Scottish Highlands

Drew B. · Apr 27, 2006

Hey, I have an idea...what do you people think about planning a trip for '07 sometime to the Highlands for some great landscape photography? We could spend a year researching it, talking to our Scot members and getting some good advise on best times of the year..etc. We could bring out spouses (my wife wouldn't let me go without her anyways!) So.......

Whiteymorange · Apr 27, 2006

Worth thinking about. County Mayo in Ireland is worth a trip. North of the tourists and astoundingly beautiful. Lots of light in June and July, though not always sunny.

Drew B. · Apr 27, 2006

We don't need sun! Partly cloudy is good. Overcast, drizzly weather adds drama to images. I think 4-5 days in Ireland and the same in Scotland would be great. ...maybe meet up with our anglo friends for a photo celebration! I am goiing to work on this over the next few months...coming up with costs for flights, lodging, car rentals, etc. I fly Icelandair to Europe. They have great deals all the time, their fleet is in excellent shape, etc. Good Idea Whitey!

bill schwab · Apr 27, 2006

Drew B. said:
Hey, I have an idea.....

Count me in.

Bill

Drew B. · Apr 27, 2006

Another thing to keep in mind...is maybe the next apug conference will be held in GB. That would be perfect!

Bruce Osgood · Apr 27, 2006

Drew B. said:
Another thing to keep in mind...is maybe the next apug conference will be held in GB. That would be perfect!

NOW YOU'RE COOKING. Even without the conference I would like to learn how it progresses with an eye to joining (with wife).

Lachlan Young · Apr 28, 2006

Hi there,
I would possibly be interested in a trip to the highlands in 2007 - the geological fault line that marks the 'highland line' is about a mile north of where I live! Please don't assume that it will not take much time to travel around - many of the roads are narrow and twisty and, especially in the far North West, can be very remote and cut off. This is not to mention the fact that on some days the sea fog, known as 'haar' can roll in and sit around for a day or two before clearing. If you are planning to come from springtime onwards, please remember to bring plenty of midgie repellent as the Scottish midgie of the west coast is a vicious beast that likes to congregate in great swarms around anything warm and sweaty! If you need any information at all about Scotland you will find that, almost invariably, the SCOTTISH TOURIST BOARD website will at least be able to give some useful pointers.

Hope this helps,

Lachlan

Whiteymorange · Apr 28, 2006

Lachlan Young said:
If you are planning to come from springtime onwards, please remember to bring plenty of midgie repellent as the Scottish midgie of the west coast is a vicious beast that likes to congregate in great swarms around anything warm and sweaty!
Lachlan

Midgies shouldn't bother Drew. He comes from Cape Cod, where live the famous twin-engine greenhead flies - the ones with the knife and fork on their belts. They take chunks of you home for the little ones.

roteague · Apr 28, 2006

Drew B. said:
We don't need sun! Partly cloudy is good. Overcast, drizzly weather adds drama to images.

Right, ever tried shooting color under those circumstances. I would be interested in going, but if I did it is highly unlikely that I will shoot anything but color.

Drew B. · Apr 29, 2006

Whiteymorange said:
Midgies shouldn't bother Drew. He comes from Cape Cod, where live the famous twin-engine greenhead flies - the ones with the knife and fork on their belts. They take chunks of you home for the little ones.

Ya, but they only last around two weeks and are gone...

(it is highly unlikely that I will shoot anything but color.)

Oh...that's right.. there's such thing as color film now. ...forgot!

Whiteymorange · Apr 29, 2006

roteague said:
Right, ever tried shooting color under those circumstances. I would be interested in going, but if I did it is highly unlikely that I will shoot anything but color.

Anyone who goes to these places should consider shooting LOTS of color. Most of it's green, but there's a lot of it. More shades of green, blue and grey than I knew existed. If I make it I'll be using color as well as B&W. The atmosphere demands it. I shot 100VS last time and thought the color temp of the light wrong for that film's strength, which to me seems to be "magic-hour warmth", strong in the red-orange. I'm a beginner, though, so a little advice wouldn't be ignored. There used to be an Agfa 100 E6 film that caught about twenty visible differences in a New England fog.

What color film do people think is ideal for places like Ireland?

roteague · Apr 29, 2006

Whiteymorange said:
What color film do people think is ideal for places like Ireland?

Never having been to Ireland, I can only guess. If I was going, I would probably shoot Velvia 100, although the older 50 would be preferred - It is a bit warmer film. Kodak VS100 is a bit too much on the blue side. Or, you could try a warming polarizer - a combination that works wonders with greens.

Drew B. · Oct 17, 2006

Lachlan Young said:
If you are planning to come from springtime onwards, please remember to bring plenty of midgie repellent as the Scottish midgie of the west coast is a vicious beast that likes to congregate in great swarms around anything warm and sweaty! Lachlan

Ok, haven't forgotten about the potential trip abroad. I get Icelandair emails each week and so I'm keeping up on fares (and taxes) with them. So, I have to ask Lachlan: are those little beasts around in the late summer/fall? Let me spell out what I'd consider a photo tour of scotland/Ireland (and maybe those who are interested can spell out their ideas and then come to a consensous (sp?) Anyways: land in Glasgow, spend a day in the city, then down to Paisley area, then move over (by train?) to Edinborough (Edinbra) and then move up the east coast, over by loch ness, to the west coast and down again. somewhere, take a ferry over to Ireland for a few days, kiss whatever lass you can get ahold of, and then ferry back. Did I leave anything out? Oh, at the end, spend a day researching genealogy. My wife and I are considering swapping dwellings...there are lots of sites for house swapping for various periods of time...they want to vacation here and we want to vacation there.

drew

Peter De Smidt · Oct 17, 2006

I'd love to go. I spent a year studying logic and metaphysics at St Andrews, and I love the Scottish landscape. Unfortunately, that was before I did much photography.

