Carn Ferg Circuit
As a hill-goer of many decades, more than I care to remember if I’m being honest, one of the problems I occasionally encounter is a mental block when trying to think of new routes to tackle. This is compounded by advancing years and by that I mean my days of Munro bagging epics are behind…
Clais Fhearnaig Circuit
I have not updated this blog for a few weeks as the weather has been pretty appalling really and we have not been out doing much. Not much that anyone would find interesting anyway. The Clais Fhearnaig, locally pronounced something like Clash Yarnaig or Clash Yarnaich and meaning “Narrow Hollow Of Alders”, is a narrow…
Late 60’s Hippy No More
Although I was sort of forced to try make this work both age and, coincidentally, era-wise – 67 being both my age and The Summer Of Love 😀 – my lockdown flowing locks have now gone. Yesterday at Montrose Basin was the last straw, they were driving me nuts. Now I don’t know about you,…
Carn na Drochaide
Well known Scottish mountaineer Hamish Brown wrote that Corbetts tend to make better viewpoints than Munros because of their lesser height. For those unfamiliar with this terminology, a Corbett is any individual Scottish hill with a height of between 2500 and 2999.99 feet and a separation of at least 500 vertical feet from any surrounding…
St. Cyrus
Some of my photographer friends will only shoot landscapes when the light conditions are optimum, usually meaning sunrise and sunset, especially during the summer months. Being a lazy devil I just go out when the mood takes me and besides, much as I enjoy sunrise and sunset light I feel that limiting myself to those…
Lunan Bay After Lockdown
It was good to get back to this local and very popular beauty spot this morning. The car park has been open now for a few days after being closed for 3 months due to covid-19. This didn’t keep folk away of course; I had a chat with two local women out walking their dogs…
Fishtown of Usan
Ron Mitchell and myself were at Montrose Basin this morning attempting to photograph a Little Ringed Plover and a Ruddy Shelduck, both are quite rare sightings in Scotland. We did find both but they were too far away to make a decent shot. Still nice to see. Home for lunch then out once again, by…
Elephant At The Misty Waterhole
It rained all morning, but early afternoon the sun showed signs of breaking through. Off to the wonderful Angus sea cliffs with the camera. Elephant Rock and a misty North Sea. Nikon Z6 with Nikon Z 24-70MM lens at 32 MM. Two exposures blended: one at 1/125 sec to get the cliff detail and another…
Kingfisher Feeding Up Before The Lockdown
Some footage of a feeding kingfisher shot in March shortly before the lockdown at Montrose Basin Wildlife Reserve. These brackish ponds are fed by fresh water yet flood at very high tides ensuring a ready supply of food for the residents which include Kingfishers, Herons, Little Egrets, Water Rial, Moorhen and many species of duck…
New Lens At Last
Back in late 2018 Nikon released their new 500mm f/5.6E PF ED VR lens. A fixed focal length super-telephoto lens that is exceptionally small and lightweight when compared to other lenses of similar quality. I already own the 300MM version of this lens and combined with a x1.4 Nikon teleconvertor it has been my go-to…