photographic tour – Page 2 – Knightshoots Landscape Photography

Wailing Widow Falls, Ardvrek Castle, and Inchnadamph

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Nine

30 July 2020

Today was the day I had most been looking forward to. I regularly watch several photographers on You Tube, and one of them, Gary Gough, had shown a set of videos of his photography experiences in the Assynt. Usually he tells us where he is, and then goes on to discuss the photographic aspect of the locations or his shots. In video one of the 3 however (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_Zi76OOGko&ab_channel=GaryGough), less than 2 minutes in Gary shows us the waterfall, and simply say ‘as waterfalls go, this isn’t a bad one… time for a selfie!’ and that was it! I was beside myself. I LOVE a waterfall, and that one looked especially awesome! Did he tell us where he was though??!! Not in the slightest…! So I began the hunt to find out what it was called, and where, exactly, it was… and that became the basis of this photographic trip. I wanted to visit THAT waterfall, so I needed to visit Scotland, and I ended up growing my list of locations from this one place. The falls, I eventually found out were called Wailing Widow falls, and they have a couple of stories to explain the name. The one I think most likely, is the story of a widowed mother whose son, a goat herder, fell from the top during a very stormy evening as he was trying to gather his goats together. When I got to look at this place, I could see such an accident easily happening!

Anyway… today I was finally going to visit these stunning falls, and I couldn’t wait!! I got up, quickly snapped the view from where I had stopped the night (more for record, as the shot didn’t end up particularly great), and plotted the route to the falls into my sat nav. As I got close, I found myself driving right past the gorge that led to it, up to the top of the hill, and to the loch that supplies the water. By the time I got to that point and realised where I was, I suddenly realised that I had missed the spot totally! These falls are not signposted in any way, so I carefully drove back down the hill and spotted a single car parked up in a small spot big enough for just 2 vehicles. Pulling in next to the car, I prepared myself for a sturdy hike, and a couple of minutes in, passed a family heading back towards me. ‘Its not far’ they told me, ‘only 10-15 minutes, though be careful, some of the rocks in the middle are loose and the mud can be very slippery’ This was no exaggeration, but even given my poor fitness levels, it didn’t take long for the falls to come into view… and I was not at all disappointed.

Wailing Widow Falls from slightly down stream

They took my breath away, as they were so high, and fell in such a beautiful way, hitting several rocks at different levels. I stood for ages before I finally started to look for nice compositions of it. I started off nearby, in a couple of obvious spots, then decided that maybe the best shot would be across the river. I gingerly made my way across, and started to explore all angles from the other side, practising shots at a variety of different exposures to see what I liked best. I thought that maybe a shot further down the river on this side might be nice, so I very carefully made my way down the other bank. There was no path this side, and in fact, very little space to walk at points, but River and I eventually made our way slightly down stream to a fairly nice spot. It was a bit high though, and I really wanted to get to the rocks in the middle…so I sat down and slipped over a metre down off the ledge to a nice rocky base, that enabled me to get into a good spot to cross to the middle of the water. In the back of my head I wondered how on earth I was going to get back up that ledge, but I decided to worry about that later. For now, River had managed to find her own way down, and we set up in a great spot to shoot. As I finished the set up, another tourist came into view, and stood dead centre to my shot. Flipping typical, I thought, but I was loving it here, so actually, I really didn’t mind waiting. She took her time looking, she took some photos, then she took some more, and then just stood looking again, and then took even more photos. It felt like an eternity, and eventually I decided the wait was long enough, so I simply snapped a shot with her in it, mostly as a tester for seeing how my shot would look once she had moved. Unexpectedly, I really liked the shot. I am not a fan of people in my shots, but part of me felt she actually made this one!

By the time she left, I had already checked the picture, and on liking it so much, I called across to her to ask for a contact number so I could send it to her. When she got it, she was over the moon and shared it with a number of people, so I am quite pleased I bothered!

