Category: Scotland

The Sailings

On the way back from Arrochar/Tarbet, we left the dual carriage way for a detour through Bowling and Old kilpatrick. Bowling is a place you just want to drive through, but Old Kilpatrick appears to be a nice little village.

We went for a walk along the Forth/Clyde Canal and stumbled on this little nature reserve called The Sailings. A bit of land between the canal and the Clyde in the shadow of the Erskine Bridge. It’s amazing how high this bridge actually is when you stand underneath it.

The walk along the shore of the Clyde, through grasses, across a wooden walkway and along the canal, was a welcome wander. We even spotted two deer from the wooden walkway, but unfortunately they were too obscured for some decent shots.

A place to come back for a wander, although the big drawback is the continuous noise from the dual carriage way along the hill and on the bridge. It’s a bit like the noise of wind in the top of the trees above you, but then car noise.

A run in the woods

We drove up to Mugdock Wood for some fresh air and to let Lola tire herself out. Both a bit fragile and tired, partly down to a bit too much Rioja on Saturday night and partly down to the time of the year and the ‘wear and tear’ of work. We really need a holiday to recharge the batteries. The weather wasn’t great, very dull and grey with the odd flurry of snow. So my lack of inspiration was matched by my bland surroundings.

I decided to put my 100mm macro lens on the camera and restrict myself to look for ‘intimate’ images in the landscape, forcing myself to move around to compose rather than being lazy with the usual zoom. Very frustrating to start with, as I wanted to switch to my wide angle zoom on various occasions, but I persevered. Halfway through the walk, I started to think I would return without taking a single image.

But the approach paid off well as you can (hopefully) see from this set of images. Not only did I start to see opportunities in the chaotic forests for close ups, I also started to experiment with small apertures and shallow depth of field of the lens. Although I had the tripod with me, I happily took all these images handheld at ISO 800 and shutter speeds of 1/30 or thereabouts, certainly testing Canon’s acclaimed four stop Image Stabiliser to it’s full.

This is the first time I’ve really tried this lens in the field, and wow, I’m well impressed. Not only does it deliver outstanding images in the ‘studio’ for macro photography of jewellery (the main reason for buying this lens in the first place), it is proving to produce very sharp intimate landscapes and, more surprisingly, very sharp action shots. I’m bowled over how well the autofocus snapped on instantly with these two grab shots of Lola at full speed.

Sun on the moors

Having a lazy weekend after a very busy week, so we headed up to Mugdock for a Sunday afternoon wander (and to tire Lola out). Not really in the mood for photography, in fact not in the mood for very much at all.

It was a crisp, cold day with a winter sun making the walk very pleasant instead of bitterly cold.

We walked a longish circle starting along the Loch to the Castle, then across the swamp up to the high moors, passed the quarry and back to the Loch past the big, magnificent, solitary oak. As always, Lola was in her element, especially on the moors, running ragged, playing with sticks and finding ‘imaginary’ mice in the grasses everywhere.

I only took a few images, but I’m pleased with how they turned out.

Castle Gloom

A few images from a day trip to Castle Gloom quite a few years ago. The castle, better known as Castle Campbell, dates from the 1400’s and sits in a lofty, isolate position at the head of Dollar Glen, overlooking the town of Dollar, the low lands of Clackmannanshire and the Ochill Hills.

With the Burn of Care on one side and the Burn of Sorrow on the other, Castle Gloom, sounds like something out of a horror movie. Yet this is a beautiful place and the castle is an awe-inspiring sight as it first comes into view along the approach road through the Glen.

During our wander through the castle we stumbled across this little pond, more a big puddle, teaming with frogs and spawn in the shadow of the castle walls.
I am unsure of the exact year these images were captured, but most likely in early spring in 2003. I came across these wonderful images during my long term project to scan my back catalog of negatives.

A place on the list of ‘we must go there again soon’. Maybe this Spring?

A wander in the woods

Sunday morning turned out to be the start of another dreich, uninspiring day. Even Lola was unhappy going the distance to the corner shop to get the Sunday papers and the usual Morton rolls for breakfast. In the afternoon, we drove up to Drumclog for some fresh air and a wander in the woods.

