Exhaustion not an option... / March 29, 2023 by Carlton Doudney

I arrived at the ski car park a little late but was determined to push on, this was too good an opportunity to miss. I’d planned to shoot the Milky Way arching over the Loch Avon basin, it would be in just the right location and clear skies were forecast, a rare occasion.

As it turned out there was quite a bit more snow than anticipated which slowed me down and sought to drain my energy levels quicker than I would have liked. This wasn’t so bad until I hit the steep pull up the flank of Cairn Lochan, the summer path hidden under the snow, it was time to don crampons to prevent any unwanted slips.

On reaching the top I’d forgotten how far it was across and down to where I’d camped before and now in the failing light it seemed to get more distant the faster I tried to go. With so much drifted snow not only was it hard to locate my favourite spot but the deep snow was taking it’s toll on my poor tired legs.

With darkness setting in I was now in a bit of a pickle, forced to dig out the head torch it was difficult to find a flat spot, when I did it was impossible to get the pegs into the ground. After an hour of trudging around in circles and cramp setting in to my legs, I hadn’t been drinking anywhere enough fluids, I finally found somewhere to get the tent up.

All I wanted to do was jump into my sleeping bag and get some food on, I hadn’t even stopped for lunch and my stomach was hinting profusely with incessant rumbling noises. I still had to trundle down the slope to perch precariously on the side of the burn (stream) to get some water.

By the time I got back to my tent I was all for calling it a day, I had no energy left for the challenges the night time photography posed. I shrugged the lack of energy off, I’d made it this far so grabbed the camera bag, tripod and started the half kilometre slog over to my shooting position.

Star trails were the first order of business with the Fuji camera it was possible to set the timer to run for half an hour and leave it run, meanwhile I worked out my start and finish points for shooting a panorama for the Milky Way arch.

Star trails finished and I did a series of shots for my panorama, took a few other shots then was ready to head back to the tent. I moved the camera just as I saw the beginning of the Aurora. Dinner and sleep would have to wait, I stayed for nearly another hour photographing the spectacular light show before me.

It was finally time to call it a night as I made my way wearily but oddly in high spirits back to my home for the night, there was a surprise waiting for me. I settled in an started to get dinner on, except I’d accidently left the dehydrated pasta dish at home, I was too tired to curse and so my uneaten lunch became my dinner. Oh well it was quicker and easier washed down with a large mug of hot sweet tea.

A couple of hours later and I was up again heading back to the same spot for sunrise, it was beautiful but paled after last nights performance.

I had a lazy morning after that taking in a snooze before a breakfast of porridge and hot coffee ready for the walk out.

How humble my little red shelter looked in the middle of the vastness of the Cairngorms.

I enjoyed a more leisurely walk out enjoying the warmth of the sun after an overnight temperature of -10ºC, a chilly one.

Exhaustion was not an option and I was so glad I ignored the aches and pains, it was a privilege to witness the Aurora and my Milky Way panorama was far more spectacular than I could have ever imagined it would be. Exhaustion, what exhaustion?

At last... / July 17, 2022 by Carlton Doudney

…it was time to visit a small hill that I’d been eying up for a while, near another small hill that was a favourite on Rannoch Moor with a view to seeing how the the scene varied from a different perspective.

Part of the reason for visiting this spot was also to photograph Noctilucent Clouds if they appeared. Noctilucent Clouds (night shining clouds) form at an altitude of 75 - 85 kilometres high and are made up of tiny ice crystals; only visible in the twilight night when it never truly gets dark, the clouds reflecting the light from the sun.

With sunset shot, a couple of hours sleep then up for the Noctilucent Clouds then crawl back into the tent for a couple more hours before getting up again for sunrise, phew, hard work is summer.

With blurry eyes I shot sunrise in the fresh morning air taking advantage of the 360º views.

With sunrise shooting over I crawled once more back into my tent and a warm sleeping bag for a well deserved sleep, well, at least until the sun turned the temperature up to cooking on the dial.

It was an easy downhill wander back to the car and a lazy drive home, window down and thinking about a return trip if not in the summer perhaps the autumn or the winter if there was a good fall of snow. Question is which of my two favourite hills do I visit?

Something stirred on the moors... / March 29, 2022 by Carlton Doudney

Actually there was lots of stirring on Rannoch Moor with a temperature hovering at around -2ºC and a wind chill of close to -10ºC on this decidedly breezy morning at 3.30am, it was freezing. I arrived at about 3 ish a.m. in the dark and parked up, the mission to photograph the Milky Way over the moorland, as it turned out it was one of those mornings that kept on delivering.

