Just a Few Days to Photograph Glencoe

When I started planning my Christmas holiday to Scotland, I was excited about all the things I would enjoy over the festive period. Over the two weeks I would be spending there I'd have plenty of time eat, drink and be merry with my family. I would also have time for another indulgence, namely landscape photography. With Glencoe only being a 60-minute drive from my family home in Argyll it's an easily accessible location. Not only would I have access to some of Scotland's most stunning scenery, with sunrise just before 9am and sunset around 4pm, I would still have plenty of time each evening to socialise with family.

However, the weather gods had other ideas! From the moment I arrived there was a low bank of solid grey cloud covering the landscape. A completely flat, featureless, grey overcast sky. This went on for days. I don't think I saw blue sky or a mountain peak for a week! Not to worry though. It was Christmas so I just ate and drank my way through it!

Finally, after nearly two weeks of truly awful weather it did start to break and with the forecast finally predicting something that might result in reasonable conditions for photography, I was super eager to get up to Glencoe. I would have to work hard though. It was the last few days of my holiday, so I'd had a lot of photography to catch up on!

Here are some of the locations I photographed in Glencoe.

Rannoch Moor - Glencoe

As far as roadside locations go in Glencoe it's hard to beat the lochs around Rannoch Moor. It is a location that I've not had a lot of success at though. It has a lot of great elements to work with such as mountains and islands, but without reflections in the lochs it can leave the foreground looking a little empty.

Arriving near Lochan nah-Achlaise things weren't looking promising. Even though it didn't feel particularly windy, it was windy enough to remove all reflections from the loch which was a shame as the mountains were snowcapped and had taken on a beautiful pink tone from the rising sun.

**Lochan nah-Achlaise, Glencoe Scotland** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 24mm, f/11, 10 seconds at ISO 64, 4 image panoramic crop (6:17).

As pleasing as the scene was, I needed to look for something a bit different. Fortunately, I was there with a friend and she gave me a heads up on spot that might be worth photographing as the water in the foreground was broken up by some land. At first, I wasn't that excited about it, but then I considered it might be a scene that would look better as a black and white photograph. I immediately switched my Nikon Z8 to the Deep Monochrome profile and I was instantly captivated by the photograph. The scene became less about the reflections and more about the dark and light of the landscape.

**Lochan nah-Achlaise, Glencoe Scotland** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 30mm, f/13, 60 seconds at ISO 64.

I am creating more black and white photographs but I’m not sure if it works. What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.

River Coupall and Buachaille Etive Mòr

I visited the stretch of the River Coupal that sits beneath the mighty Buachaille Etive Mòr twice during my time at Glencoe. It's an interesting stretch of river with plenty of sections with fast flowing water but balancing the composition wasn’t easy, and for most of my time there I only had cloud on the left side of the mountain!

This first image, taken close to sunset, was originally taken as colour, but I later edited as black and white as I found the different colour palettes between the mountain, the foreground and the relatively clear sky distracting.

River Coupall and Buachaille Etive Mòr, Glencoe, Scotland - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 19mm, f/13, 0.4 secs at ISO 64.

Returning a couple of days later presented a different set of challenges. For much of the morning Buachaille Etive Mòr was covered in cloud and when it did finally clear and you could see the peak, there was a distracting band of fog around the base of the mountain. This fog "disconnected" the mountain from the rest of the landscape. However, landscape photography is often a game of patience, and it eventually did clear.

River Coupall and Buachaille Etive Mòr, Glencoe, Scotland - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 22mm, f/13, 0.5 secs at ISO 320.

The light remained flat that morning so for me it's the black and white photograph I like the most as it helps bring out the shades and textures of the scene.

River Coupall and Buachaille Etive Mòr, Glencoe, Scotland - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 21mm, f/13, 0.5 secs at ISO 320.

River Etive, Glencoe

One spot that I'd never photographed in Glencoe was the River Etive, so when the sky became overcast and the light flat, I thought it would be a good opportunity to photograph some waterfalls. The River Etive flows from the A82 near Buachaille Etive Mòr all the way down to the top of Loch Etive. The drive of 12 miles, which follows the river to the loch is beautiful. But it's single track and full of twists and turns, and it's one way in and one way out. So, give yourself plenty of time if want to drive it.

Fortunately for me the waterfalls I had marked out were near the A82 end of the Glen Etive road, so despite the temptation to drive that road again to Loch Etive, I didn't have far to go before getting my camera out.