We ventured onto the small tracks through the forest from the moment we left the car park, but headed slightly further North than usual and meandered along the edge of the valley South of Mugdock Castle. A wonderful bit of forest left to grow natuarlly and wild with views across the valley dominated by wonderful purple colours of bare trees. A mixture of old oak trees and chaotic skinny birches domiate this part of the forest, offering plenty of photographic opportunities. I could kick myself for leaving the tripod behind, as the light was mostly too dim to take images handheld, even at 1/15 second with the use of image stabilisation.

On reaching the West Highland Way, we headed North following the tracks along the Allander Water rather than the busy path. Lola was in her element, running with other dogs through the undergrowth, chasing sticks and paddling in the shallows of the river. I took some images of the waterfall, but due to the lack of a tripod I could not slow the shutterspeed down enough to get the falls turning into a lovely milky substance. Alas, there’ll be a next time.

Mugdock Castle

The castle grounds are worthwhile exploring, especially the area between the castle and the loch. There you can find fascinating old trees.

Insert 360 degree virtual reality of the castle.

Reflections

On Saturday afternoon Lola and I dropped Lynn off in town, giving us a couple of hours before we had to pick her up again. As it was a glorious crisp day with blue skies we headed up to Mugdock for a wander around the Loch, castle, woods and moors. Some images from the castle, including a virtual reality taken in the walled garden, will be the subject of my next blog.

Our lazy afternoon’s wander took us along the loch to the castle and back more or less the same way, spending most of the time to wander of the path, exploring the loch side and the castle gardens. The loch was covered in ice with a topping of recent snow. A pity, as the blue skies and the absence of any wind would have given wonderful reflections otherwise. On the way back to the car park, we wandered of the main path and explored a little peaty stream.

The reflections in the stream were absolutely magnificent with a wealth of opportunities for good images. Unfortunately, time was running out, as we could not leave Lynn waiting. So no time to get the tripod out to take advantage of this beautiful spot, so I only managed to take the images below handheld. As you can see, the black peaty water, some spots of patterend ice, reflections of trees and blue sky, and stones piercing through the surface would have provided many opportunities for intimate landscapes.

As the weather forecast for Sunday was the same, would could always come back and spend more time on this spot. We did come back the next day at about the same time, but there were no reflections, probably due to a hazier sky, raised water levels and slightly faster moving water. A spot to remember for a future visit when the conditions are right.

Upside down reflections

A comment on flickr in response to the original image image suggested that I flip it upside down. Below are the two images, the original and one rotated 180 degrees. Use the popup slide show to compare the two version and decide for yourself which one is best.

In my view, the upside down version works well. It is debatable though which one is really the upside down one.

Creative white balance

Deliberately using incorrect ‘camera’ setting can sometimes give you a more pleasing or more interesting image than one taken with the correct camera settings. I think the term ‘accidentally on purpose’ nicely describes this form of technique that is somewhere in the grey area between creative camera use and user error.

Here is one example of using white balance creatively. In this image, exhibited in the bog entry entitled A Wander onto the Moor, I have set the white balance to tungsten, producing a warm result that would be similar to a ‘correctly’ taken image with a blue sky overhead reflecting in the ice. The simplicity of just the ice, the faintest of blue/magenta tones with the shadows really makes this image. The correctly taken image with the white balance set to auto is cold and lifeless.

A wander onto the moor

What a difference a week of thawing makes. Last week we were walking in winter wonderland in freezing temperatures, now there’s hardly any snow and ice left. The well trodden paths of stamped down snow have turned inot a sheet of very slippery ice. Apart from these icy paths and the frozen loch and little pools in the moors, all the snow has gone. Even Drumgoyne, the Campsies and Kiltsyth hills have little snow left on them. It even felt like the start of spring, no need to zip your jacket up with temperatures touching double figures.

The going was very slow due to the icy paths, so we walked along the loch, out up on the moors to the viewpoint overlooking Strathblane, the Campsies and the Kilsyth Hills. Especially, the views to the Kilsyth Hills were stunning with the late evening sun throwing it’s golden and red light onto these hills with a blanket of dark cloud cover.

