowly slipping down at a rate of about one cm a year, and this gives this area its beautiful appeal with  beautiful slopes heading down to Staffin, and the torn, craggy rocks and stacks at the top. My understanding is this was also what formed the Old Man of Stor, although the land there has now settled, and isn’t slipping any more. (rock falls do still happen of course, but they are caused by different events) It makes sense now, that the two areas look very similar.

Classic view of The Quiraing

On the morning of the 23rd therefore, I parked up at the top, and began my exploratory hike across following a very easy footpath. River happily plodded on behind, and although the day started fairly cloudy and chilly, it actually opened up to a blisteringly hot one. I totally underestimated the walk, and went without much fluid and only a couple of basic snacks (trail mix essentially). On hearing water falling somewhere, I just resigned myself to letting River drink from those. As the hike progressed however, every area I thought was a fall, looked dry, so I have no idea where the water was falling from, or indeed where it was going to, and in the very rare puddle we did find, the poor pooch just laid in them to cool down. 3/4 of the way across, we found a small dribble of a waterfall, and the poor dog filled up her reserves by essentially licking rocks and waiting.

I took the camera out from time to time, although I wasn’t really trying to get ‘the shot’. The light was either very harsh, or very muted due to the haze, and it left the land looking pretty flat. Today was just about going on this walk, and seeing what was here. I wasn’t going to worry. I eventually planned on scouting to the end, and photographing anything of real interest on my way back. I had heard of a few specific areas that I hoped to reach, although I had no idea how far they were. These included a lone tree, and the different rock formations named The Needle, The Prison and The Table. I spotted the tree (nearly missed it actually) and mentally added it to my list to grab on the way back, as it wasn’t far from the start of the walk. It is a classic and popular shot, and as I stood looking at it, I could understand why. Its a pretty perfect composition!

We continued on, regularly pausing to look at the view. Hours later, as we approached the Prison, the path turned to scree, and proved a little slippery (and steep) to get up, so I took my time, and we got half way up before bumping into some other tourists coming the other way, just as we were catching our breath. Seeing River panting, One lady in their party offered to give her some bottled water, and River just lapped every drop up. I never felt so much like a bad mummy, but was SO eternally grateful for the offer. The lady was understanding, and I didn’t feel like she was judging me… You find the nicest and most thoughtful, generous people on the top of hills and mountains sometimes!! As they left we ploughed onwards, and made it up to the back of the prison formation. We were pretty exhausted by now, and the heat and Rivers lack of water was beginning to concern me. We still had to get back, but I hadn’t reached the Needle or Table yet…Oh the dilemma! As luck would have it, the hike was brought to an end by a stile across the path not long after the Prison. Under normal circumstances River might have been able to get over it, but someone had thought it a good idea to add a wire fence to the top, so that none but adult humans could step over. I think even children would struggle, and would have had to have been lifted. I wasn’t about to attempt to lift River over though! She’s a heavy girl!!!

time to rest for a bit!

So, after yet another pause, we turned and started to make our way back. We had taken about 4 hours so far, but the walk back didn’t seem to take that long, perhaps it was because I didn’t stop every 5 minutes to soak up the view (!!)

On the way back, I found myself walking with a greater purpose than the wandering I had done so far. I mostly forgot about the camera on my back, and was just desperately aiming for a cuppa back at the camper. River seemed better, and in all I think it was only another 1.5 hours to get back. The water from the hikers bottle, and the small dribble waterfall on the way seemed to revive her, and she was happy to keep this (slightly) faster pace. Lets face it..even at speed I am a plodder…so when I say ‘pace’ I don’t mean the one everyone else walks at! I wonder how long that walk I did, would take most folks… 2-4 hours in total????

At the end, I got my camera back out to snap the view there at least, then realised I had forgotten to photograph the tree. Was I going to go back for that????…Nahhhhh! The light wasn’t that good, and there was no hope for a nice sunset for quite a few hours yet, so in all honesty… was it worth it…? I didn’t need to persuade myself really. The next time I might get here, I would plan things better to (hopefully) get more out of my shots.

As River sat happily resting with me however, I did snap a picture of her on my phone, and it ended up being my favourite picture from today. Her face pretty much summed up how relaxed we were, and how enjoyable the hike had been despite the heat, and lack of water.

River after our walk. You can see ‘The Prison’ formation in the distance behind her.

 

This is definitely a walk I will do again. even if I leave the camera behind. I wonder how much further The Table and Needle might be…..?

