Lochan na h-Achlaise

iGiDK · 13 Apr 2008 at 22:51

After a solid 4 hours kip I made an impulse decision to head north to Rannoch Moor in time for sunrise.

The skies were pretty clear during the drive up so initially I thought I'd try and fire off a few frames at Loch Ba, and hopefully capture a little mist on the water with a nice pink sky.

Unfortunately the sunrise didn't look like it was going to be great due to a band of cloud on the eastern horizon, unfazed I decided to shoot on the other side of the A82 at Lochan na h-Achlaise.

This first shot was taken just as the sun was beginning to light up the hills, I turned the CPL to darken the reflections in the immediate foreground - comparing this with a few of my other frames I quite like how this darkened area adds a little more depth to the scene.

I'm getting into the habit of shooting both vertical and horizontal frames of the same scene (if time permits). This vertical composition is my favourite photograph from the morning:

17mm | f/11 | 0.3sec | ISO-100 | ND Grad | CPL

A little while later, the sun began to illuminate my scene, again here is another vertical composition that appeals to me.

I'm quite drawn to how there are differing types of clouds visible here, and the way in which the banded clouds add a diagonal shape in both the sky and reflection.

13mm | f/16 | 0.5sec | ISO-100 | ND Grad | CPL

CC most welcome

Thank you for looking

mrk · 13 Apr 2008 at 23:22

Really like *** first one, nicely done with the colour it gives a nice cool feeling.

The second has a shade of Vignetting by the way!

iGiDK · 13 Apr 2008 at 23:25

Thank you very much mrk

Yep I added a vignette (to both of them) via PP with the intention to make the rocks and hills stand out in the frame a little more.

mrk · 13 Apr 2008 at 23:27

Aha I see, didn't notice it in the first as the lower end seems to be in the shade anyway but if that was added then it's all cool

Mohain · 14 Apr 2008 at 09:42

Very nice, especially the first one. I'd like to see the horizontal version, if you CBA to post it

iGiDK · 14 Apr 2008 at 12:08

Thank you Mohain - I was hoping to process a couple of the horizontal compositions tonight so I'll see what I can do

xirokx · 14 Apr 2008 at 16:20

lovely composition, exposure and contrasts..

you live close to some lovely places...I am restricted to urban photography due to where I live...

I wish I lived somewhere close to that to capture images at different times...

lovely thanks for sharing

greengiant · 14 Apr 2008 at 18:59

Stunning pictures! What ND grad did you use?

iGiDK · 14 Apr 2008 at 21:42

xirokx said:
lovely composition, exposure and contrasts..

you live close to some lovely places...I am restricted to urban photography due to where I live...

I wish I lived somewhere close to that to capture images at different times...

lovely thanks for sharing

Thank you very much, it's about 75 miles to that spot from where I live but when you're driving at 5 in the morning the roads are really quiet so it's about an hour and a half to drive there - got to watch out for deer though!

greengiant said:
Stunning pictures! What ND grad did you use?

Thank you very much I used a soft ND grad, and it would have either been a 0.6 or 0.9 (2 stop or 3 stop)

Couple of horizontal compositions as requested, thanks for looking folks

17mm | f/11 | 0.8sec | ISO-100 | ND Grad | CPL

18mm | f/16 | 0.4sec | ISO-100 | ND Grad | CPL

...and another composition where I have gone for a mono conversion

22mm | f/11 | 1/10sec | ISO-100 | ND Grad | CPL

Mohain · 15 Apr 2008 at 09:36

Ooo, I really like the last mono image. Perhaps my favorite of them all

33L · 15 Apr 2008 at 09:47

i prefer the landscape version. there just seems to be too much sky for my liking other wise.

they are really lovely shots but i think i would stick with colour as they show the soft early morning light better.

glitch · 15 Apr 2008 at 18:29

More stunning photography, iGiDK. I'm so pleased you've posted your last three topics as it's been such a pleasure to look at your work. Roll on the launch of the website!

#1 - This has a real Asian feel to it. The grass (or whatever it is!) in the foreground coupled with the soothing colours and the snowy peaks make me think of Tibet for some reason. I love the space you've left at the top - it gives the shot room to breathe and makes me want to look up and through the photo. Beautiful light too - so soft and mellow.

#2 - Very peaceful shot here and plenty going on to occupy the eye. I love the different types of cloud formation you've got in this and the way they're adding interest to the mirror finish of the water. The colours are great the composition works and I'm again reminded of Asia for some reason! Superb stuff.

#3 - I do like this but I prefer the portrait shot. I think the foreground was worked better on that one - in this it's just a little busy and there's quite a lot to distract your eye from the main part of the frame. On its own this is a fantastic shot but I've seen the other one now and I love that more.

#4 - This does work well, doesn't it? I feel like I could almost step out onto that water and walk into the photo. Lovely reflections, great colours and a very interesting sky too. I can easily see this hanging on someone's wall.

#5 - I take back what I said in the part II thread. This is your best B&W conversion of the lot. The blacks are black, the whites are white and the greys are varied and there's plenty of tonal range. I'd still like to see this in colour but it's an excellent photo and finishes off a very neat trio of pieces from you. Maybe just crop the very left edge of the frame to remove the white patch from the shoreline and the black areas that intersect the frames edge, but otherwise it's rather special.