Tim Parkin - Landscape Photographer

We’ve all done it. We know the location from a thousand photographs and we’re hoping to see something new that will say something different about the location. And if any location epitomises this, Lochan Na h’Achlaise must be up near the top of the list. The classic shot is of that certain tree, typically shot with the Black Mount in the background and with the reflected sunrise and morning mists.. I was hoping to make something more of some of these different aspects, especially the mist, colour of light and the rocks exposed because of the shallow water. I’d convinced my Dad to come with me (despite many complaints about the early hour) and I was hoping he would see some of the amazing sights I think a lot of us have experienced there..

So, we’re up in the early hours and I take my dad over to the obvious location to take some shots and whilst he is shooting away, I start to find a composition out of the group of rocks at the foot of ‘that tree’. The technical setup is really simple with my 240 Fujinon A; f/16 for 1s and a few degrees of back tilt.

One of things about Lochan Na h’Achlaise is that there is a particular pattern to the light and mist (at least every time I’ve been there). Firstly, the mist is in clumps, clinging to the islands before the sun rises. At this time the water is incredibly still. As the sun begins to rise, the mist moves around a little, still with totally clear sections here and there. After a while the movement starts to create texture on the water. Very soon after this the mist starts to spread and that is the end of the totally clear sections. From now on the mist spreads out and thins and the colour of the light declines. Minutes later and the sun rises and starts to warm the land, the mist rises a lot and there is no chance of really great photos. This mist is then around for the next 20-30 mins and will only clear once the sun comes up. What you have is a window of opportunity of about 15 mins before and 15 minutes after sunrise where the air is still, the mist is playing niceley and the colour is at a peak. Most people arrive at the lochan just after this.

So I knew I only had a few moments to get another shot and the tree was looking so inviting and from the angle I was at, I could see the islands behind the tree being hidden in the mist. Soo… I said what the hell. I’ll take a go at it.. On goes the my Nikkor 360 T-ED and f/32 for a second .. The results are embarrasingly good (not as in it’s amazing but that I’d like to show it off but it is that tree! ah well, I’m sure I can cope). So .. here it is..

and a couple of pictures of my camera taking these