Waterfalls – Knightshoots Landscape Photography

Glasgow City and Campsie Glen

South West Scotland 2021: Part Two

2-3 September 2021

This morning I woke to a broken dog, and my feet in severe pain. Poor River could barely walk a few paces, and those were terribly laboured. She, like I, had overdone it yesterday, and we both ached like there was no tomorrow. After a chat with my daughter, we decided that I could leave River with her so the poor pooch could rest for today, and that I could retry the botanic glasshouses again – this time driving and parking outside in the street, and NOT walking! Parking was straight forward, and I was among the first to enter. There were several restrictions to the entry of the glasshouses in place, limited numbers being allowed in, seating barred, and masks having to be worn – nothing too unusual for the current climate, but once in I ended up doing a relatively quick walk round anyway. I found photo opportunities to be pretty limited with the bulk of the plants just grouped together in a fairly uninspiring setting (for my taste). There was really only one area where I could stand far enough back to capture anything fully, but even there, I found the background to be quite distracting with Covid posters, signs, barriers and milling people.

As I turned back however, I noticed all the benches that had been grouped together to stop people sitting on them, and was quite taken with the sight. The benches had created an unintentional, albeit unusual, leading line towards a central sculpture and all the plants behind. I finally reached for my camera and took this shot.

Covid restrictions offering an unusual, but pleasing composition

I tried the second glasshouse next, but it was just a cluttered collection of plants, which for plant lovers was really interesting. For my photography however, the crammed display lacked a point of focus for me. So I left and made my way back to relieve Emily of her dog sitting duties. While she continued with her tasks for the day, organising an art exhibition in Edinburgh, I simply rested. Later in the afternoon I took River for a gentle walk around the park next door, just to get her moving again before her muscles seized up altogether, then we just chilled some more until Emily got back home. We ate very late and chatted till gone midnight, while I carefully monitored the prospects of fog at the Necropolis for tomorrow morning. The chances were looking very promising at first, over 60%, but sadly they gradually dropped to less than 15% as the hours went on. In the end I decided to just leave it, and slept in instead.

3 September

Because of the late night, and the disappointing fog watch, my plans didn’t quite go as I hoped and I ended up leaving Glasgow at 11. My original intention was to get to the Necropolis at 5 ish, and leave by 7 to start the next leg of the trip. Oh well, there was no harm done, and now I was on my way! The first county I hoped to capture was East Dumbartonshire, and to start, I had a lovely location to visit. Campsie Glen Waterfall. Waterfalls are by far my favourite subject, and I drove to this one with great excitement, but once I had parked up in the car park, I was a little unsure on which way to walk from here – I couldn’t see any signage directing me the correct way.

Eventually I plumped for the hike downhill. The route up looked to be getting flatter, and there was only a slim dirt track to follow. Down was a much clearer path, and it looked steeper… there might be a better chance of finding a waterfall where the route was steeper I mused, and headed down. The walk went downwards for quite a way without signs of any waterfalls however, and finally I got concerned, turned round and started the walk back uphill again. Just after I started, I bumped into an older couple, and they told me that there were actually two falls here, not just one. The woman pointed further down hill, saying it was the easier one, and that there was a delightful coffee shop at the bottom, adding that the second fall wouldn’t be easily accessible with a dog. The lady didn’t direct me to that one separately, so I assumed it was in the same direction. Thanking them, I turned round again, and headed back down.

I walked most of the way down the hill, until it was clear the water just turned into a flat river, and stood very confused. Pretty much all I had seen was a small cascade. Was that the waterfall she meant? Assuming it was, I went back to the cascade, and photographed that (see header) hoping that this wasn’t all there was here. It was a really peaceful spot though, and I could see some rather beautiful detail was achievable, so relaxed and simply enjoyed the experience of being out photographing the tumbling water. River loved being here too, and she paddled happily next to me, dipping her belly and nose into the gentle flow of stream as it continued away from us.

