Tag Archives: scotland

Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Lamp, Window, Morning Light

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Lamp, Window, Morning Light
“Lamp, Window, Morning Light” A lamp on the ledge of a window in a Stirling, Scotland hotel.

This is an opportunistic photograph, made at a moment when photography is not typically my priority. We were staying in Stirling, Scotland for a few days after our Great Glen Way walk, and it turned out that breakfast was included with our room. So instead of heading out to hunt for coffee and breakfast, we just walked down that hallway, took the elevator down a floor, and walked into the dining room. And there on the window sill next to our table was this eye-catching lamp, posing against the window lit by morning light, with the blue sky beyond.

“So,” you may ask,” you say you weren’t thinking about photographing. But you had your camera with you? At breakfast?” Well, not exactly. This is an iPhone photograph. (I’ll bet that you didn’t realize that until now, right?) It turns out that sometimes the iPhone can be used to make things other than selfies. For the photographers out there, I did use the iPhone’s raw mode so that I’d have a bit more latitude in post — as you can imagine, the dynamic range in this scene was pretty large!

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Highland Trees and Fog

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Highland Trees and Fog
“Highland Trees and Fog” — Small trees and mountain fog in the highlands along the Great Glen Way near the “View Catcher.”

We began our spring walk along Scotland’s Great Glen Way in distinctly lowland country. We started a sea level in Fort William, then headed north along the Caledonian Canal, passing by agricultural country and eventually a large loch. But eventually the route took is into higher terrain, most dramatically on this day when we climbed steeply out of the town of Invermoriston, eventually crossing a high ridge before a long descent to the final miles of the day along the canal once again.

Much of this part of Scotland is thickly forested, but there’s often a distinct and sudden division between trees and barren highlands. We had passed through some highland country on the train to Fort William, but this was the first time we walked into it. It was a dramatic change! The day was cloudy and damp, and even though it momentarily cleared at this point, fog clouds drifted in and out of the scene, alternately revealing and blocking views of higher ridges.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Telford Bridge

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Telford Bridge
“Telford Bridge” — The historic Telford Bridge at Invermoriston, Scotland.

The last bit of this day’s walk on the Great Glen Way was full of surprises. One of them was that as we approached the town of Invermoristen it seemed that we were only a very short distance from our destination, but then the path took a long sideways detour to finally cross the river. such a detour is not what you want at the end of a long day of hiking! On the other hand, this detour took is right past this historic Telford Bridge, where we paused for a moment before continuing toward our destination in town.

The first version of the bridge was completed approximately two centuries ago. (It was replaced by a more “modern” structure in the early 20th century.) It was devised by the great Scottish engineer, Thomas Telford, who is also responsible for all sorts of projects in Scotland, including the Caledonia Canal connecting Fort William and Inverness. We take structures like bridges for granted today, but when this was constructed it improved transportation and trade in the area. (Imagine trying to get across the river without the bridge!)

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Photographs: Nature, Photographs: Scotland, Photographs: Travel

Forest and Fog, Great Glen Way

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Forest and Fog, Great Glen Way
“Forest and Fog, Great Glen Way” — Fog drifts across forest trees and mountains along the Great Glen Way.

Understanding a new landscape often takes time. Scotland’s is quite different from any that I’m familiar with. Much of it is green lowlands, and here along the Great Glen Way water is everywhere. There are mountains, though they seem low to this California photographer used to peaks that tower above 14,000 feet. Yet they can be quite rugged, and that ruggedness seems to come on quite suddenly. And then there is the weather! Most days were in the 60s, it was often cloudy, and we dealt with precipitation on about a third of the days or more on our walk — like on this day.

On this morning we had started — as we did almost every morning — by walking out the door of our lodgings in the lowlands. The route soon climbed into those Scottish mountains, and it remained cloudy and damp with fog drifting in and out. One moment we had decently clear views beneath the clouds; the next moment the fog would drift up from the valley and obscure the scene. The overall effect was dark and dramatic in a way that I rarely encounter in the Sierra Nevada “Range of Light.”

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books, Amazon, and directly from G Dan Mitchell.

Blog | About | Instagram | Flickr | Facebook | Threads | Post | Email

Links: Articles, Sales and Licensing, my Sierra Nevada Fall Color book, Contact Info.

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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.