The Weather Apps were right……
Last night, we agreed to meet downstairs for breakfast at 7am the following morning. Therefore, I got up at 5am in order to prepare for the day.
The main focus for me in these early hours was to assess the updated forecasted weather conditions and to work out the locations, the areas of Assynt where we could go to maximise our chances of taking photographs. The weather plays a key role with landscape photography and I feel the responsibility of judging the conditions even more so when responsible for other peoples enjoyment. My workshop guests pay a lot of money to come on these trips, it’s not just the cost of the workshop, it is everything else they have paid in order to be here. The cost of travel, buying suitable clothing, purchasing extra gear (a new lens, a new tripod, a new camera) etc. Some may have used this time as part of their statutory holiday entitlement from work, or it may have been a christmas or birthday present from a loved one and so I take the responsibility of providing the best possible value for money very seriously.
There are many ingredients used to make this possible but the one I am concentrating on over my morning coffee is that of planning. When I have only myself to think of, days like these, when the weather is challenging and not very promising, to say the least, I can just go out and see what happens. I can duck and dive, take a gamble on a location and if it doesn’t pay off, it’s only me that it effects. However, when I am responsible for other’s enjoyment, I have to structure the day slightly differently. The daylight hours in Assynt during January is only a small window. The sun (if there was one) is due to rise at 09.02hrs and will set at 15.48hrs. Less than 7 hours to put together a number of locations.
Factor in the travelling time between locations, it is crucial the day is planned out as best as I can. Now, clearly, any plans must be adaptable to change. I can’t rely entirely on the forecast. If the weather changes, then the plans change. We will chase the light.
Experience of the area is vital and key to running this workshop in Assynt. It’s my home territory, it’s an area I know extremely well and I feel comfortable here. Now, I’m not arrogant enough to suggest I know it better than anyone else, because I don’t, but this local knowledge gives me the confidence to go into this day knowing I will maximise our chances of securing some great imagery. I know where the locations are, I understand the weather systems, I know the travelling distances involved – all key factors. However, there are so many variable factors I have no control over. Assynt is a beautiful place and I adore it. However, she doesn’t always return the love. She’s a magical mistress but she does her own thing. She calls the tune and I have to go along with that tune. This is a part of the allure, this is a part of the attraction…..
All I can do is to plan as best I can for as many different sets of conditions as I can.
Therefore, I have put into plan 2 different sets of itinerary. Within these suggestions, I have a Get Out of Jail For Free Card. An escape route if it all goes awry. Life is all about giving yourself options and planning a days Workshops is no different. And so, as my guests work their way wearily down the stairs, I am confident I have done everything I can to offer them, a return on their investment in me, with a well planned day out.
Now, it’s over to Assynt and the weather…..
The 1st location of the day was on Loch Assynt and the Scots Pine Islands. These are very photogenic islands and provide a beautiful backdrop of the Assynt Peaks. It was 9.15am before it was light enough to photograph and the forecasted rain was holding off (just). I discussed with my Group the 4 ingredients I feel is necessary to capture and create a landscape photograph with impact. Subject, composition, lighting & timing. If all 4 are present in your photograph you have a good chance of having a decent image. I also discussed with them my compositional preference of leading the viewers eye into the photograph from the left to right – preferably bottom left to top right.
Sub-consciously, that’s how we view a painting or a photograph and if you are aware of this, it will be enormously helpful in your compositional skills. A couple of other tips like tipping the camera down 10° from its axis will improve the perspective of your image. A quick demonstration of this and it all made sense – brilliant tip. And so simple. It’s so important to take photographs that are different from the social media masses where we are inundated with thousands of identical images day in and day out. I try to encourage my guests to be creative, be original, try things no matter how subtle.
We spent a couple of hours at the Scots Pines photographing a combination of all sorts of compositions and shutter speeds. The light was a bit gloomy and the sky pretty featureless so long exposure shots was the way forward. I think we got it up to 4 minutes on a couple of shots and will try some exposure blending in our post processing session later.
The weather was just about holding up as we made our way north and crossing Kylesku Bridge. The bridge is not everybody’s cup of tea, but I like it. I like the line of the bridge as it bends through the image and of course, it has a fabulous backdrop. You have to stand on top of a hill with this location and you very exposed when the bad weather is around. It was just beginning to rain and the wind was getting up, so we moved on from here pretty quickly.
After Kylesku, we ventured further north to the wonderful Loch Stack. This is one of those locations that just takes your breath away. I have photographed it a hundred times and driven past it a thousand times and I never tire of it. There are so many compositions to be tried here but the lesson I wanted to get across to my guests here was that of creating depth to the image. This was their task. At this particular location is was simply created by separating the chimney pots from the mid ground. Creating depth to an image is so important when you are trying to transfer a 3D scene onto a 2D platform. There are various other ways to create depth but I wanted them to come up with the solution at this scene. Thankfully, they succeeded but we will come back to this location later in the week, maybe tomorrow.
The forecasted rain was beginning to fall by the end of this location and we were up against time. We managed to find another fishing bothy set in the wilderness of the road to Lairg where depth and composition were the key factors in creating the image. These were the 2 main ingredients I wanted my guests to practice today and I think they were successful in taking this on board.
We arrived back at our rented cottage as the light began to fade at 3.30pm and despite all the weather predictions I feel we accomplished a tremendous amount.
After dinner this evening we will have an hours editing of today’s photographs where we edit according to todays lessons of composition and depth.
The weather forecast is set good for tomorrow and I can’t wait to get started on the 2 new disciplines I want to get across.
I hope you can join me for tomorrow’s diary…..Happy Shooting.