I’d planned to go to climb the infamous Buachaille Etive Mor, but a check of the weather forecast last minute indicated that the ‘sunshine and showers’, and the potential for rainbows had descended into heavy showers, most disappointing. So to plan ‘B’ another hill I’d not climbed in a while, Carn Chois above Loch Turret, I was getting excited only to find on arriving at the start of the single track road; that two big red signs declared that the road was closed. Things were not going to plan.
No how can this be? So to execute plan ‘C’, which ironically I’d considered and discounted on the way to the Loch Turret road and plan ‘B’.
Finally I was off and on making it to the top of Torlum it didn’t look too great, a bit too cloudy although it was supposed to clear, I wasn’t convinced judging by the amount of cloud, fingers crossed.
I bush wacked my way through unforgiving pine trees, stumbled and tripped through rough heather, cursed a little, okay a lot, on the soft mossy ground to a spot where I knew you could see the mountain called Ben Vorlich, nope too much low cloud. But there was a small opening in the cloud as a couple of sun beams ( crepuscular rays) started to burst through.
Oooh, ooh, with the 100-400mm lens on this was looking like it might kick off with a dazzling display, I was not disappointed, it just got better and better, expletives were replaced with much more complimentary dialogue; the excitement kept on building.
I had to use the tripod like a monopod to shoot, it was too breezy and the ground underfoot too spongy for the tripod to be used normally, I tried single shots and multi shot panoramas as the one above, all the time hoping something was in focus. The breeze and the trying to stand still on this giant sponge were a challenge and I seemed to be swaying and rocking to the beat of the wind. Exposing for the highlight and keeping the shutter speed up helped keep me on track.
This was a truly magical light show, this was reality unfolding before my eyes in a spectacular fashion as the beams of light played across the landscape, dropping small spotlights here and there; forget so called virtual reality.
The last image on the hill, the one above was funnily the location of plan ‘B’, looked good from here but glad it didn’t pan out.
With the light fading it was time to head out, there was a pizza and a wee drop of red to wash it down with calling me.
I was forced to make one last image as I made my way down through the now spooky darkening forest, frightened me? Nah… of course not… ;)
So sometimes when things don’t go to plan it can turn out far better than expected, don’t give up, I was sure glad this day went a bit pear shaped. :)