Once I was done here, and feeling like the trip had started proper, we started the 140 metre climb back up and arrived back at Fred some 2 hours after I had left. I stopped for a rest, had a cup of tea and something to eat, while River went and hid. I didn’t blame her, she was still working through her stiffness from 2 days earlier, and I realised that she would have a limit on how much excercise she would be happy to do right now. The walk we had just done was probably more than enough for today! I was determined to find this flipping waterfall though, so eventually left the comfort of the van, allowing River to stay and rest, and I went to find it! This time I headed upstream – and sure enough, there it was – 5 mins from the car park…🤣

The couple were right here though – I found a slack line tied to a tree to help you get down some very large boulders, as it was steep with some sheer rocks at one point. A smaller dog would find this a struggle for sure, unless it was being carried. Clearly I had made the right call leaving River in the van. I got myself down and was delighted to see a people free waterfall that also had a ledge leading to a shallow cave behind it. I explored all behind, taking photos from this viewpoint, and posting an image to my story on Instagam. Then I continued behind, and made my way right around to the far side.

Watching the water fall from the small cave behind

I went to take some pics from here, but found I had to clear litter as I went. Thankfully someone had left a plastic bag with their lunch left overs (really?! is it that hard to bring your rubbish away?!) so I used that to pick up everything I found and started to take shots from the front. It was a lovely location, but I bet it would look gorgeous with a bit of sun on it. The light was coming from behind me, but the cloud obscured the sun from view. I tried waiting, for a fair while, but eventually gave up, packed up and crossed the river to start the climb out. As I was halfway up the boulders, the flipping sun briefly made an appearance, and it did indeed look stunning. But as I paused to consider going back, it disappeared again. Effing tease!!!

I gave up the idea of going back feeling unwilling to play this game (!) and continued up, then noticed the path went on a little further upstream. I left the bag of rubbish at this point, aiming to collect it on my way out (no point carrying it everywhere) and followed the path. It wasn’t long before I spotted a second fall. These must have been the two the lady was talking about after all. So where was she directing me to, when she pointed downstream I wonder? This waterfall wasn’t particularly dramatic, but it did have an incredible stoic presence to it. Calm, and simplistic, no drama, it was what it was, and had no pretence to it. What an entirely different character this one had. It fell into a simple pool without fuss, and simply continued going straight from there down a boulder ridden but flat stream bed. It was very easy to cross, and I found myself a comfortable spot to settle into to compose my pictures. As I sat taking my photos, I was joined by a group of teens who subsequently found themselves on top of it, forcing me to stop taking longer shots and look at more intimate compositions. I wasn’t too worried, and waited when I needed to. I had the photos I wanted of the whole fall and was very happy with them.

After a while, they all climbed back down and left with mum, but curious, I followed their idea, climbing big rocks and boulders until I too reached the top. From there I saw the path still continued but it was unclear if it led to anywhere in particular. Unperturbed, I followed it anyway, clambering over further boulders (bit of a determined old granny when I want to be!!) until I eventually spotted a third fall! This one was beautiful and yet another, different, character! Sweet and far more delicate than the previous two, this one stole my heart as it tumbled gently to a pool that was so still, the water mirrored each of the cascades that formed on its journey. Time was getting on by now however, so I did what I could in the failing light, frantically firing shots with a variety of shutter speeds to hopefully capture this beauty well. As I did so, midges and mossies came out for their evening meal, and I could feel them tickling my flesh. I tried my hardest to hang on but eventually they became quite unbearable. I was being eaten alive here! I felt this was the prettiest of the 3 falls but I had definitely reached it at the worst time of the day. I packed everything away, quickly looking upstream further on. I didn’t spot any obvious path from here, but in this light, it was entirely possible that I might have missed one if there was. Oh but what a lovely surprise to find 3 falls rather than two… and each one was so different. Today finally felt like it was a real winner, and what a cracking start to this trip!

I finished up, went back to Fred, sliding down some bits of rocks on my bum, and happily collected the bag of rubbish en route. The walk back felt really quick compared to the trip upstream, but I guess that was due to my exploring, rather than going straight to the top. I put the rubbish in the bin in the car park, and settled in to Fred to have some dinner, and stayed for the night. Where to tomorrow I wondered?

Postscript: Most of that was written the night I stayed over, and I have since looked to see if anyone has any names for any of these three falls. Turns out that the first two I saw, are the main two that you see on google, no-one has named them though unfortunately. I haven’t seen any photos of the third I saw (yet…)

HOWEVER… there is another frequently photographed fall/cascade that I TOTALLY missed!! I have no idea where it is exactly, but it looks amazing, with water coming from multiple directions… I can see that I am going to have to go back and find it! WHAT an amazing area!!

