When Perseverance Pays Off…..
Another early alarm call, to prepare for this final day in Assynt. I checked 4 different weather forecasts for the area before choosing a location itinerary for the day. It is impossible for the weather forecasters to get it right. How can they forecast how each square mile within this mountainous region be 100% accurate. They can’t and therefore my expectations are always realistic. I accept these forecasts as a guide rather than as the gospel.
There was one location one of my guests was eager to photograph ever since arriving in Assynt. The Bothy at Loch Stack. Inspired by my photograph of it……only kidding. But inspired by seeing it elsewhere and she was keen to see it with her own eyes.
Well, we tried on day 1, we tried on day 2 and we tried on day 5. Each day, we were thwarted by the weather. Either drizzle or poor visibility. Therefore, I felt the pressure of delivering this image for her on day 6, the final day of the Workshop. The forecast was half decent. Well, as half decent as Assynt could’ve got this week. An hours drive to Loch Stack had us arriving just around 9am. You guessed it, drizzle & poor visibility. But, there was something different about today’s lighting conditions. It was interesting and definitely something we could work with. I raced down to a stream I had noticed in the grass – not often seen, but with the recent heavy rainfall, it was hardly a surprise.
I set my camera up quickly to demonstrate the type of image they should be considering – 14mm lens seemed to be the perfect fit. The guys were pretty competent on the type of shot they wanted to take and so rather than interfere too much, I let them get on with how they wanted to shoot.
Loch Stack is an amazing location for a landscape photographer. Not only for it’s beauty and remoteness. But also, for the the vast number of compositions that are available. It can be photographed from so many different angles and with the mountain ranges behind and the many different weather and lighting conditions on offer, it really does offer so much. Raw, natural beauty and a fantastic place to try so many different photographic disciplines. Long exposures, horizontal/vertical crops, colour/black & white, focus stacking, exposure blends. All the ingredients are there for you at Loch Stack. A wonderful location and an ideal place to teach so much to my workshop guests. When we were there today, there had been heavy overnight rain which had created numerous fast flowing streams from the many underground channels that run underneath the “deer” grass.
We were lucky on this occasion, but we deserved this luck with this being the 4th time we had tried with Loch Stack this week. Perseverance had paid off.
Just a few hundred metres from Loch Stack, there was another fishing bothy which also offered fantastic photographic opportunities, but the weather had closed in and frustrated our attempts to capture once again. A recurring theme for this week in Assynt.
Undeterred, we made our way back towards Loch Assynt where earlier checks on the weather forecast gave us hope that we were heading towards more favourable conditions.
The hours drive back to the heartlands of Assynt, gave me the opportunity to chat with the group, on how they feel the workshop had been for them this week. It’s always a nervous moment for me, hearing first hand what their thoughts are. I want them to be honest, so that I can learn from any shortfalls I have delivered so that future guests don’t experience the same disappointments. At the same time, I hope they are not too brutal.
As human beings, we all want to be liked, we all want to feel appreciated, we all seek acceptance. I am no different, but at the same time, we want people to be honest and it was honesty I was looking for in this discussion. Now, whether my Group were just being kind or were afraid of saying anything negative, I was relieved to hear their feelings on how the week had been for them. They all came with certain expectations, certain hopes for the week. This varied between individuals whether it be to learn about long exposures, composition, focussing, workflow, planning, scouting, they all felt they had learnt so much. They have invested in themselves. They felt that they had learnt new skills, expanded existing skills, had improved their understanding and evolved new ways of thinking about and using photographic techniques. Their only criticism was the weather!!!
As a workshop leader, I desperately want to provide value for money. I have 4 main goals when setting out on these workshops. Health, safety, enjoyment and value for money. If I can achieve these four goals during my workshops whilst educating and inspiring the group, I feel I have delivered the best possible experience I can. Unfortunately, the weather, I cannot control, but I can show how the weather to be your friend, to work with it to produce and create wonderful imagery.
I am not the most confident of people, I have insecurities, worries, anxieties, self doubts like most people. I do not believe my photography is that great. However, I do feel that I have a passion for the landscape, I do have an unconditional love for the Scottish Highlands and I hope this comes across in my workshops. My enthusiasm, I hope carries me through.
Arriving back at Loch Assynt, we have just a few hours to visit a few locations. All are close to one another and it was possible to visit all to capture those final images of the week. I allowed the group to make their own mind up with their shot selection. This was an opportunity for them to do what they wanted. We stopped off to photograph, Ardvreck Castle and the Bothy at Elphin before the light was too dark.
Returning to our cottage in Lochinver, there was time to light one last fire, eat one last supper, drink the last couple of bottles of wine and have one final editing session.
Unfortunately, you will always get the odd one, here and there, who will make life very difficult. That’s human nature, we are all different and we all want different things.
One experience I had last year from a workshop guest knocked me for six and I seriously thought my position. I am very sensitive, probably too sensitive and I want everybody to enjoy the experience. I want everybody to have the same love and passion for photography and the landscape as I do. When this doesn’t happen, I can’t understand why. I can’t understand why anyone can stand in front of and amongst some of the most wonderful landscape in the world and moan. Complain about everything. About me, my choice of location, my timing of our visit, my teaching, my editing, my driving, the hotel food, the hotel accommodation and on and on and on. Each complaint, I tried to find out how we could resolve, how I could improve their experience, what did they want. But alas to no avail. It was a deep blow to my confidence and I needed time afterwards to assess my contribution to this situation. All the self doubts raised to the surface, it was a very unpleasant experience for me, but one I wanted to learn from.
Leading a photography workshop is an incredibly privileged and enjoyable experience. I never take it for granted and treat each one with equal energy and desire to deliver value for money. It is also a very exhausting experience, both physically and mentally. The mental pressure of delivering and being responsible for 3 other people’s expectations can take it’s toll. I have control of so much, but I have no control of an equal amount. But it also requires the participants to play their part. Most of my guests and I have been extremely fortunate over the past 3 years, have been incredibly supportive and appreciative of the product that has been delivered.
The challenge for me is being able to provide each individual the support, the advice, the encouragement they each need. All the participants are at different stages of their photography journey and all require different levels of input. Some are very advanced photographers where only a limited amount of support is required. Others are only just starting out and need a lot more individual one to one support. This skill takes time to learn and understanding everybody’s requirements is a key factor in running a successful photography workshop.ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
I discussed, in private, at some length with this individual the concerns and the opinions raised during the workshop. I wanted to know if I was the major contributory factor in their feelings. I needed to know if I was doing anything fundamentally wrong. However, as the discussion unfolded, it became clearly apparent there was something else troubling the individual. Totally unrelated to the workshop but nevertheless affecting the mental health of the individual. It was a relief to me as a professional photographer that I wasn’t the cause of this unhappiness but at the same time it raised concerns for their health, which I know is now thankfully being addressed.
I always encourage openness and honesty during my workshops. I want people to enjoy this experience, to learn and feel inspired to create wonderful images. We love in a troubled world with lots of problems, but with landscape photography we have an opportunity for escapism. To never lose sight of also living in a beautiful world.
I will finish my weekly journal of photographing in Assynt, with a quote from David Attenborough, a quote that is true to my heart and I quote I hold dear to my heart:
“It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living.”
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