Autumnal Colour

So, ever since the hike to Irishman's Loch I've been hankering to get back to the Trossachs, especially Loch Voil. This weekend I decided to get back up there and , fingers crossed, catch some autumnal colour reflected in glassy smooth water. There are two schools of thought in photography - plan, plan, plan or shoot from the hip. Usually I plan like crazy then turn up, go "bah! got it wrong again!" and end up shooting from the hip. I really admire people that plan this sort of thing accurately. A lot of it is about knowing your location, it's seasons how the light hits it etc.

I remembered that Loch Voil had been calm in the summer even though the hills were getting a breeze and figured that it was fairly secluded. With a Metcheck weather forecast of 3mph winds and 9°C I though "perfect", still foliage and glassy Loch, crisp and cool for walking, clear air. Brilliant! So I packed the car:

• Tripod
• 70mm for macro
• wide angle for pano
• medium zoom for flexibility
• 300mm zoom for wildlife
• Cokin ring for filters
• Polarizer filters for the blue skies and to stop water reflections.
• ND grad filter to avoid burned out skies
• Remote release for those ultra sharp images
• Kids to ease my conscience for going off for the day
• Wife to keep the kids out of shot (only joking, she carries stuff too...)
• Picnic

And off we went. It took TB and me over 2 hours last time to get there, after getting stuck in traffic, so I wasn't sure how long it would take now. Turned out happily to be 1hr and 5 mins - fantastic! Right on the doorstep! I can come here as often as I like!

We had just entered the Trossachs when I spotted Loch Lubnaig through the trees - looking glass still! Autumnal trees on the far bank - exactly as planned! Woohoo! "Come on kids, you look stiff, let's stretch our legs...". Parked up in the first car park and unpacked all the gear, pathetically excited about taking a pic. Found a great wee spot, extended the tripod and went to put the camera on it. Now... where was that wee doobry that connects the camera to the tripod? Doh! Firs6t lesson of the day - set up the equipment for a trial shot BEFORE you leave on a long trip, just to make sure you have everything. Swearing fluently in several languages inside, I smiled at the kids and said "silly Daddy!" so shooting handheld today I guess then. Rob Roy lived near here and his motto was "Despite Them" - a sentiment that many famous Scots have called on over the years, it embodies the determination that this country has employed over the centuries. so despite my missing wee doobry (cue Frankie Howard - "stop it, titter ye not") I decided I'd still make a fist of it and adjust to get some good shots. In other words, larger apertures, use hyperfocal depth of field and as fast shutter speeds as I could to minimise the shakes. Also on the plus side, I would take more photo's, have greater flexibility and less to carry. The very first shot was a winner - I've seen images like this from Sweden - the graphic style of the reflected tree trunks, the orange colours showing autumn, the little hut to add interest and focus and the simple colour palette.

Thumbs up to Loch Lubnaig, but this was not the main attraction, and just as well as the wind picked up and the Loch got choppy within a few minutes. Good timing! Back in the car and on to Loch Voil, after stopping off at Rob Roy's grave in Balquhidder to pay our respects and visit the little kirk.

Although the roads had been busy, Loch Voil was very quiet and we were able to park up on a muddy bank (NOT in a passing place - bad form that). A quick word of advice to any visitors to Scotland, the countryside is full of single lane roads. You go fast on the straights and slow into the corners, there are passing places (about one car long) every so many hundred yards and when you see another car coming from a distance, you pull into one (on either side of the road). Use them but NEVER park in a passing place - they are needed to keep the traffic flowing.

Back to the photography. Out we got, wrapped up warm and went for a toddle along the quiet road alongside Loch Voil. What a place - every few yards I was stopping for another picture, with shingle beaches, trees down to the lochs edge and hills all around, it was extremely photogenic. Here are a few shots from the day.

So finally my planning had paid off. The water was calm, even though we could hear the wind in the trees at the top of the hills , the sun was fairly low giving a warm glow and although the trees were not quite as orange as I'd hoped they were sufficiently on their way to give great colourful shots. the only thing I got wrong - time of day. An early morning shoot would have bathed the forest on the other bank of the loch in sunshine. All in all though a successful day and I will definitely be returning there soon, either hill walking or photographing (or Both!).