With the shot from this angle in the bag, I made my way back to the side, scrabbled back up the drop, and carefully plotted my way back. As I got nearer the falls, I decided to carry on and get as close as I could on this side. I found myself balanced in quite a precarious position, but I had the tripod set up securely enough to focus on what appeared to be a really nice shot. As I put the camera on and rummaged for the ND filter I wanted to use, my polariser and ring slipped from the bag, and before I could grab it, it feel right down into a deep pool where I had no hope of fishing it back out. ‘NOOoo!!!’ I cried giving River quite the cause for concern. I calmed her saying everything was OK, but inside I was gutted! With no other option, I just focussed on the shot I wanted and carried on – there wasn’t anything else I could do now really. Once the shots were taken, I just sat for a while and enjoyed the bird song from a grey wagtail, heard well before I spotted him. He didn’t seem too nervous of me or the dog, as he eventually happily sprang into view, hopped over the rocks, and then around to have a happy splashy bath in the waters between them. This ended up being a really happy place, and one I have taken home with me, in multiple senses of the word.

No Polariser, but I still managed a shot I was pleased with.

Having milked these falls for every angle I could think of, I carefully made my way back across the river, and hiked back to the camper. These falls were every bit as gorgeous as I hoped, and my day felt totally complete!

With some hours to go until dark I thought I might make my way to Ardvrek Castle for the evening, maybe have a walk around there, or try and find a simpler, smaller fall near Inchnadamph that was on my list. I found my spot for the night, then continued the drive on for a little bit, finding a car park in Inchnadamph, where I left the camper. River clearly didn’t want to walk any further, so rather than drag her with me, I decided to let her stay, and I set off alone. I started the walk following the river, but found that it didn’t lead anywhere, so walked back, crossed a bridge, and tried again the other side, following a path that seemed to follow the water. I assumed that the waterfall I was looking for would be somewhere along this river, but as the time progressed the river faded first from my sight, and eventually from my ears as well, until I realised that I was nowhere near any running water at all. It had been over an hour, and the daylight would be gone in another hour, so I had to stop and rethink this plan. I checked Google maps to see where I was. To my dismay, I was somewhere between 2 rivers, but not near either, and I had no idea which one might have the waterfall on. I was clearly nowhere near where I hoped to be, so reluctantly had to turn around and give up this one. I was very disappointed, not to mention, exhausted, but since I had no idea where I even was, it seemed to be the only sensible call I could make. When I turned round and began the long walk back I was faced with this sight:

For a moment I just stood and stared. How on earth did I not see this on the way up?! It was a perfect photo just staring at me right back, and it took a little while before I took my bag off my shoulders and set the camera up for a shot. A couple of hikers strolled by, with a cheery ‘Hello’, commented on the pretty sight in front of us, and then wandered on their happy way, leaving this for my eyes to enjoy. I have no idea what the house is, but I loved how it reflected the shape of the monro behind it, and how it sat right at the end of where the winding path turned to make its downhill trek to Inchnadamph. I couldn’t NOT take this could I?! Once done, I felt happier and less like this hike had been a total waste of time, and I found the walk back to be far quicker. Whether it was because I was happy at having seen that sight, or whether my sense of time had been elongated by my tiredness and the uphill hike (on top of the starting misroute I had turned back with) I don’t know, but I was back at Ardvrek castle quicker than I had expected, and made it with a little daylight left.

I took River out for a short tour around the castle, snapping a few ideas on my phone ready for tomorrow morning, and she found something that really got her nose excited. Sniffing and following a trail of something, she was happily bounding around the hill for ages before we finally went back to settle in for the night. Today had ended up a perfect one.

My Adventures

Smoo Cave, Sango Bay, and Loch Stack

Scottish Highlands 2020: Part Eight

29 July 2020

Today was beach day! In the dark the night before, I ended up driving around the area, unable to find a particularly good spot to park, with two parking areas right by the beach saying no overnight parking allowed. I drove around for a bit before I finally found a nice quiet spot that looked tucked away, and would also keep me safe for the night. I was done in by then, so I did little more than cook the quickest meal, and tuck myself into bed. The area was sheltered and quiet, and after the night before, sleeping was SOoooo easy!!! In the morning I took my time getting awake and ready for my beach practice day. Part of me was excited, part still very nervous – clearly my experience in Dorset earlier this year had left some lasting effects on me. (I haven’t written a blog about it yet, but the full story is on my Instagram). When I drove past the bay briefly, it was clear the tide wasn’t going to be in for several hours, and my concerns from the evening before proved to be totally unfounded. There was nothing I could do for now, as the rock I hoped to photograph was nowhere near the water and so, with all this extra time on my hands, I decided to head over to Smoo Cave. I had been very surprised by the location being so close by when I passed it the night before, but very pleased because it meant I could do two locations in one day – both of which I had been very much looking forward to.

