Here’s a story of a photo that I came within seconds of missing. It’s a story of being prepared and being not prepared all at the same time.
After leaving Glencoe, Scotland, I had one more stop planned before arriving on the Isle of Skye. My stop was in Kyle of Lochalsh, which was the closest accommodation I could find to the Eileen Donan Castle, about 15 minutes away.
I stopped at the castle on my way there during the afternoon, scoped it out, and decided on a few compositions I liked. But honestly, I’m not that big on castles. I thought it was just okay.
While I was there, I got talking to a couple of guys who work there and told them of my plan to come back for sunset. They burst into laughter and said “Sunset??? HAHAHA, Darlin’ I haven’t seen the sun since March!”.
Granted I hadn’t seen the sun since I got to Scotland and not one bit of colour in the sky either. Maybe it was just the wrong time of year for the shot I wanted. Also, the tide was high, which meant the tide would not be high later in the day when I was hoping for a reflection. Sigh.
I continued on, checked into my hotel (which turned out to be 30 minutes drive and not 15) and proceeded to laze about for awhile. I was tired. I looked outside and saw a white sky. So I went downstairs to the pub for dinner and decided to just rest up and go back to the castle for sunrise instead. Back in my room, I thought I would go on the internet and look up photos of the castle to find out if the compositions I chose were unique or if they were already overdone. Scrolling through the images, I suddenly became aware of something I didn’t know before.
“OMG … THEY TURN THE LIGHTS ON AT NIGHT!!! $HIT!!!”
That changes everything. I had no idea about the lights. How could I have missed it?
I jumped up and looked out my hotel room window. “OMG clouds! $hit!” I looked at the time. 30 minutes to sunset. 30 minute drive. $hit!!
I grabbed my stuff, ran out to my tiny rental car, and drove as fast as the speed limit would take me back to the castle, all the time looking in my mirrors at the sky where colour was starting to appear. I wondered whether those guys that worked at the castle would remember me when they saw the only sunset of the season that night.
When I got there, there was a line-up of photographers!!! Where did these people come from? A photo tour. $hit.
But look … they are all farther down from the spot I chose that afternoon. I literally ran up to my spot, slapped down my tripod, ripped open my bag, grabbed my camera, it was already set it up the way I like it, I got the composition I had already decided on, and took the shot.
30 seconds later, it was over. The colour was gone. GONE! 30 SECONDS, I KID YOU NOT.
I was so thankful that I got the shot! I checked my LCD … “please be in focus, please be in focus … YAY!”
With that razor thin amount of time, it was good planning that I had already chosen my exact position on the ground and the composition that I wanted and my camera was clean and set up the way I like it. But I almost didn’t go!
Lesson learned. After that I kept going to my locations no matter what the weather did (except that hurricane – it kept me inside one day).
After the colour was gone, there was still some drama in the sky, and the lights on the castle made all the difference, so I made some more images using the other compositions I chose earlier in the day.
For the image above, I added some spit toning in post-processing to bring some colour back into the sky.
For the image below, I took the opposite approach and desaturated it for a more dramatic look.
The next day, I did go back at sunrise, but it turned out to be a little underwhelming. Again, I was so glad I got the shot the night before or I would have been mad at myself for the rest of the trip! Still, I made this one photo that I quite like.
Next stop, the Isle of Skye!
Great photos Anne, so much mystery in each shot. I to have been fortunate to get the “shot” just because I had my camera in hand.. With today’s camera phones more and more people are capturing images that would most likley never be seen. Thanks for this blog.
Hi Dale, you are right, no one is ever without a camera should a magic moment happen unexpectedly. It’s always nice when the magic moment happens when you have your good camera though 🙂 Thanks for your visit and comments!
Wow, what great photos. I have missed plenty of photos with my camera to only have them in my memory. Congrats on the great timing!
Thank you so much Ken! Yes, I have some of those too, especially some wildlife moments that happened too fast to react. But I saw it 🙂
Hi Anne
Again Stunning photos as always, you were sure lucky to get the beautiful sunset shot with only seconds to go. The lighting of the castle is just stunning great timing thanks for sharing.
Kind Regards Les Maidment
☺️
Many thanks Les! I’m so glad I changed my mind about going – and without a minute to spare! It’s amazing how different the castle looks with the lights on. Thanks for your comments!
Timing is everything, What a splendid photo the lighting and detail are super. Some of my best shots have happened because I always carry a camera, just a small pocket camera but in a pinch it does the job. Really enjoy your fine work.
Thank you very much Clarence. Yes, timing is everything in photography. Getting that magical light makes the difference between boring and dramatic. Funny though, it usually involves a lot of patience and waiting around for that light. Not on this night!
What a great image. Are you using any grad filters or polarizer? Or is most of your preparation done in post? I would love to hear the specs of your shots…. time, fstop, iso, etc….
Hi Steve, thanks! For these particular images, no I didn’t use any graduated filter or polarizer. The light was quite even and I wanted the reflection in the first shot, so no polarizer. It’s ISO 100, f/11, 0.5 seconds. Only the exposure time varied for the other images. The second image is 1.6 seconds and the one with the bridge in the foreground is 6 seconds. I hope that’s helpful for you!
Super awesome Anne, your story had me and my wife cracking up for it reminds her of when we are camping & I trip and fall lose everything in my camera bag just to get that split second sunset shot. Then comes that tremble factor that settles down about the 3rd or 4th frame and you hope the speed and settings were not screwed up and yes you are glad your camera was near by.. At any rate just love that first pic, it is just jaw dropping and thanks for the share.
Thank you so much Robert. It’s wonderful when these obstacles happen yet you still get the shot 🙂 It’s one of the reasons I always reset my camera to my standard settings after downloading and cleaning at the end of the day.
Incredible photos! My family and I went to Ireland & Scotland last summer and we had incredibly sunny weather. Got plenty of shots of Edinburgh Castle with a flawless clear blue sky behind it. I’ve only just now purchased a DSLR but I was thankful for the quickness with which I could get my phone ready. The day we went to Lochness, some clouds rolled in and I had about 20-30 seconds to get my photos with just the right lighting. Timing is everything!
Hi Jesse, absolutely, being at a location at the right time is critical! You can have a great composition, but without dramatic light the image will be just okay at best. Clear blue sky is workable, it’s white sky that is the photographer’s nemesis. Thanks for your visit and comments.
Love it! I will be there soon and could you tell me what lens you used for these great shots? I’m definitely packing the telephoto but thinking a wide would do well too. Thanks
I used my Sony E mount 18-55 lens for these particular shots and they were all made at around 20mm. I do think you will want a wide angle lens for landscapes in Scotland. I hardly used my telephoto at all.