First issue was finding the spot that I’d visited in the daylight believing it to be ideal for my purposes, however stomping across a frosty half frozen moor turned out to be problematic, by the light of a head torch it all looked the same. I eventually settled for a spot close to a small boat house as time was moving on the the window of opportunity, that of Astronomical Twilight was rapidly closing.

Grabbing my down jacket and camera friendly gloves I proceeded with preparations, first levelling tripod as this would be a multi shot panorama and doing a couple of test shots to finalise settings and alignment. It would take 10 shots altogether with 5 shots stacked for each of the 10 shots taken to improve low light quality, 50 shots in total.

After some miscounts and extra shots to cover my forgotten counts together with extra shots taken as for shot 10, lorries with there super bright lights messed up some of the shots, success was at hand. Of course at the time you don’t know until to get to stitch everything together, back at the computer.

The stormy conditions gave me some other images that I hadn’t counted on with clouds racing by on the strong wind.

I was slowly making my way back to the car and deliciously hot coffee but new compositions kept catching my eye.

After a brief warm up and some coffee in the car I made my way across to the other side of the road where the sunrise was starting to look quite juicy.

The image above of Stob Ghabhar caught the early sun just right as there was a brief lull in the wind giving me beautiful reflections on the water. Just after this there was a little wildlife shot a stag taking breakfast.

All in all it turned out to be a great outing coming home with more than I could have hoped for, it was definitely worth all that stirring to keep warm in those chilly early hours. :)

Weather Forecast, ha... / January 13, 2022 by Carlton Doudney

I should have followed my gut instinct, as I rolled up into the car park in the dark I missed the turning and started off up some track. I knew immediately I’d gone wrong which resulted in an owl like neck twisting as I reversed back down the narrow dark track and back to the parking opening spot. Then the rain started, it was surely an omen.

The forecast stated cloudy for Bridge of Orchy, light snow around 6 am for Stob a’ Choire Odhair, the mountain I was going to climb. Okay it was going to be a bit windy but it should be manageable. Reality, continuous rain, sleet and some snow all carried on a wind which seemed far stronger the forecast. This is the same location as my last story below, how different a day to that one.

In the dark I set off with a positive, hopeful mindset, ‘endure’ I thought,’ it’ll be tough but once on the summit it’ll pay off’. Hmm, the best laid plans.

It might have been showery, but I made good pace to the turn off point for the mountain track, even though the trail was its’ usual claggy, muddy self and with the rain more so, I still made good progress as I hit the zig zag track up the side of the mountain without passing this second turn off like last time.

Here the hard work really started, heavy, wet drifted snow lined the path making it easier to try and keep to heathery sections above the path. The higher I got the worse conditions became. Now having to cross open snow fields, easy if the snow were hard. Mist blew in and out hiding my route above.

I’d been somewhat in the shelter from the wind but now it was starting to tickle the side of my face, the snow underfoot was Creme Brulee , that is a hard crust with deep, soft wet snow underneath. For two paces the crust will support your foot fall, then for three paces your foot goes through and you have to drag it out. Then for four paces support, two paces through and extrication required; so it went on for most of the way to the summit. It is totally exhausting sapping your energy to the core. The dull wet dark world had changed into a bright white misty one as the mountain opened out.

Once on the summit there was about two seconds relief at having made it, but these were completely different conditions to my visit last month. The wind pushed and shoved me constantly and when a strong gust came there was nothing for it but to crouch down and brace, the air sucked out of my lungs. Mist swirled in and out revealing then instantly hiding any view, eye stinging snow showers made me hide my face until they had passed.

The tripod was out of the question, all I could do was up the shutter speed and try for something hand held.

I fired off a couple of shots as the wind jostled me about after first struggling to get my down jacket on, the wind threatening to tear it out of my hands.

I turned to try and repeat a panorama that I’d shot last time but now with a snow clad Stob Ghabhar, I was shooting straight into the wind, the mountain for moments hiding in mist, then revealed for a few seconds. It was an impossible shot with gusts of wind coming more frequently and there was no way I could stay still long enough as the wind treated me like a rag doll.