My Adventures

Ardvrek Castle, Wee Hoose, Sputie Burn and Big Burn…

Scotlands Highlands 2020: Part Ten

31 July 2020

I started the day at Ardvrek castle, and tried an early shoot but I missed the dawn and the sun was now washing out half the shots I hoped for. I did have a go, and in one spot the shots came out fairly nicely, although I felt there was a definate need to come back and try again when the light reflected the mood of the castle itself. This castle, and its awesome history, needed, in my opinion, a good moody threatening sky. This would reflect its grim and bloody history well, I thought. Since this clearly wasnt going to be right now, I decided to have a retry tonight when the sun or light would be behind me for my prefferred shot and I had a rethink for today over breakfast.

I decided to take a leisurely drive down the A837/A836/A839/A9 to pick up on the southern part of Sutherland that I had driven through on my way to Caithness. There were a few locations I hoped to photograph down there and I didnt want to miss them. My first choice of location was the Sputie Burn waterfall at Golspie, a really sweet waterfall that was right on a beach apparently. The drive was easy, only an hour, and on the way I happened across the Wee Hoose in Loch Shin. I only grabbed a quick shot, as there was pretty much only one spot to shoot it from. Cloud had begun to set in, but the Hoose was still in full sun, so the shots here were a bit too harsh for my liking. I forgot to bring over my long lens too, so I couldnt zoom in more to get the shot I would have preferred, but I consoled myself with being able to get this better at another time. It was fun reading about the fake history of this house however, it was so convincing, it almost had me, even though I knew it wasnt real. The ‘legend’ has it, that a poacher named Jock Broon taught the local Laird how to distil whisky, and as a way of showing his gratitude, the Laird gave Broon a small piece of land of his own. It was said that Jock wanted to proudly mark his territory and his new status as a landowner, so build a house of his own and the Wee Hoose was born. The story then continues, stating that he didnt live there long, as he accidentally shot himself in the foot and died shortly after. Fun story, and there’s even a board nearby showing photos of the house in olden years… however, as I already noted, it is all fake, having been build some 20-25 years ago as a float for the local Lairg Gala. It was put on the island after the gala, purely as a bit of fun, and it took off and became so popular with not just the locals, but tourists, that it has since stayed. Bad weather had destroyed it a couple of times, but it has been rebuilt and apparently even has lighting that comes on at the same time as the street lights. Wish I had been there in the evening now…bet it looks lovely!!! Next time!

I continued down to the waterfall, found the spot fairly easily and had to park up on a verge as I wasnt sure whether I could get down the small road after the bridge here. I gathered my kit, the dog and my wellingtons and started off down the road, wading through water that flooded the road under the bridge, finding a spot for two cars at the end. I could have parked here after all. I heard the falls from here so followed through a small gate, and along the little footpath down to the beach. The waterfall was really easy to find, as it was indeed pretty much right on the beach where the path ended. When I arrived, it was bathed in beautiful sunlight, and looked amazing so I snapped a quick shot with my phone, and set the camera up. Once the camera was up however, the sun had gone behind a cloud. I waited for a while, and when it looked like a no show, just took what I could and packed my camera away when I couldnt really get much more. As I packed the camera away, the sun came out, so I quickly set up again, only to have the darned thing duck behind a cloud again. I waited, but nope, nothing, so packed away again. It continued to tease me like this for the whole time I was there. It was SO frustrating!!

I waited for a little longer just in case the sun was willing to make a re appearance, and even wandered down to the beach for a bit, but it clearly had no intention of coming out for any length of time. Eventually I had had enough of the wait, and the clouds were definately gathering rather than dispersing, so since it clearly wasnt going to happen for me today, I travelled the 5 minutes to get to Big Burn falls instead. These were also easy to find, as the Big Burn walk is marked from the roadside. Parking was plentiful, with a few car parks dotted along a narrow road and a nice 10-15 minute woodland walk from the end car park.

