This is Loch Tulla, not long after sunrise. The fog had started to burn off from the winter sun, leaving the valley floor shrouded in mist that swirled around the bottom of the mountains. This left an idyllic Scottish scene with the semi-frozen loch reflecting the snow covered peaks behind.

This image was made up from 13 seperate images taken in portrait format and stitched together.  This creates a very large image of over 14500 pixels on the longest side.  This allows this image to be enlarged to very large sizes with no loss in quality or resolution.  A scene such as this deserves to be captured with as much detail and quality as possible.

I like the way this image contrasts the red of the sky with the white of the waves breaking around the foreground rocks.

This image was taken from the top of the rocks as the tide was turning. This is a 30 second long exposure with the Hitech Pro Stop.

A 4am rise saw us arrive at Knapps Loch just after 5am, nearly an hour before sunrise.  We were greeted with loads of mist rolling over the loch.  In fact at times the three boats on the Loch were completely hidden by the mist!

The first image is taken not long after we arrived as the sky started to lighten with the rising of the sun.

Another image taken just a few minutes before sunrise.

two images from after sunrise where the cloud formation and lack of wind made for some great reflection shots.

Although it would have been perfect if the rising sun had lit up the underneath of the mackerel clouds, we did have a  good trip with a few keepers and worth the effort of a 4am rise.

The plan was to climb up Conic Hill at Balmaha for a panoramic view along Loch Lomond.  Unfortunately as I was heading up towards Balmaha the cloud cover started to roll in.  By the time I was on the east side of Loch Lomond, the clouds totally covered the sky in a uniform dull grey.  I then decided to abandon the hillwalk till another time and headed to Aberfoyle, hoping for a break in the clouds.  First stop, once I reached Aberfoyle was to head along to Loch Ard.  The grey skies meant that I tried for compositions without too much or any sky in them.  I was luck in the fact that the upturned boat was placed in a good position beside the tree stumps and jetty.

The lack of wind meant that within a couple of minutes of getting here the midgies were all over me and biting rather ferociously.  Luckily I remembered my midge hood was still in my camera bag.  It might not look the best thing in the world but it certainly works in keeping the  face and head midge free.

My next stop was then to head along the Dukes Pass towards Loch Achray.  The lack of wind meant that the still waters  perfectly reflected the trees in the hills around the loch.

The small church in the Picture is the ‘Trossachs Church’ erected in 1849 in this most picturesque location and is still in use today.   ‘Achray’  is believed to be derived from old Gaelic, meaning the field of devotion, a place of worship in the open air.

Another view of Loch Achray this time from the reeds around the western edge of the Loch.

Once I had these images, I then spent some time along the road towards Loch Venachar.  Nothing really caught my eye as by now the wind had started to get up and any picture opportunities afforded by the calm waters were gone.  I headed back towards Aberfoyle for refreshments and a bite to eat and then seeing no let up in the grey conditions, I headed home.

So, the first trip away since I got back from holiday and not the most successful trip ever.  That’s the thing with landscape photography though, sometimes the conditions just don’t come together and you come away with hardly anything to show for the effort of getting up early and travelling a hundred or so miles.  I suppose three images that I am reasonably pleased with is better than none though.

This is a view from Ardrossan Harbour looking through the breakwater towards Arran.

We reached the edge of Turnberry golf course about an hour before sunset. We parked the car and had a 10 minute walk to the lighthouse. The cloud had moved in as the afternoon wore on, so the chance of a good sunset was dwindling rapidly. This was my first time at this location so even though the light was poor, I wanted to try and make the most of it. I went down into the bay beside the castle and managed to get shots with some good colour in the sky from a slight break in the clouds above the lighthouse.

Further exploration of this bay led me to this wonderful row of granite rock. This made an excellent foreground for a good mono conversion using the dull grey sky to it’s maximum effect. The lighthouse had also just turned on it’s light, this was ideal and it was only a matter of waiting till the light was in view before taking the shot.

I moved back up to the lighthouse and went onto the ruins of the castle. I was hoping for any break in the clouds to show something of the sunset. Luckily for a minute or two the clouds parted to get a glimpse of the pink sky. It was just a matter of getting into position before the pink clouds disappeared to get the shot.

All in all; it was quite a good first visit, even though the sunset we expected never materialised. I will definitely be making a return here in the future when I have more time to explore the area fully.