Arriving at 9.30, I found that there were still quite a few spaces in the small car park. I am not sure how full this area gets later in the day, or in a really good season… but I imagine it might be a problem to park at times. With my timing perfect however, I parked up quickly. Finding the attraction to be absolutely free, I took the camera and the dog, and full of excited anticipation, headed down the stairs to the entrance. My first surprise was that I didn’t come down the side that I had seen others come down on online blogs and videos. No idea why – I didn’t notice a further car park over to the eastern side, and neglected to hike up that way to explore either. That’s a mistake for sure, as the cave entrance looks far more dramatic from up that side judging by pictures available online. But, as this was my first ever visit, I think missed opportunities are allowed, as they are what encourage me to make return visits. 🙂

On this occasion, I wandered down, and had a look from the front. Initial explorations show a huge cave entrance and a short gorge with a thin river flowing down the centre towards the sea. The tide was out, so I don’t actually know how far up the sea will come, but there is a simple little footbridge crossing the river, so I assume it doesn’t get dangerously high. There are lots of images online of the cave front, and although I did explore a little, for some reason I didn’t photograph it myself. I think it might look better with a dramatic or a blue sky, but when I arrived, the featureless grey one made it a flat and drab sight. Inside, the cave was large and light, with a pool of water at the back, and a covered wooden walkway to one side, leading into another cave area. There are signs about small boat tours, but didn’t see any operating today. The covered walkway followed above the river, and after the quick exploration inside the cave, I walked on over to the awesome sight I had come to see…

Only it wasn’t.

Images I had seen online showed a gushing waterfall in a cave, pouring down into a pool before flowing off. When I reached the barrier, I was faced with a tiny effort of a fall, almost dribbling down a cave wall. I was gutted!! I stood for some minutes staring in complete disappointment at the sight, and wondered where the water was. Of course, as its a waterfall, it’ll be dependent on water levels flowing down the river, and I hadn’t taken the glorious summer that we have been having, into consideration. Eventually after I had stared long enough, and several other people had wandered over, and away again, I decided that I should give this a go anyway – who knows, perhaps a long exposure would help bring the waterfall out a little. I squeezed myself into a corner to allow other visitors space to come and view, and set up with a heavy heart. River settled herself down between the legs of the tripod, as she often does. and just watched as the other visitors passed. The first few shots weren’t very good, so I went for a much longer exposure instead, and extended the time, ending up with shots varying between 30 seconds to 68 seconds. As the time went on I felt that maybe the water level was increasing, but wasn’t too sure… in the entire hour of my attempts to get a shot I hoped for, it didn’t grow substantially although it was a bit more than a dribble when I eventually left. I vowed to come back in a different season to see if there was any difference in the waters’ flow, because it must look very different at other times.

It wasn’t until I looked at the shots on my laptop that evening that I realised what I had managed to capture. My chin hit the deck at some of the images. The waterfall was pretty clear after all, but better than that, the long exposure had drawn out some stunning swirls and lines as the water flowed away. I loved these, and I had a real problem picking the nicest one out of them to edit and use. The subtilty of the fall helped give a calm and peaceful image, and the stillness of the rest of the water helped add to this. I ended up totally pleased that the waterfall hadn’t been gushing after all… the feel of this image would not have been possible if the water had been flowing faster!!

Smoo Cave, proving that it was well worth working through my initial disappointment!

As I left I took a photo of the cave entrance with my phone from the edge of the walkway. I liked this shot as well, but the cloud quickly covered the little patch of blue that was there, so my attempts with my Canon weren’t as nice. Since crowd numbers were growing too, it didn’t help having people dotted everywhere in the shot so I wasn’t worried. The visit first thing was definitely a good call I felt.