I was so disappointed, but with regret it was time to get out of here with conditions worsening and it was time to put safety first. Descending should have been easier, but the deep leg grabbing snow was relentless, ankles, knees and hips aching with the constant need to jiggle and drag each leg out of the snowy white traps.

It was a relief to get off of the snow and back on the water logged muddy tracks again and finally back out to the solid Landrover track. Just before reaching the main way out I saw a possible composition, I debated whether I would stop, all I wanted to do was get back to my car, crank up the heater and go home to a hot shower. But I had to do it and captured a shot of the burn (river) named Allt Toaig. I also now had a chance to drink some gloriously hot sweet coffee, I was a bit dry so to speak. Looking back up to where I’d been it still looked nasty and uninviting, today the mountain didn’t want to play.

It rained on and off all the way back to the car, I’d not brought a change of clothing so had to put a plastic bag on the seat so as not to get it too wet, I took solace in that although I’d not taken many photos, at least I’d gotten a good workout.

Weather forecast be damned, I think I’ll hang a piece of seaweed outside my front door, it might be more accurate… :)

Worth The Effort... / December 3, 2021 by Carlton Doudney

I had it in my mind to revisit Stob a’ Choire Odhair, the weather forecast looked promising, so the alarm clock was set for 2 a.m., the gear by the door. On arriving it was crisp and cool with the scent of pine in the air, my boots crunching on the gravely surface of the track. It wasn’t long before I arrived at a small hut not only the turn off point but the beginning of the boggy path which would lead me to the steep, steep pull up the shoulder of the mountain.

I followed the torturous tight zig zagging path upwards, it was relentless in it’s acute angle and it seemed like it would never end. Thankfully the angle eased off and I was high up on the side of the mountain, but not as high as I thought I was. The upper reaches kept on going, it was higher than I remembered and I just had to keep plugging on as the first hint of dawn twilight glowed on the horizon.

Looking over Loch Tulla towards Beinn Dorain

Once on the summit it wasn’t long before I reached for my down jacket, it was freezing cold in a bitter wind that blew across the rocky top.

I’d forgotten how good the views were and with the light constantly changing the tripod was never in one place for long as I looked over my shoulder and there was another composition.

Bidean nam Bian , the summit in cloud but still a little alpenglow

This was surely making up for my last dismal outing where the sun disappeared as soon as I arrived.

A glorious golden sun broke over the horizon side lighting the mountains, my fingers were beginning to feel it, or rather not feel very much as they chilled in the wind. I had to keep thrusting them into my pockets to warm them up.

A little warmth on Clach Leathad and Meall a’ Bhuiridh

I managed to find a spot out of the wind to enjoy my steaming hot coffee and slightly crushed Boursin Cheese filled croissants in an aim to replenish my energy, what a spectacular place to have breakfast. Before long it was time to descend, but it was hard to pull away from the views.

The mountain kept on giving as I descended with new compositions to explore.

The great thing about walking in, in the dark is that you see everything walking out for the first time as in the image above which took a bit of balancing on slippery rocks.

As I walked out a group of stags took in breakfast, not bothered by my arrival. I returned to my car a fair bit later than expected, I’d spent so long on the summit. By the time I was under way the light was beginning to dim, the day hadn’t finished with the opportunities though. As I drove into St. Fillans I just had to pull over, the sunset was just glorious…

What a long day, it was definitely worth the effort of the early start and the tough climb up in the dark, there was one casualty, I fell asleep during the film I was watching back at home, lucky I finished my pizza first… :)

No Particular Place To Go... / October 30, 2021 by Carlton Doudney

Nothing planned. It was a questionable weather forecast whatever direction I headed off in so I jumped in the car well before dawn and headed vaguely in the Glencoe direction, no expectations. When I head out I never know what the weather gods will give me, but in this scenario anything is a bonus.

There was a full moon so I was hoping for some kind of shot under moonlight, always a pleasant change from sunlight.

I was in two minds, to stop or not for a shot of Ben Vorlich, I stopped but had to reverse back a bit, I was hoping for a little more snow on the summit.

I quickly moved on, eyes peeled for other possibilities and soon came to a spot where I’d never taken an image that was satisfying. I was in luck.

Here were the snow capped mountains I was hoping for beautifully reflecting the moonlight, it had to be a panorama of the Bridge of Orchy Mountains. I was here for a little longer than I realised and it was the penetrating cold that saw me reach for the down jacket in my car. With another shot in mind I was glad to be on the road again, car heater going at full tilt. I almost went home wanting to see what this multi shot panorama would look like when stitched together, I resisted the urge.

