After a week’s stay on the Isle of Mull we took the CalMac ferry from Tobermory to Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsular. Arguably one of the most remote peninsulas on the west coast of Scotland. On leaving Kilchoan and before driving to Morar, we decided to head north west and take a relativelyshort detour along a single track road to visit the lovely beaches of Sanna Bay. An absolutely stunning location. The lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point was our next port of call, as we had to say we had been to the most westerly point of the British mainland.
Sadly we were only passing through Ardnamurchan and we only scratched the surface of this rather special area of Scotland.
The remote peninsular of Ardnamurchan, on the west coast of Scotland.
The view from the ferry looking east in the direction of Loch Sunart
The isolated and beautiful sands of Sanna Bay(above and below)
The most western telephone box on the British mainland near Sanna Bay
Ardnamurchan Point Lighthouse
In Part 3 of this short series on Scotland, I will be sharing some images taken during our stay at Morar, which lies to the south of Mallaig.
The highlight of this second week being the beautiful sands at Camusdarach, famous for being one of the principal locations used in the 1983 film ‘Local Hero’. To whet your appetite here is an image from that location.
I am not alone when I say that the landscape and light in Scotland can be quite breath taking. My photographic eye cannot fail to be inspired by the scenery and the ever changing weather, whatever the season.
My wife and I last visited Scotland back in the spring of 2019. The Isles of Harris and Lewis was our chosen destination. Because of Covid, Lockdown restrictions and for other personal reasons we have not ventured very far since then, but back in October we finally threw our bags in the car and returned to the Isle of Mull. A favourite place for us to go and one of the islands that form part of the Inner Hebrides. We stayed in two locations on Mull and spent another week on the mainland at Morar which is just south of Mallaig.
It’s has taken a little while but at long last I been through and processed a selection of the many photographs I took during our three week stay, and I would now like to share some of my favourite images with you.
This will be the first of a number of posts from our trip to the west coast of Scotland. I shall include captions about some of the images and their locations etc, but essentially I would like the images themselves to tell the story.
First off …… the Isle of Mull.
Salen Pier
Looking south across Loch Na Keal towards Balnahard
Glen Aros Layers
The White House of Aros to the north of Salen Bay
Hills near Salen
Rubha Nan Gall lighthouse (the name means ‘Stranger’s Point) by the Sound of Mull near Tobermory
The old bridge which crosses the Coladoir River near to Loch Scridain
The view across Loch Tuath with Ben More in the distance
A lone tree on the bank of Loch Ba
On the ferry crossing from Tobermory to Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsular
I shall be posting more images from our Scotland trip in a few days time.
I am very fortunate. Retired, I no longer have the restrictions of a busy working day. My wife and I have recently moved to a beautiful part of Dorset, and the countryside on my new doorstep inspires me. When the light is right and the weather conditions favourable, there is every chance I can drop what I am doing and within a few minutes be in a place where I know there will be some good compositions.
A few days ago I posted ‘My heart is in mono…..and the countryside’. I wrote about the reasons why I have returned to making images in black and white. I also wrote about going out with photographic intent, and not just to head out for a walk with a camera on the off chance a picture might reveal itself.
If I was to choose the best light for landscape photography a bright and showery day is almost impossible to resist. This is particularly true late in the afternoon when the sun is lower in the sky, casting long shadows and side lighting any subjects in the frame, accentuating form and texture. The passing rain clouds are of course full of texture and interest too. There is nothing very photogenic about a clear blue sky.
Reinvigorated to make black and white images again, I watched the skies yesterday and witnessed potentially ideal conditions taking shape. As the afternoon progressed the skies to the south were clearing, whilst looking in the opposite direction there were shower clouds aplenty. With the sun setting in the west any composition looking north had the makings of a good result. I knew where to go, grabbed my camera and a couple of prime lenses, and took our dog with me too. He’s quite happy to wait for me to compose the shot and press the shutter. Well most of the time anyway!