Lola got the scent of something and scampered down into a little craggy gully. We followed her, deciding to explore this little gully. It’s always nice to venture of the main path and doddle around. That’s when you see the beauty and hidden gems often missed when running past. The gully concealed ice pillars along its rocy sides and lots of lychen including bright red patches entangled in the heather.

A short walk in distance, but quite long in time. On the way back, Lola made friends with a Portugese waterdog and they ran ragged until exhaustion overcame them. A nice outing after all on a dreich day.

Ne’erday’s walk

Happy New Year to everyone.

Ne’ersday, the start of another new year. I can’t believe how quick 2009 has gone though.

The big question for most people seem to be what to call this year, is it twenty-ten or two-thousand-and-ten. A close second in popularity is the mandatory New Year diet. Who cares, and being still groggy from perhaps a wee bit too much wine on Hogmanay, I really, really don’t care.

After brunch, Lola and I drove up to Loch Ardinning for a wander around the Loch and across the moor, and an attempt to clear my head. Lynn decided that staying the afternoon on the settee was a better option, so stayed at home. The afternoon looked very promising with fairly clear skies and a crispness in the air. The recent snow fall and the continuous below zero temperatures would hopefully provide good photographic opportunities.

I have never seen it so busy at Loch Ardinning, with all the lay by’s overflowing with parked cars and people all over the place. Luckily someone had just left so we got a parking space right in font of the entrance gate. Lots of Ne’ersday walkers on the gravel path along the Loch, so plenty of other dogs for Lola to have a ball with. Thankfully, most people stayed to the circular gravel path beside the loch, so when we headed up onto the moor, there were only serious walkers left. We spoke to a couple who said they went to nearby Mugdock, but were forced to go elsewhere as Mugdock was heaving with cars and people.

The views across the Loch and moor towards Drumgoyne were spectacular with a lonely Scot’s pine providing a nice contrast to the snow covered moor and hills. Ice and running water in Craigmaddie Burn provided great opportunities for intimate landscape photography. Unfortunately, I spotted the start of a pink sky across the mountains in the distance, so decided to move on for a quick traverse across the moor to the cairn at the highest point. Fortunately, this turned out to be the right decision, as the pink sky and late evening sun brushing the Arrochar Alps and Ben Lomond provided a rare opportunity to freeze this spectacular view.

With the sun gone, temperatures started to plummet rapidly, so we quickly headed back down to the loch and back to the car. The journey home turned out to be at snails pace, bumper to bumper. But the walk had been well worth it.

Timber ponds in the Clyde

A little bit of local history with this set of images of the timber ponds found off the shores of the Clyde at Langbank and Finlaystone, just East of Port Glasgow.

Timber Ponds were set up along the southern shore of the River Clyde in the early days of wooden ship builing, occupying the area between Port Glasgow and Langbank. The industry required vast quantities of thoroughly seasoned timber, and with shipyards occupying most of the shore line from central Greenock to eastern Port Glasgow, demand was prodigious.

The ponds prevented the timber from floating away and allowed the logs to be organised according to type, length of seasoning, and ownership. Extreme weather could result in the logs breaking free of the ponds, closing the river until they were recovered. Remnants of the timber ponds still exist in the lines of vertical wooden posts sticking out of the mud, and rectangular areas can still be seen in aerial views of the surrounding riverbed.

Imported from North America, timber crossed the Atlantic from Quebec to Port Glasgow. In 1825 this trade amounted to some 19,000 tons, and reached almost 28,000 tons by 1834. The timber was unloaded at the mid-harbour, then chained together with rafters and floated to the ponds. At their peak, the ponds extended as far as the Gare Loch, but the arrival of pre-cut timber and steel construction by 1914 meant that few remained in use.

Current practice is to place green, unseasoned timber in vast kilns, gradually reducing the moisture content until the sawn material is stable. This technology was not available in earlier years, when ancient practice was to leave the unsawn logs to lie on the tidal mudflats and season, for months or even years.

And there’s a Taggart connection too with Jardine’s body being recovered from these mud flats.