Up Kinnoull Hill: classic landscape

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It has to be done – the view from Kinnoull Hill, past the folly looking along the River Tay wending its way through the Carse of Gowrie.

I made this photo partly because some scenes have to be done, and partly to test a new Carl Zeiss 50mm Tessar f/2.8 lens acquired for surprisingly-cheap on eBay. The wide-angle field of view comes from this being a panorama of 11 frames stitched together; at over 56 megapixels, there’s enough detail to easily resolve roof-tiles in the houses at the foot of the hill, or road-signs across the A90.

Around St Fillan’s

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Loch Earn is still an idyllic scene despite everyone stopping to take photos in St Fillan’s. Herewith, two obvious views:

Personally, I like this view instead:

People Watching / People Watching

People Watching / People Watching

There’s a time-/context-axis running from the far distance – first there was the landscape, then there was Robert Mulholland’s statue Still, then there’s people taking photos of it, then there’s me shooting them. All things considered, a bit “meta”.

Water: Around Loch Rannoch (3)

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This one isn’t so much about the water as the mountain, Schiehallion. Back in 1774, its regular shape and relatively isolated location led to it being used in the famous experiment by Mason and Maskelyne to determine the value of the gravitational constant, big-G, and the density of the Earth.

Certainly it sits fairly impressively in the landscape.

Water: Around Loch Rannoch (1)

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It’s hard driving around Loch Rannoch – all the stopping and starting makes for lousy mileage. But that’s OK – the scenery is more than worth it.

The first time I came around here, more used to the road network than the geography of reality, I drove beyond the end of the loch (into the setting sun in these photos) up to Rannoch Station, and was surprised to see `Glencoe’ on the adjacent page on the map. No mistake – it’s only about 5 miles directly across Rannoch Moor, and yet by road it’s at least 83 miles and 2.5 hours’ drive.

fungi in the forest

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Back in the middle of September, I spent a couple of hours exploring the Black Woods of Rannoch – a Caledonian Forest reserve on the south side of Loch Rannoch. One of the things that struck me – apart from a mosquito – was the sheer proliferation of toadstools, both fly-agaric and others, littering the path through the woods.

Light, Land and Heather… and ferns

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I was quite pleased to notice that one of my favourite afternoon quick-escape locations is technically just north of the Highland Boundary Fault.

As I drove off the road, a flock of over 20 grouse shot out from the undergrowth and sprinted for dear life in front of me up to the carpark. Walking through the trees, I disturbed a deer grazing on the heather. Sometimes, you just can’t beat a few hours in golden sunlight, staring at mountains, for relaxation.

The Hermitage

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A small selection of photos from The Hermitage near Dunkeld: some experiments with tree filigree – appreciating the patterns of tree branches and twigs lightly silhouetted against the sky – and the Black Linn waterfall as the River Braan flows through a gorge (some obligatory long-exposure work too, of course).

I met a gorgeous collie-x-lurcher on the way out of the carpark; the mud instantly went to trouser-pocket level and I didn’t care a jot, the merely 4-month-old wee dog was so overjoyed to see everyone.

Quite a nice place to walk in the woods of an afternoon!

Golden Hour

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Sometimes, when the golden hour starts immediately after work finishes for the day, one just has to go for a drive around the middle of nowhere in Perthshire. A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled across this scene along the back-road from Forgandenny to Glenfarg and was taken by the light on the undulating lines of the landscape.

I thought it interesting to compare it both in black & white versus colour, although both are a little more strongly processed than my usual taste.

 

Perthshire

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Early(ish) mornings with thick frost on the grass, painfully bright in the glare of the sunlight as the world warms from -3C overnight.

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Autumn sunlight in the grounds of Gleneagles

Thick misty clouds lurking in the glens.

Forests of primarily oak and birch, the trees green with moss while their fallen leaves cover the ground in a thick carpet of orange, yellow and red.

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Autumn sunlight and a partially frozen pond

A red squirrel scampering up a beech tree.

Freedom to walk in the woods, basking in the joyful glory of it all.

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A small cascade of waterfalls, just north of Comrie

The Wee Cauldron waterfalls, just north of Comrie