The Story Behind – Loch Maree Eve. Picture postcard Photography – read all about it! So this is an occasional series where give a full account of a particular image… in this case it’s all about – how blue skies can come and go – oh so quickly!
My original photo story went something like …
The Story Behind – Loch Maree Eve
Oh wow what an evening. Just driving the length of Loch Maree, in the beautiful late sunlight. The rays gently warming the mountains. AND – a beautiful wisp of cloud draping the slopes. The real icing on the Landscape Photographer’s cake. And what’s this? A kind soul had decided to sit on the beach below to give both a sense of scale and a sense of serenity. A little splash of blue to draw the viewer’s eye.
And really all I had to do was to press that shutter, and that was the image. Also I took a panorama. Just sublime…
ATTENTION READERS – this was a parallel universe version of the story – go on have a look at the full story on the web-site, you won’t believe what happened….
Like, seriously you won’t believe the serenity….
A few more details:-
What you don’t see.
So, for both my Australian followers, they will recognise that quote in an instant. Otherwise, well, they are not Aussies, and my follower count has probably just reduced to zero.
ACT 1 – So there I was, driving, in a stop-start-stop-start, stop-start-stop-start-look-for-somewhere-to-beep-park kind of way. And finally! – Managed to find somewhere to pull safely off the road.
I could see the lovely wisp of high cloud, and indeed the last rays of sun were shining on the (insert Mountain name here). So I wandered off, bag on shoulder, tripod in hand. Listening to the sound of the birds, the evening breeze, and being at one with nature
PARP! and PARP!! PARP!!! Went a car horn.
Now, as previously described (are you paying attention) you may just have surmised that there were not a whole heap of cars around me at that time. DANG! Sounds like my hire car beastie. So I wandered back, and indeed it was my horn blaring as an alarm. What on earth? All doors locked, check. Boot shut. Check. Silence. Whew. Wonder what that was? Exhale, de-stress.
So I wandered off – again, bag (still) on shoulder, tripod (more firmly) in hand. Listening to the sound of the birds, the evening breeze, and being at one with no car horn going off.
I set up the tripod, nice and high to avoid the grass and ferns. Found a nice composition.
PARP! and PARP!! PARP!!! Went a car horn.
FARK! and FARK!! FARK!!! Went a photographer (that’s me)
ACT 2 – in which our hero inhales nostrils full of midges.
It couldn’t get worse, now could it? At the merest approach of a fern, it was like the air was full of dense smoke. Flying dense smoke particles! That all seemed to be making a beeline for my nostrils, my ears, my eyes. Arg, it was all I could do to breathe…. Straightaway backed off, tried to beat them away. Then I tried breathing without using any open orifices (go one, you try it!). My eyes were running, I was sneezing incessantly. And trying to get air in without breathing.
MUSIC for ACT 2 – Orchestra consists of one car horn. Quite rhythmic, but let’s say I wasn’t tapping my toes.
Rinse and repeat – with a few more suds created with the friction this time – and I turned it off again. What on Earth? Made sure everything was shut. At this point I was separated from all my camera gear.. hmm… not good
Anyways off I went, noting that the light could change at any second. Finally got the frames I was after, watching and wondering at the beauty visually in front of me. And not – finally – going up my nose.
With a FECKIN INCESSANT CAR HORN going on in the not-distance.
ACT 3 – Lastly, it never, ever, did it again for the whole trip…
What I saw Afterwards
The world. Finally my eyes finally stopping running.
Am I Happy?
Yes, quite the shot and quite the story. And quite the serenity
9 / 10
Andrew Barnes
The Loch Maree Highlands Photographer
