My Glencoe Experience

Rain Again…

February was my planned visit to Glencoe with friends for a long weekend of photography and my chance to really test my Olympus EM1mkII and pro lens kit along side the NiSi filters.

On the way to Glencoe we had torrential rain with roads being flooded due to the amount of rain some of which was moving sideways, but I was so excited to visit the highlands of Scotland and what it had to offer. We settled in for a drink and a good feast before an early night so we could rise early for the sunrise as the weather was forecast to be good.

“the morning after the cloud had cleared leaving some stunning colour at dawn..”

Olympus EM1 mkII 12-100mm Pro – NiSi V6, CPL, 2 Stop Medium Grad

Stob Dearg

The morning after the cloud had cleared leaving some stunning colour at dawn, so I headed down to the River Etive for this image of the water looking back to Stob Dearg, just after taking this the cloud covered the whole valley so a good old Scottish breakfast was called for.

But first, I wanted to capture the last of the morning light dancing over the mountains in a black and white image to show the Drama..

Glen Etive

After breakfast the weather had cleared up and we ventured down Glen Etive for more fun and photos. I was like a “kid in a sweet shop” by now.

The river itself has so many opportunities on it’s journey through the Glen towards Loch Etive. With the higher than normal water levels there were plenty of opportunities for using the NiSi ND filters for long exposure shots. I could have stayed shooting along there all day but it was a quick visit so I had to be selective with the compositions I chose.

Olympus EM1 mkII 12-100mm Pro – NiSi V6, Landscape CPL 6 Stop ND, 4 Stop Soft Grad

Olympus EM1 mkII 12-100mm Pro – NiSi V6, Landscape CPL, 6 Stop ND, 4 Stop Soft Grad

Monarch of the Glen

Glen Etive as you may know is the home to stunning Red Deer. It would not be right not to take the chance to capture images of them.

Although wild they have become very friendly due to visitors feeding them. I prefer to be more responsible and chose to use a longer focal length and keep a respectable distance. They are after all wild.

“I prefer to be more responsible and chose to use a longer focal length….”

Olympus EM1 mkII 12-100mm Pro – NiSi V6, Landscape CPL

Olympus EM1 mkII 12-100mm Pro – NiSi V6, Landscape CPL

Loch Linnhe 

I went to explore Ballachulish and Loch Linnhe, not wanting to spend too much time there because I knew the sunset shot I wanted. The light was looking good and at times like this you need to think ahead and plan.

A quick shot over the Loch turned out to be worth the effort, golden light and low cloud really made the image come to life. Then it was back to my final location for the day….

Olympus EM1 mkII 12-100mm Pro – NiSi V6, Landscape CPL, 3 stop Soft Graduated

Loch Leven 

My final shot for the day. I spotted this composition earlier in the day, looking along the Loch towards the mountains in the background and knew it would make a great shot to capture the essence of Scotland.

As luck would have it sunset came and cloud built up. An experienced photographer knows though it isn’t over until it’s over. Just after sunset the cloud started to part and I got a shot that to be honest I think I’m even happier with. Dark and moody, the twilight colour really set the atmosphere with reflections in the water.

Olympus EM1 mkII 12-100mm Pro – NiSi V6, Landscape CPL, 3 stop Soft Graduated

As I have got to know a small part of Glencoe I had a feeling I would be returning at some stage and have planned a visit for next March 2020. While in the area I didn’t want the photos that everyone associates with Glencoe; I wanted to feel I had made my own experience. In photography we all have our own interpretation and this was mine for such a quick visit.

As for the NiSi filters I could not fault the results. The control it gave me over capturing the images I wanted was second to none, and being in Scotland the ease of wiping rain off them was great, thanks to the Nano coatings.

Thanks for looking, I hope you enjoyed reading my experience. Please follow me on my Social Media links and please feel free to leave a comment…

David

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David Metcalfe

Lenslight Nisi Visionary

Based in Halesowen, wherever there is a shot I'm off in my camper, it's all a journey....

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By |2021-11-02T09:22:44+00:00May 9th, 2019|Stories|2 Comments

About the Author:

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Lenslight Nisi Visionary Based in Halesowen, wherever there is a shot I'm off in my camper, it's all a journey.... View Biography

2 Comments

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    ann james May 9, 2019 at 6:20 pm - Reply

    Cracking set DM, sounds like you put your camera and filters to full use

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    Mali May 13, 2019 at 8:50 pm - Reply

    As you say you wanted to add your own story, your own take on the place! You did this alright! You did it with style, brilliant shots and a very well written blog. I may follow you back to Glencoe in 2020…

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