The Study, Glencoe – A Decisive Moment
There is great enjoyment to be had from photographing a beautiful location.. There is even more enjoyment to be had when photographing a beautiful location under beautiful light. One of the highest levels of enjoyment I have yet experienced is photographing a beautiful location that is little known in beautiful light. Although experiencing a landscape shouldn’t be marred by knowing that thousands of other people have seen it, there is a frisson of pleasure that comes from knowing that you have found somewhere that isn’t normally visited.
In my case, this was so close to the busiest area of Glencoe that it is surprising that this isn’t more travelled. We found an area on the map called just ‘The Study’ and had to see what was there.. To get to the location, one had to cross a small stream (wading) climb a large bank and follow the drovers road for about 800yds..
Just about 3pm and an hour and a half before sunset we crested the ridge and the photo at the top of this post was in view before us. After a brief hesitation whilst taking the view in, the camera came out.. Just as I was putting my 5D on the tripod, I saw the last wisps of cloud being burned off Aogach Eanach and got the shot just as it curled over on itself. I also took a couple of large format shots but the dynamic range was a bit large (maybe blending would work?) and the cloud has burned off, leaving the whole picture a lot less dynamic. A glorious experience and one I’d highly recommend.
