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.
If you have been following this blog recently you will already know that for a period of time I switched from black and white and started working in colour. A previous entry goes into more detail as to why I have now returned to my first love of monochrome.
In the circumstance I decided it would be a good idea to revisit a few of those colour images, re-process them in black and white and share them with you. So here is a small selection and I hope you enjoy them.
If anyone was to ask me to name my favourite Cathedral, it would be a choice between these three: Wells in Somerset, Chichester in West Sussex and St Davids in Pembrokeshire. Pushed to say which would come out on top and I would have to say Wells Cathedral. Why? It has a very special atmosphere born out of the quite majestic architecture and the extraordinary detail of its design. The history and its setting in what is a small city just adds to its appeal.
Last week my wife and I enjoyed a short holiday in Somerset. We were staying about 10 miles north of Wells so another visit had to be included in our itinerary of places we wanted to see. I have been fortunate to visit and photograph the cathedral previously, but this time round I decided to concentrate on some of the details, which to me tell a story about the building and sum up very nicely why it means so much to me.
I could spend hours and hours in the cathedral and never be bored finding other compositions so another visit is very much on the cards. Until then here are a selection captured last week and if you would like to read my other blog entries about Wells Cathedral here are the links are below.
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.
alan frost photography 