When I got there, I fell in love with these falls. They felt totally different in character. Where Sputie Burn was light, airy, fresh and open, Big Burn falls were dark, brooding and far more oppressive, in a good way if thats possible. They were in a small gorge that rounded and cupped the falls making them feel very intimate, private and peaceful. Sadly, these falls had pretty much only one position to shoot from, a ready built wooden viewing platform on the left side. Because of this, I didnt have a lot of options for alternative viewpoints so I tried several different exposures and ISO settings instead. I hoped that when I got home I might see the differences in each setting on the PC. I would have liked to have gotten a shot from the other side of the river, but the falls and water had cut a fairly deep riverbed so crossing today looked pretty impossible. I might try again at another date and see if its possible further down river, tho the walls of the gorge might make it impossible to walk up on the other side sadly. Of the two waterfall visits today however, this one was definately my favourite.

I loved how peaceful and intimate the Big Burn waterfall was

I stayed quite a while here, mostly just standing and soaking up the peace, but eventually I had to leave to do the drive back to Ardvrek Castle for a second night, and hopefully my moody castle shot. By the time I got back there, it was also in cloud cover so I got quite excited by the shot I was hoping to get. However, I had neglected to remember where I was, and the time of day, and the second I stepped out of the camper I was mobbed by evening midges that swarmed into the camper. I slammed the door shut as soon as I realised and spend the next 10 minutes doing my now impressive (and frantic) clapping dance to the still curious and confused gaze of the dog. Despite this not being my first ‘dance’ she still seemed totally perplexed. Within the hour, I was very sadly watching a stunning sunset swathed in the wee biteys from the window – but I was too scared to set foot outside. What a shite nancy of a photographer I was that night! 🙁

My Adventures

Fairy Pools

Skye 2019: Part Six

22nd June 2019

You cannot visit Skye, and not visit the Fairy Pools. Seriously, you can’t I tell you! Not only is it a really enjoyable, easy walk, but there are so many varying waterfalls, that you will have plenty to look at.

When I went, I found the car parking to be much improved since my last visit, and I read they are still hoping to do more…planning some public toilets was one improvement I heard they were thinking about. The car park now is much larger, and can accommodate campers with no issue, and it’s so close to the beginning of the walk, that it is the perfect place to start.

I parked up and noted that the weather was yet again pretty grim looking, so wrapped up well and started on the long hike. I saw my first waterfalls straight away, but decided that I would make my way to the last one first, then photograph them as I made my way back. In hindsight, this wasn’t the best idea, as I completely underestimated just how busy this area would get as the day went on, and as I started, it was definitely quieter.. although.. actually, maybe this wasn’t the wrong decision. At the end the prettiest of the falls was still very quiet when I arrived… so I retract that last line…or at least need to add that maybe there is no ‘good’ time as such. This walk can, if you want, take you all day so my advice would be to simply plan which falls you want the most, and pick either the beginning or end of the day for those, and simply spread out the remainder for the rest of your time there.

I did stop by each fall and see what shots I might be able to get with them nonetheless. I spotted one photographer taking pictures of one, standing in such a position that I couldn’t work out how he had gotten there. I ended up assuming he had crossed the river earlier, and had come down on the other side. He would certainly get a nice shot from where he was standing, and I didn’t recognise the falls he was photographing either, so well done him, they are clearly not ones that get snapped very often! I carried on walking, seeing a few other people on the way, interested that even this early there were several groups here. At one point, where it felt as though the falls seemed to come to the end of their best ones, and I heard at least two groups say that this was probably as far as they go, turning round and going back towards the beginning. If you come here, and you haven’t seen the main attraction.. my advice here would be KEEP GOING! I now realise that these people had missed the prettiest of them all… and you really can’t miss them when you get there.

As I got to the end, I was really pleased I had gone straight there. With just one other couple there, I pretty much had the falls to myself, and was over the moon with the view. The weather, though grim, had held off, and I had had enough wherewithal to have worn Wellington boots… the plan was to walk right into the river and get that well photographed shot looking straight at the falls. River plodded happily next to me, very pleased when it came to getting our feet wet, so I just let her enjoy the water as I started to set up.