After this, I went over to Sango Bay, parked up right near the beach without any problems, and waited for the tide to come in. I practised on a few rocks that were closer to the edge before the water reached its peak, and then stayed at the main rock trying all sorts of settings. I managed a nice dreamy look, but I really struggled to get the shots with lines heading down the beach. I simply couldn’t get them to show up nicely. Another photographer joined me, saying hello and mentioning that his daughter recognised me from Dunnet head 😀 We chatted for a bit, and discussed the technique through, and eventually I think I sussed it. It seemed to need a shutter speed of around 2 seconds, and it was all about timing as the waves pull away from the camera. He was very kind and patient, and he came to the conclusion that it wasn’t just me and my inadequacies with this type of shot. He concluded that this beach wasn’t particularly good at frothy waves, and that where the water was coming around the main rock, it was reducing the likelihood of getting a straight line back towards the ocean. He suggested I might have better luck at a different beach. Satisfied I seemed to be getting something at least, he then left, and I don’t think he actually took any photos of his own!

Sango Beach practice photo. Trying to get trailing lines back down the beach. 24mm; f2.8; 2 seconds

Shortly after I met a sweet couple Rachel and… (Shite I forgot his name! I want to say Robbie, but I don’t think it was..) Anyway, he too was learning, so we chatted a bit about what I had been trying for today, and they told me they were on their way to Skye next. I assured then they would love it there, telling them about the blog I had not long written about all my days there. I wonder how they got on…?? As the afternoon was now drifting into evening, they went off for tea, while I continued on the beach, now moving to different rocks. I found this one, which I really liked. The tide was now starting to go back out again, but I managed this shot before it stopped coming up as high as the stone, and before the light started to dip behind a darkening cloud. I quite liked it. Still not lines, but the water lapping here was even more gentle with no froth whatsoever, so I really wasn’t expecting that type of shot this time. A little further, and now right at the end of the beach, I found a small bridge with a river tumbling over some rocks and flowing on to the sea. I snapped a few photos here as well, but now the cloud over my head had really dulled and flattened the light, so I left it and walked quickly back to the camper before the downpour hit.

Once I had finished on the beach, I looked ahead to tomorrow and tried to think of where I might stay the night ready for the next location. I was even more excited about this one, because this was the one place I had most looked forward to seeing in person. I didn’t settle on any plan in the end, but paused in the car park to feed River and just drove in the right direction, hoping a stop off point near the location would reveal itself! Less than an hour into the drive and I had to pull the car up short, and reverse it back to a safe stopping point. Now this spot WAS on my list, but I had neglected to notice it on the route map – and I had never expected to see the exact shot I wanted right by the roadside! Thank goodness it was, I might have missed it entirely!

This was Loch Stack, looking pretty much exactly like all the stunning photos I had seen of it. Light was failing for me however, so I didn’t want to get adventurous and hike all over it. I literally just stepped out of the camper, camera in hand, gingerly made my way across the uneven ground to a spot almost behind the hut, and snapped about 6 pictures of it. The sky was what it was, and there was no indication that the scene in front of my eyes was going to be any different, so it was pointless attempting anything different right now, or taking time to seek out any further vantage points. Its a classic shot, and very hard to get wrong I think! I wasn’t unhappy, but told myself to pay attention to the map better so I can plot these stops in better time in future! Next time I am this way, I will have a better look around, and hopefully I will also have a different look to the scene. (sun/fog/snow etc.)

As I continued the drive, the time was clearly getting away from me, so, when I spotted another camper parked up in a lay-by on the A894 overlooking Loch Duart, I decided to call it a day and pull in for the evening. I cooked a brief meal, and as I stood eating it out of the pot, I looked out at the gorgeous view through the window. As I was here, I thought I might try and grab a quick photo, it was that lovely, even though it was getting dark. What a mistake!! When I stood outside to take a quick snap with my mobile phone, I was horrified to find millions of midges attacking me. I could barely take 1 photo before I ran for my life back to the safety of Fred. I spent the next 30 minutes clapping in the camper, trying to rid the confined space of the small cloud that had managed to follow me in. Midges and mossies love me usually, and I was really fearful I would get eaten alive in my sleep. River just stared at me in total confusion. Goodness knows what my ‘neighbour’ thought was going on in there!! This was my first real experience of the issues that were to hound me for the rest of my trip, and I decided that maybe that photo would have to wait till morning!!