Loch Eilt, Scotland
Sep, 2018Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken on the banks of Loch Eilt in the Scottish Highlands, an area of the world that I spend a great deal of my time. I find both the landscapes and wildlife a joy to photograph, and despite my many trips abroad I keep coming back to this stunning country.Time
I took this photo on a rather gloomy summer morning, I had to be up early to catch a ferry to an island off the west coast, but wanted to make the most of my trip so along the way I planned to stop at a few interesting locations that I had wanted to visit for a very long time.Lighting
Due to the early wake up call I was hoping for some beautiful dawn light, but as this is Scotland I was faced with a cloudier landscape. I decided to opt for a more dramatic shot, taking advantage of the thick clouds and the dark, almost brooding-looking trees.Equipment
This was shot on a Canon 700D with the Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 EX DC HSM and the Tycka Compact Travel Tripod.Inspiration
Loch Eilt was made famous by the 'Harry Potter' films, featuring as the Black Lake and Dumbledore's final resting place. I have always been interested in visiting movie locations, particularly those more wild and visited less by most tourists, and this loch fit the bill perfectly. It took a lot of research to find exactly where the small island was located and to my delight it had not become a tourist trap. No car park, no toilets, perfect! It's completely hidden from view thanks to the trees lining the road so you could very easily drive past without even realising! I carefully pulled off the road, and headed off through the trees to find the island, which to my surprise (and delight, as I was running short on time to catch my ferry) was very close. The view was just as I'd hoped, if a little cloudier, but this only added to the atmosphere and I was able to get a variety of shots, including this one, that I am very happy with.Editing
I found this image very quick to edit, with only a few minor adjustments to the exposure, contrast and sharpening. Thankfully the Scottish skies did most of the work for me and the clouds had a good deal of definition, but I did add a graduated filter to reduce the exposure and add just a little more drama to the sky.In my camera bag
The lens I never go anywhere without is the Canon 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM, it's an excellent lens for wildlife which is what I mainly shoot and you never know when an animal is going to show up unexpectedly so I'm never without it! Then I shoot most of my landscapes on the Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 EX DC HSM, I'm never without my trusty ND filter and remote shutter release, and depending on the shoot I'll either have my travel tripod for landscapes or my larger tripod for filming wildlife.Feedback
In Scotland the weather is very unpredictable, sometimes you can plan and get the perfect shot, but other times you can wait days and simply not get what you were hoping for. I have found that it's best to be adaptable, I usually carry a variety of equipment with me so that if I can't get what I originally came for, perhaps I can be creative and come up with something different. On many occasions I have found that my best images were unplanned, spur of the moment shots, when I adapted to what the environment gave me at that moment in time.