Buachaille Etive Mor was my next target though the first vestiges of daylight were beginning to show I still managed a shot with Orion seemingly standing in the cloud to the center right of the image.

It was time to break out the coffee, there was still a while until sunrise as I found a spot to stop off in Glen Etive and have a short nap.

It was time to revisit a hidden spot I’d not visited in years and drove right past it not recognising it in the early dawn light. I needed to turn around but the traffic on this tiny single track road was crazy, more like the busy A9 road north. It turned out there was some big construction site and the workers were all piling in.

Heading back I found my missed stop off and togged up for possible showery downpours, mounting the style over the deer fence I enjoyed the tiny remote perch down by the river with it’s seclusion.

My little rock ledge was super slippery and wet, caution was uppermost in my mind, the dark swirling waters were deep and cold, didn’t want to fall in…

With care, my images captured I stopped a while and indulged in some more hot coffee, it was still chilly though sheltered. It wasn’t long before it was time to high tail it back to the car; I could see squally showers threatening. Back in the warmth of the drivers seat I headed out with a view to going home. But I couldn’t resist one more stop off on the way.

The showers passed and I just had to stop, I’ve shot this scene many times before in various ways, but this panorama was just too good to pass up with the dappled light playing across the autumnal moorland.

For an ad hoc day out and ‘No Particular Place to go…’, this turned out to be pretty good, I was looking forward to my next unplanned day out…

The Forecast Looked Grim... / October 10, 2021 by Carlton Doudney

… fog, fog and more fog; that was the outlook, hmm. I went anyway because if nothing else I needed the exercise and I could check out this new location.

Well as it turned out the weather forecast was spot on for once, I arrived at the parking bay and couldn’t see a thing. Garnering my camera bag and with the head torch fired up I set off. It was up hill from the start and in the moist foggy conditions the light from my torch reflected back off the heavy moisture in the air reducing visibility. Head down I pushed on, moisture condensing on my hair and dripping on to my nose, trekking poles click clacking on the hard path, the only noise in the otherwise dampened silence.

Stob Coire Easain floats above the low cloud

Pushing on further checking the GPS for my proximity to the point I’d need to turn off and I duly did so. Pushing, pushing and I stopped for a breather, looked up and wow; I was greeted with an absence of fog, clear skies; a few stars still visible.

There was a temperature inversion, it was a beautiful morning up here, grim dull and dreich down below. All the mountain tops were above the low cloud and I could see my location quite clearly.

A river of low cloud flows down through Glencoe

In one direction the sun was only a distant, warm glow on the horizon, in the other dirction the moon was setting above the mountains of Glencoe.

Like the proverbial kid in a candy shop I explored various hillocks in the vicinity not knowing which way to point the camera first. As the sun started to gain height I ascended the higher hill behind me to see what was over the back, it was a warm ascent.

Ben Nevis, Scotland’s highest mountain enjoys the early sun

Gazing over to Ben Nevis the inversion was all around, it felt as though I was on an island. It was soon time to break out the coffee and Croissants and sit in the warmth of the morning sun. The coffee tasted good, the croissants delicious and well earned.

With just a couple of bites left of my croissant I was joined by those ever faithful companions the Scottish midges, my coffee and croissant were finished pacing up and down trying to avoid being their breakfast. It was time to head back down and descend into the murk.

Sure enough I left the warm bright sunshine behind together with the visibility. I made it back to the car, the parking bay full of cars as the day trippers were preparing for the ascent of the various surrounding mountains, what a treat they were in for.

I made a stop off on Rannoch Moor to shoot a panorama the only bright colour in the landscape being the mass off bright red berries on a Rowan Tree.

The weather forecast had been right, what a miserable foggy day; it was great… :)

Spooky Goings On... / August 31, 2021 by Carlton Doudney

There was a chill in the air, the moon was full and high in the dark sky as mist swirled around the great bulk of Buachaille Etive Mor and far down into Glen Etive. A chill ran down my spine as the mist constantly changed shape, wait, was that a howl I heard…?

I worked hastily and practiced with ease as I set up my tripod in the middle of the road, working swiftly I captured these images.

There was one more shot I didn’t hang around and was soon back in the safety of my car, heading for my planned destination.

Well I made it safely to my next stop, I didn’t get bitten and no werewolves were harmed… :)