Growing familiarity with my home patch is a huge advantage. The four photographs you see here are all compositions I have shot before but at different times the year. For me yesterday’s conditions and this light were nigh on perfect. But days like this are not that common and there is always the risk of getting drenched in the pursuit of a few strong images. Definitely worth it though.
This experience has further enhanced my feeling that ‘My heart is in mono…..’ It’s good to be back making images in shades of grey again, sharing them with you and writing about my thoughts and the story behind the pictures.
In the latter half of last year I made a conscious effort to make images in colour and not in black and white. Monochrome had been my default creative choice for many years, in fact for nearly a decade. Whilst some of the images I made in colour pleased me, I was finding it increasingly hard to motivate myself to make more colour pictures. As a consequence the past few months have proven to be a very lean period. I even had one kind follower asking me if I was okay? Rest assured I am fine, but photographically speaking I can only admit to being in something of a creative rut.
A change of tack was required. In more recent weeks I have been out in the countryside near our home in Dorset with the sole intention of making black and white images. Whether overcast and dull, or bright and sunny, the camera has recorded what has drawn my eye. I had no high expectations. This was not about making prize winning pictures, nor even ones which would be added to one of my galleries at a later date. Quite simply this was an exercise to teach myself to see the world in shades of grey again, and in the process to make a few images which might rekindle my love of photography and in particular the genre which has been the core of this site.
Was it a success? 100% yes. I not only immersed myself in the beauty of the countryside but I made images which in all likelihood had they been in colour would have done nothing for me. In life you have to try new things and although I can still see myself making some colour images, if I am being completely honest with myself, my heart is in monochrome. The creative medium I discovered back in 2011 which has given me so much pleasure ever since.
Why monochrome I ask myself? Is it the timeless quality of mono? Almost certainly. Is it the greater freedom of creative choices? Again yes. The removal of colour instantly renders an image unreal, an abstraction of the world from how we normally see it. Different processing techniques can evoke feelings and expression in a way which may not always be possible in colour. That’s not to say that colour doesn’t have advantages over B&W, it certainly does but for the most part it’s not for me. Colour is a distraction and if I look at two images of the same subject, one in colour the other in black and white, almost invariably I will find the monochrome version more pleasing. It’s all down to personal preference as we all have different tastes. Wouldn’t the world be a boring place if we all liked the same thing?
What else did this experience teach me? Whilst I have often advocated, but not always practiced, the maxim ‘always carry a camera’, in the hope that something might draw my eye, there is really no substitute for going out with the intention of making photographs. Yes of course some days will be more productive and rewarding than others, but looking isn’t the same as observing and to find strong compositions in good light takes time and concentration. Sherlock Holmes famously said; “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is clear.” There is another benefit to this more considered approach to image making – I appreciate the beauty of the countryside so much more. I stop to not only observe, but also to listen and absorb the very nature of my surroundings. I am all too aware that I can miss photo opportunities if always on the move.
There is another advantage to being out and about with a camera to take photographs as opposed to going for a walk and taking a camera. There is clearly a priority of purpose. It might also be deemed to be practicing, which doesn’t always make perfect, but I do strongly believe practice can enhance your good fortune. It has been said many times before, but the saying “The harder I practice, the luckier I get” holds true for many pursuits in life.
Similarly Henri Cartier-Bresson said – “The first 10,000 photographs are your worst”. In this digital age that number could easily be increased 10 fold. Not only will practice increase your chances of a successful outcome but you will become more familiar with your camera, lens choice and other equipment, further enhancing your technical skills. I will freely admit having to re-learn which actions I had assigned to certain function buttons when I went out the other day!
I doubt that Ansel Adams would have gone out for a walk in Yosemite with his view camera and large tripod purely in the hope that a scene worthy of capture might appear in front of him. After all he wanted to make images, to indulge himself in his love of photography and to fully appreciate the majesty of the world around him. I think it entirely appropriate to say that he was a photographer first and not a rambler with a camera!
I have enjoyed writing this entry whilst sharing some of my thoughts and recent images with you.
From now on, it’s back to my first love of monochrome, and images of the countryside which I am very fortunate to experience.
alan frost photography 