This was where I felt a little sad, and worried.. I really wanted to get one of those lovely long exposure photos, with the soft water, but without my big stopper, I was really concerned how I would best achieve the shot I hoped for. I got everything ready, and decided to look at what filters I did have, and see what I could do for the best. I still had my little stopper, so put that in the bit of holder that just about still held a filter..it did help a little, but wasn’t quite enough to darken it to the level I needed…in the end I pulled everything out, put a polariser on, held the little stopper, then ended up holding groups of everything else I had together manually in front of the lens. It looked clumsy and ridiculous, but when the shot had finally taken, I could do nothing but stare at the screen. I had never taken a shot like it….it was everything I had ever wanted in a photo. The clarity was spot on, the ominous clouds bounced across the top of the mountain behind, the water fell with such a lovely soft flow, and the light was amazing. I just kept taking more of the same. Probably no point to that, but I really wanted to keep this image! Behind me, I could see lots of blue sky coming, but this photo had nothing but the moody clouds, and they simply stayed put, giving me plenty of opportunities to get high wispy bits, or lower angrier clouds. I felt on top of the world!

Once I had the all the shots I could get, I began the slow wander back…and as each moment passed it got hotter and hotter, as all the blue chased the cloud away. People arrived in their swimming costumes, and bathed in the deeper pools, many paddled in the shallower water…I trudged along in wellingtons, a jumper and a thick rain coat…much to the confused looks of all the holidaymakers! I didn’t care…I continued walking into the river on the falls that I could get to, and tried to catch as much as I could on my way back. As the crowds built it got harder and harder, but I waited patiently where I could, and just took my time. This was my plan for today, and I was in no real hurry. River was also having a ball, completely in her element she was in and out of the water, laying down, swimming, and just shaking all the drips off constantly, and really seemed to enjoy this hike far more than any of the others. In all, it took me most of the day.

The numbers of different types of falls, surprised me. They weren’t all gentle bubbling brook ones, some were high and thin, some came from different angles towards themselves, crashing down in one big mass of water, one came down so tidily, that the flow away was crystal clear, showing the rock formations, and colours clearly. Others were full on bubbling masses of water over the boulders. The variations were striking every time! This is a photographers dream for sure, and the challenges varied with each and every fall. Some were very easy and obvious shots, some only had one spot you could shoot from, but several others offered a few options if you felt a little adventurous.

One such fall was towards the beginning of the walk (or towards the end as I was making my way back to the start in my case). I noticed this one because of the photographer that had stood there earlier in the day. As I got back to it, I wondered how he HAD actually gotten to his position, and feeling brave, decided to climb down towards the river to get a closer look. As luck would have it, having wellingtons on helped massively, because I was able to navigate across the river, and get across to the other side after all. Round here I was able to walk back to the waterfall the man had been photographing, and I couldn’t help but fall in love with the location. It just felt SO calm and peaceful, and almost like I had a private little glen to myself. No-one else was here, and during the time I spent here, only one other couple ventured across. The light by now was very harsh, and it was really difficult to get a shot I was happy with, but I spent some time trying nonetheless. The atmosphere here was just so gorgeous, I didn’t really want to leave, and River obviously felt much the same, as she was just content to lay in the grass, sunning herself. I must find out when the light is at its best for this secluded spot, and try again… well any excuse really will do! I suspect, in times of heavy rain or snow melting, crossing the river will be MUCH harder so maybe I should just rejoice in my luck on this day, and remember the joy and peace I felt at this spot.

I eventually got back to the bottom towards the evening, and ended up shooting the twin falls at the start of the walk. These seem to get overlooked a lot, and yet they are so very pretty. I guess most people aim for the main walk at the start of their walk, and by the time they get back here, they are a bit waterfalled out! This should have been a pretty easy and straightforward shot, but I didn’t bargain on the famed midges coming out to play, and battled them terribly, as they tickled every exposed bit of skin I had in their attempts to land and have their meal for the night! I snapped quickly, and ended up pretty much running from the spot. Next time, I will try this shot earlier in the day, or at a different season!!

As a first serious scouting of the area however, I could see lots of potential at many of the spots I shot, and I could see a lot of learning curves, on where I went wrong. One of my biggest issues ended up being that stark, strong sunlight, which pretty much whited most of the falls out, and my skill set struggled to work out how to take the photos to show them to their best. I was over the moon, however, to see one of my best shots to date come out this walk, highlighting to me where my photographic learning is progressing.

I cant wait to go back!!