I had no idea being a landscape photographer would be so physically challenging.  I envisioned standing around in front of a stable tripod, capturing gorgeous sunset, mountains and trees arrayed before me.  Little did I know getting that perfect picture could demand tramping through uneven terrain, climbing up and down rugged hills, over rocks and through the bogs. 

On a Photography Retreat in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands I learned first hand that landscape photographers don’t follow the established paths.  Instead, getting that perfect shot from the perfect angle with the perfect light often meant making our own way up and over steep hills, walking on  both rocky surfaces and in Scotland, yikes, though the bogs. 

While challenging for me.  I loved it.  It is a beautiful part of the world and with the aid of a good walking stick I was able to keep up with the group.  No guilt about eating the marvelous desserts we were served.  Lots of calories burned.

Bogs were quite a revelation.  On the surface they look like a field, but reality is that they aren’t land or water, but a mushy combination of both. Our photo leader recommended that we bring knee high rubber boots which we wore everyday.

Some times chasing the perfect image  involved getting right into the water.  With the right gear, it wasn’t a problem. 

The trip started in Inverness.  I had no time to explore the city, but I did capture this image out the van window, before head directly west to Loch Torridon.  It would be fun to go back and check out this restaurant.

I learned that landscape photography is about the light. Glorious Light.  We were either chasing it, trying to find the perfect spot to capture it or waiting, waiting for it to appear.  When it did, it was worth the wait. 

Sometimes we waited by the side of the road for the light to appear.  Sometimes it did and sometimes we went home without that perfect shot, but eager to head out the next day to have another go at it.

I learned that we didn’t always have to have glorious sunshine to create a  photo I was happy with. Thank you to Niall for teaching me how to process it.

 I fell in love with a spot of light, highlighting  this tree growing out of rocks in the middle of a stream.  

Sometimes it did rain.  But that didn’t stop us.  We took photos of Lichen on the rocks creating interesting abstracts.  They look better when wet. Sometimes we stayed in by the fire to learn  about creative photography processes.  Not a moment was wasted. 

We also enjoyed a few encounters with animals like spotting the big stag at a small car park near a trail head.  I was amused when we observed this stag eating from a pile of carrots, right beneath a huge billboard, proclaiming that it is best not to feed the wild life.  

There are some people who don’t pay attention to the sign.  We could tell because this was a well fed and very passive stag. We stopped by a couple of days later.  The happy stag seemed ok with us using him as a model as Niall, our photographer leader,  demonstrated an in-the-field lighting technique.

I found the Scottish Cattle quite entertaining.  We came across this one by the side of road. We stopped  so a curious foreigner like me  could snap a photo for the folks at home. They appear to be a symbol for Scotland.  I saw all kinds of items in a museum in Glasgow with a their images applied. 

Made me laugh.  I’m not sure I can visualize these trinkets in my kitchen but it was fun to see what might be in a Scottish home.  

Stay tuned for more about the Highlands of Scotland.  I have stories to tell.

Here’s the link for more information about Food and Photography Retreats.  https://www.foodandphotographyretreats.com/retreats