A little about my life in more recent times...

Well the last time I exercised my shutter was late aternoon on Tuesday the 1st Sept. You won't believe the amount of rain that has been our privelege to receive. After being interned for days due consistant heavy rain on Tuesday I felt there maybe a chance albeit tiny that I may be able to do some work.

Reluctantly and in desparation I fled the caravan and drove down alongside the loch [Loch Leven] to the hotel by the bridge and parked up. I didn't even bother to switch the engine off as the rain was still lashing down. Well it didn't take long or me to feel this was a wasted exercise and I slammed into first gear and drove off back the way I had come. Half way along the loch I felt there may be a chance so back I went. In light rain I left the comfort of the car and Elton John playing his piano on the CD player. With tripod in one hand and camera in the other I walked to the spot you can see in the bridge photo.

I quickly saw a composition of the bridge and set up the tripod and camera. The best I was hoping for was a chink in the cloud and some direct light on the bridge, I quite liked the stormy cloud over the Pap of Glencoe beyond the bridge. I began taking a few shots to check the exposure when right before me this lovely rainbow appeared. Talk about the right place at the right time. I fired off a series of bracketted shots [different exposures] in the hope of getting this beauty of nature onto my sensor. All the while I was cleaning the lens as rain was falling lightly which would degrade any images.

Within about a minute the rainbow faded away as if it had never been there and happy at least that I had hopefully achieved something I returned to the car. I decided to drive over the bridge and do a loop around the loch clockwise [the long way] back to the caravan site.

I stopped at a few locations to scout them out for a revisit when the conditions and light would be better. I spotted a local beauty spot on the south side and parked up in the hope of getting something. I got no more than a couple of shots when the ferocious midges descended upon me teeth first and got many shots at me. I was literally forced to get back into the safety of the "dizzy bee" [Mitsubishi Shogun] and drive off. The bench you see looked so inviting I'd actually mentally kicked myself for not buying fish-n-chips in Kinlochleven so I could sit on this bench, admire the lovely view and have my dinner. Fat chance, hahaha.

Loch Leven is aligned east to west and as I was on the south side and heading west I was looking to the setting sun. Well, I knew it was setting but couldn't see the sun due to the cloud cover. As I pulled into Invercoe I spotted a possible chance to get a shot as there seemed to be a tiny chink in the cloud and a few rays were escaping towards the ground. I quickly drove to the boat yard and parked up and dived quick as a flash out of the car. I had no time to consider my composition and just set up the tripod and camera. I decided that the use of the ten f/stop filter would be the best way to approach this shot [40 second long exposure] and quickly set up the camera. The cloud was scudding passed overhead and I knew at any moment the light would be non existant so I just guessed an exposure and fired the camera on the timer in 'bulb' setting and counted to 40! I got the shot you see attached, of which I'm rather thrilled about. It may not be the best composition in the world but I had won in a small way and made the best of difficult circumstances.

Then it was speed back to the caravan and download my images for processing, throw last nights remains on the stove and get some food down me.

Since then I have been sat on my couch, the pouring rain hammering on the roof of the caravan and going sideways passed my picture window awaiting the next possible chance to dash out and grab the moment and hopefully capture something.

This is the life of the keen scottish landscape photographer based in Glencoe!

The things I get myself into, hehe!