When I was at St Andrews, the philosophy department organized a highlands get away at an estate in the coutry side. Basically, all of the instructors and students (and their friend) took off in the middle of term for a couple of days of hiking, drinking beer and philosophizing. It might be fun to rent such a place (or a smaller one) as a base of operations. Unfortunately, I don't remember the name of the place, but I'll do some digging.

KenS · Oct 18, 2006

(snip) This is not to mention the fact that on some days the sea fog, known as 'haar' can roll in and sit around for a day or two before clearing. (snip)

Lachlan

Lachlan forgot to mention the days when you might have to endure the "smir".... The very fine and "light" rain that can soak through just about anything, and chill you to the bone... The time when the smirahorrigans get at ya. The best defence is a heavy pure non de-oiled wool that will keep you warm, even when it gets wet.

Ken

Ole · Oct 18, 2006

Whiteymorange said:
... There used to be an Agfa 100 E6 film that caught about twenty visible differences in a New England fog.

What color film do people think is ideal for places like Ireland?

I would shoot what I prefer to shoot here in Noway - E100G or something like that. As you mentioned there are LOTS of shades of green, which need to be reproduced as different shades of green. Fuji's films have strong greens, but IMO they tend to come out as too much of the same shade of green.

Agfachrome RSX would have been great if I'd had any.

Schlapp · Oct 18, 2006

Hey, just bought a house up there on an island and hope to be living on the Isle of Lewis by sometime next year. Good thing about the islands is that, apart from being wonderful places, the wind blows a wee bit from time to time and so the midges are sent off to Greenland if they dare show themsleves.
Last time I was there a couple of weeks back, I was setting up a shot [Agfa Record / Panf] at Bhaltos/Valtos when a mini-bus load of photogs from a photo-centre on the mainland turned up and ruined the view as they took to the beach with their pixelled boxes. Ah well. had wonderful evening elsewhere on one of the many deserted, golden sandy beaches.

N O Mennescio · Oct 18, 2006

I got back from a trip to Isle of Skye a couple of weeks ago. Absolutly stunning landscapes if your into that kind of thing. My advise would be to stay fairly close to base since it takes a lot of time to drive around and Scotland is larger than it would appear on the map. As mentioned earlier in this thread, the roads are small, winding, and full of sheep from time to time. Driving on the other side of the road always adds to the adventure. You get all kinds of wheather, every day. We had nice warm late summer days, flooding and a wee hurricane. All in a week. Bring your heaviest tripod.
It's the inverse square law, the wind increases in proportion to the square inches of film you are trying to expose.

Schlapp · Oct 18, 2006

Yes, the sheep are somewhat suicidal jumping out in front of the car/bike when you least expect it.

Dave Miller · Oct 18, 2006

Schlapp said:
Hey, just bought a house up there on an island and hope to be living on the Isle of Lewis by sometime next year. Good thing about the islands is that, apart from being wonderful places, the wind blows a wee bit from time to time and so the midges are sent off to Greenland if they dare show themsleves.

I'm insanely jealous, but how have you managed to learn the language so quickly?:confused: I jest, the people there are wonderful.

eclarke · Oct 18, 2006

Geez, This sounds like a good idea. I had a little correspondance with Tillman Crane last year. He was trying to put together a "Scottish Romp" with 8-10 people and I was really attracted to the notion. It didn't happen, but it might be cool to try ind involve him..he knows his way around..Evan Clarke

paul ewins · Oct 18, 2006

Velvia 50 works in Scotland:

although my scanning and photoshop skills need a little work

Both photos were taken somewhere along the A837/A839 in late August 2005 using my modified Kodak 3A with an Angulon 90/6.8. It was one glorious day that started in Orkney in thick fog, rained a little near John O'Groats but otherwise was sunny all the way to Skye.

Drew B. · Oct 18, 2006

KenS said:
Lachlan forgot to mention the days when you might have to endure the "smir".... The very fine and "light" rain that can soak through just about anything, and chill you to the bone... The time when the smirahorrigans get at ya. The best defence is a heavy pure non de-oiled wool that will keep you warm, even when it gets wet. Ken

Wait...I thought it was just the Irish who told tall tales?

(quote) Hey, just bought a house up there on an island"

Is it a 10 room bed & breakfast?

Hey, I have an idea...why don't we (from the colonies) decide when to go next year and then ask our friends from the mother country to come up with a basic itinerary? We can then individually put together our own travel/lodging packages.

TheFlyingCamera · Oct 18, 2006

Drew B. said:
Wait...I thought it was just the Irish who told tall tales?

(quote) Hey, just bought a house up there on an island"

Is it a 10 room bed & breakfast?

Hey, I have an idea...why don't we (from the colonies) decide when to go next year and then ask our friends from the mother country to come up with a basic itinerary? We can then individually put together our own travel/lodging packages.

Drew- letting people put together everything for themselves is a sure-fire way to guarantee it won't happen. The best way to organize it is to plan everything BUT the plane trip, I think. Just tell folks meet at the Sign O' The Ram in Glasgow (or whatever) on Monday the 18th, and we'll have a hired van and driver to take us around. Hotel arrangements will be made, and evening meal suggestions provided as well. Aim for lodging that includes breakfast. If you'd like, I can research an itinerary and put together a price quote, special for APUG.

Schlapp · Oct 18, 2006

Sorry folks, just 1.5 bedrooms!
For the sheep issue I thought about putting the Lewis Roo Bar on the car The Baa Bar

Scottish Highlands

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Schlapp

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