My Adventures

Talisker Bay


Skye 2019: Part Seven

22nd June 2019

Talisker was a classic example of my own inept skills at planning, and because of this, it ended up a highly disappointing evening at the time. After a fantastic day at the Fairy pools, I planned to come here for a sunset, on what appeared to be the only likely evening where I might have a chance at a good, red one. I had seen some online photos that showed a really lovely beach, with lovely features in the sands, an interesting sea stack, a waterfall, and basically a lovely vista well worth going to photograph, so teamed with a red sky, it may be a dream shot…In itself not a terribly bad plan I thought!

Sea Stack at Talisker Bay

The drive over was a very pleasant one, and according to google maps there was a car park nearby to make everything easy. Well, I have no idea where this might be, because there was no car park to be seen, and I ended up at the bottom of a small dead end road looking around at signs telling me there was private property here, there, and over there. I gather from the signage, that people parking here are a nuisance. Another sign pointed me to a beach…but it was clear there was no road going any further. After a look around, I squeezed my camper into a small space where maybe 3 cars might park safely without annoying the folks living there too much, picked up my kit, River, and we began the hike in the direction the beach arrow was pointing. I was a little concerned as to how far there was still to go, and felt I may have missed my opportunity as it was quite late in the day, but after a short hike which took me through woodland, through someone’s front garden (!!), and past a big field with sheep in it, the route opened itself up to the bay just as the golden hour was in its final half hour.

This is when I realised my bad timing.

There was no beach to be seen anywhere, and access to the waterfall was completely impossible. The lovely patterns in the sand were gone…and I was faced with a beach full of boulders. Hefty ones some of them too. I just stood looking at the scene feeling really disappointed in myself. Eventually I clambered over the boulders, and found a position closer to the water, and tried what I could with my camera. With limited viewpoints, everything I tried was just half hearted though, and after the golden hour, even the sun didn’t seem to want to give me the hoped for glorious sunset, with the light slowly fading, and the blue increasing.

Talisker Bay

It was pretty, and just sitting watching the sun change through all the shades as the blue hour approached was very calming. River didn’t seem interested in taking a dip, so we basically just sat there, watching, and soaking up the peace. Such a difference to the evening a few nights ago at Duntulm! Another couple drifted in walked along the edge, and disappeared again, but apart from them, the beach was entirely empty.

Eventually I resigned myself to the fact the sky wasn’t going to light up, and I packed everything up, turned my back and started to walk off. River plodded silently next to me, and as I neared the edges of the boulders I took one last look before joining back onto the path that led back to the camper.

My heart stopped.

Yep… you guessed it… behind my back the sky suddenly given one last effort, and had lit up. It was only briefly, and by the time I got my camera and tripod back out, there was only a little left..but I managed to capture a little that was still in the east. I missed completely the stunning red I had first glanced.

Not the dream shot I hoped for, but its enough to remind me of several things. Firstly. Don’t go until you are SURE the sunset is fully over (!) Secondly, (this one was very much in hindsight) and more importantly, sometimes, just sitting, and not taking a photo isn’t a bad thing. Soaking up the atmosphere is often a much better option, less stressful, and amazingly good for the soul! This evening was still beautiful, peaceful, and amazingly calming – it just wasn’t picturesque in the way I hoped. Why on earth did I try to force it? I have clearly developed a bad habit of pressuring myself to take a picture, Take A Picture, TAKE A PICTURE!!!… and sometimes, I should just take in the scene. I forgot to remind myself this was mostly a trip to see what was here…the importance of ‘getting THAT shot’ should have been the least important aspect. To this day its a bad habit and one I really need to pull back on, because all it effectively does is put pressure on myself which hampers everything.

I actually left feeling disappointed, and sad… how stupid of me to do that to myself!

Posts navigation

1 … 6 7 8 9

Recent Posts

  • Dundrennan Abbey, Threave Castle and Feeding Red Kites
  • Southerness Lighthouse, Rockliffe and Balcary Bay
  • Mennock Pass, Morton Castle, Crichope Burn, and Caerlaverock Castle
  • Loch Doon Castle, shopping and Sanquhar castle
  • Craigengillan, Ness Glen and Dalcairney Falls

Categories

  • Index of Locations
  • Introduction
  • My Adventures
  • Review
  • Tutorial
All photos remain copyright of Sandy Knight. No reproduction without permission.
Theme by Colorlib Powered by WordPress