Dedication, that's all you Need... and Luck

After many years of thinking about a trip up to the top Northern Coast of mainland Scotland, I bit the bullet this year and got it organised. It's been a hell of a few months - we've had illness in the family, my job was made redundant, I had to go for interviews and then (thankfully) start a new job and the only thing that has kept me going was that I WOULD, no matter what, get up north and explore a coast I've never been to.

So, I booked a hire car (didn't want to thrash MY car) and 3 B&B's and off I set. We were just finishing the hottest April since records began and the heather was spontaneously bursting into flames. The police had warned people not to travel to Assynt (one of my destinations) but I was going, regardless. I booked a Friday and Monday off work and googled for every photographic opportunity I could find.

Friday came. And the heavens opened. A bit miserable, I went for the car and off I set. Six and a half hours non stop driving to John o'Groats and my determination paid off. the rain stopped and the sun came out! First stop Duncansby Head to see the often missed stacks. But, it was windy and a bit hazey and I couldn't do my slow exposure twilight shot. I snapped a few composition testers and waited for a sunset that hadn't come by 10:30pm. as I walked back I noticed the roosting puffins that i had missed on the way out. It was nearly dark but ramping up to ISO 1600 and snapped my first ever puffins. They would be grainy shots, but so what - puffins!!!! I resolved to return in the morning for sunrise and drove the half hour back to the hotel.

At the car park for the lighthouse I couldn't resist an HDR shot of it. I just had to time the rotation of the light... In the end this looked very nice in colour with the twilight sky, but with strong contrasts I think the mono version is better.



I awoke at 3:30am (yes, I know!) and bundled myself into the car. The pavement was damp and it had been raining but it was dark and dry now, so off I set. Arriving at Duncansby Head lighthouse at 4am, I grabbed the tripod and camera bag and walked ontot he grassy headland. As the rain started again. I stood in the rain for an hour watching the sunrise ermm... watching the black night become grey day. By 5:30am I was soaked, my camera was still stowed in the dry bag and the wind was getting wild. Dispiritedly I trudged back to the car, miserable and cursing my luck. I climbed into the back of the VW polo and curled up under a rug to sleep. No other option than curling really, in a Polo.

After 2 hours I awoke to the wind rocked car and the sound of a rainstorm battering the roof and gave up. Maybe the weather would be better along the coast...

I drove to Thurso and stopped at the Tesco. I needed breakfast and they had a cafe. One giant bacon roll and a latte later the world was looking better. the woman on the counter told me that the forecast was for a dry afternoon. I walked to the car and the rain had stopped - I jumped in the car and set off for the far North East!

So I didn't get my shot of Dumncansby Stacks, but later with a bit of Photoshop Magic I was able to give one of the test composition shots a bit of punch to get a dramatic image in greyscale.



So the lesson from all of this? Yes, a bacon butty and a latte will fix anything.

No, no, no - the lesson I learned is that even when the conditions seem hopeless, compose well and snap away, images can be saved in post processing. There is no such thing as a wasted trip - enjoy being outdoors, take what you can and scout for the next time you're going that way.