I have wanted to visit the Cairngorms for a long time now. Partly because it is a stunning national park with wild landscapes and incredible photo opportunities, and partly because its the home of Speyside whisky distilling. Both are equally valid reasons for wanting to spend some time in this beautiful part of Scotland.
Despite visiting in July, the weather was... awful. Which as ever is one of the things that as landscape photographers we just need to learn to get used to, and workaround. In fact, I dedicated an entire chapter to this subject in my book.
In any event, I brought back with me a handful of pictures that I really like. There is a fairly constant theme of moody bad weather, but that's all part of the charm.
Highland cows are gorgeous. They have these wide horns and locks of hair over their eyes. Capturing a photograph of one has been on my photography wish list for years. Fortunately, the old farmhouse I was staying at had 3 of these beauties sitting in the field behind the property.
Loch an Eilein was well worth the visit and we spent a day on a long lazy walk around its shores. The weather was grey and overcast but every now and again the sun poked out through the clouds and allowed for some warmer tones.
Visiting Boat of Garten - Aviemore railway was a cute find, with fully functioning steam engines ferrying passengers up and down the railway line.
My pick of the bunch was my picture of Bow Fiddle Rock. In true Scottish fashion, the drive over the hills had glorious sunshine and clear skies, but as we descended into Portknockie, the weather instantly changed to thick overcast skies. Using a long exposure allowed me to create a dark moody sky with soft waters. Its not the spectacular sunset I had hoped, but I feel it captures the dark mood of the scene.