There are three waterfalls in short succession, but it was the first waterfall that stood out for me the most. With the mountains in the background, the frost/ice covered rocks and a good flow of water, I thought it made for an interesting composition. There were challenges though, many of which were the rocks which were very icy and therefore slippy. With the potential to slip, break my camera equipment or fall in the icy water, a great deal of caution was used, limiting how I positioned the camera. But despite the challenges, and the flat light, it's a photograph I am happy with.

**River Etive, Glen Etive (Glencoe), Scotland** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f4 at 17mm, f/13, 0.5 secs at ISO 800.

When I took the photograph, I already had the camera in a black and white profile, so that was my original intention for the image. But I did also process one of the frames as colour. I'm not sure if colour version works as well but I've included it here as a comparison to see what you think.

Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe

OK, Kilchurn Castle isn't technically in Glencoe, but I have included it as it's near to my family home and was part of my festive landscape photography adventure. Despite its obvious popularity with landscape photographers, it's a location that I will always visit when I'm in the area. But because of its popularity it is also hard to find an original composition and to take a truly unique photograph.

For me though, this isn't a reason not to photograph it. I principally take photographs for my own enjoyment and Kilchurn Castle is a location I love to photograph. A ruined castle on the banks of Loch Awe with mountains in the background is a big draw for me as a photographer. I just needed a morning with the conditions I was looking for. Glassy reflections, mist, and mountains with clouds above them. Not too much to ask is it!

The morning I visited Kilchurn Castle I knew I wouldn't get those conditions, but if I could get a pleasing photograph I would be happy. I decided to opt for a slightly different composition than I normally go for. The mountains in the background were capped with snow so I decided to position myself further along the bank so the castle would be below them.

**Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe, Scotland** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 44mm, f/11, 30 seconds at ISO 64.

As the light from the rising sun started to appear it added a beautiful pink glow to snowcapped mountains. When the wind was calm the scene was reflected in the calm waters of the loch. It did however take some time for the light to reach the castle and by the time it did the light on the mountains was a bit too harsh. It was a shame that I didn't get the reflections, the pink mountains and a bit of light on the castle all at the same time, but despite that I still got some photographs I was happy with.

**Kilchurn Castle, Loch Awe, Scotland** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 42mm, f/11, 1/30th seconds at ISO 64.

The main thing, as always, is that I very much enjoyed my time there. It's a classic scene and just being there to watch the start of a new day is a delightful thing.

Buachaille Etive Beag, Glencoe

Buachaille Etive Beag, affectionally known as The Little Buachaille, isn't a mountain to be ignored. OK, it's big brother Buachaille Etive Mòr is more iconic, but it's hard to drive by The Little Buachaille without being just as impressed. It towers above Lochan na Fola and for a roadside location, it's location that should be on any landscape photographs Glencoe itinerary.

My first photo of Buachaille Etive Beag was taken just before sunset. I was a little late arriving as photographing this location was a bit of a last-minute decision. I may have missed better light, but as you can see, in the right conditions the reflections can be wonderful. I've photographed this view before, and I prefer my previous compositions that have been wider. Still, for a grab shot at the end of day, I'm pleased with the result.

**Buachaille Etive Beag, Glencoe, Scotland** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 19mm, f/13, 1.3 sec at ISO 64.

Returning a few days later the conditions were quite different. A fresh coating of snow had changed the look and feel of the location, and with no reflections on the lochan I decided to look for something different. Wandering around the edge of the lochan I soon came across an area where some rocks in the water that had a layer of snow on them. They looked like little white islands, and I thought they would make for a good foreground in my composition. Positioning the closest rock was tricky as it was close to the bank of the loch. I had little choice but to place it near the edge of frame, and while I would like the rock to have had more space, the composition still works.

**Buachaille Etive Beag, Glencoe, Scotland** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 20mm, f/13, 1/4 sec at ISO 64.

A bit further along you find one of the burns that feeds into the lochan. For me, this scene immediately screamed black and white as it was already almost completely void of colour anyway. It took a while to position the burn in the frame so that I could make the most of that beautiful s-shape, but my biggest choice was how much polarisation to use.

In this photograph I have some polarisation, allowing some of the water to reflect light.

**Buachaille Etive Beag, Glencoe, Scotland** - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 22mm, f/13, 0.4 sec at ISO 64.

In this next version though, I have almost completely polarised the water turning it jet black, which in my opinion is a great contrast to the white of snow, making the s-bend of the burn a more prominent feature. However, I'm not totally convinced either way. What do you think?

Returning to Glencoe

That’s all from this adventure and I hope you enjoyed all the photographs I captured. I have to admit, I was suprirsed by how black and white photos I captured. But it’s a pleasant surprise and it’s a sign of how my photography is developing.

I will be returning to Glencoe in the near future, so stay tuned to the blog!