Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park

Had big plans for this week, with a week off work and 2 or 3 trips planned, starting off with a visit to Loch Lomond and Millarochy Bay and also to climb up Conic Hill for the views across the loch. Unfortunately I seem to have came down with some form of nasty virus and have spent the whole week from the moment I got home until now, in my bed! Thats now 2 visits north and now twice came back with something other than what I bargained for, hope I've not become allergic to the Highlands!

Explore #4

It seems to have taken me an age to get around to shooting at this location despite passing it several times going to various places. A very overcast day provided decent conditions for this sort of image and a chance to test out a 15 stop filter than I had yet to use.

I don't know who calculates the exposure times for the filters on the LEE system but I've never had one yet that is anything like the given times on the exposure sheets , this one is no different and I basically don't bother with the sheets and work solely off the histogram as it saves time in the long run despite adding minutes extra on top of the 'guide exposure', this one ending up being nearly 8 minutes long with the guide suggesting around 4 minutes from memory.

This is a really beautiful spot and definitely one I'll come back to again in different conditions, the snow on the tops was still visible and the tree totally bare giving a really stark feel to the image along with the long exposure. This tree must have had a good few batterings up here during Winter but as the title of the image indicates, it remains resolute and defiant. If you do visit the food in the nearby pub at Balmaha is fantastic after a cold morning stood on the shore here..

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Had big plans for this week, with a week off work and 2 or 3 trips planned, starting off with a visit to Loch Lomond and Millarochy Bay and also to climb up Conic Hill for the views across the loch. Unfortunately I seem to have came down with some form of nasty virus and have spent the whole week from the moment I got home until now, in my bed! I had planned on being in Glencoe today :-( Thats now 2 visits north and now twice came back with something other than what I bargained for, hope I've not become allergic to the Highlands!

The moment when you realise you've left the midge repellent at home in another bag... The Millarochy Bay Oak on the Eastern shore of Loch Lomond.

Buchanan Castle sits on the outskirts of the village of Drymen, Stirlingshire, Scotland. It was built in the 1850s for the 4th Duke of Montrose as a family home, serving as such until 1925. The roof of the building was removed in 1954 and the condition of the Castle has since deteriorated. It was used as a hospital during the 2nd World War, and included patients such as Rudolf Hess, who was brought here after his flight to Scotland in 1941.

Again in no particular order, and certainly not from Iceland, The beautful (and not very often photographed) Loch Achray in the Trossachs, bathed in warm summer evening sunlight.

I'd been up at the rather gorgeous Loch Katrine and hadn't planned to shoot here but passing by seeing the perfectly still Loch and reflections I couldn't resist, to get to this spot took some doing though, through a big uneven clumpy field full of Highland Cows (and what they leave behind), then the boots and socks had to come off and get left behind as once over a fence you are directly into the loch... a bit of wading onto a little shingle shoreline covered in duck poo and you are there..

Thankfully the loch remained calm and the adventure was worth it, it was really relaxing shooting this scene just stood in bare feet in the warm shallow waters of the loch, without another soul around. Quite a priveledge to have a place like this all to yourself, I stayed a while after getting my shot just chilling out and taking it all in.

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Loch Restil a freshwater loch lies in the pass between Glen Croe and Glen Kinglas at the top of the “Rest and be Thankful” the Arrochar to Inveraray road in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. Here the sloping hillside of the 901m “Being an Lochain” can be seen clearly on the left with the summit of the 817m “Stob Coire Creagach” immediately in front of the snaking A83 road.

The top road in the photo is the main A83 road which runs up the length of Glen Croe rising to the viewpoint known as "Rest & Be Thankful". The old road below is part of the military road that ran from Dumbarton to Inveraray. This was built in the 1740s, a stone inscribed Rest & Be Thankful was erected at the summit around 1749, after this section of road was completed. The mountain to the left is the 858m “Beinn Luibhean” with the snow covered 884m “Ben Arthur” known locally as "The Cobbler" to the front. The small white house in the bottom is “High Glencroe” cottage.

Loch Lomond panorama from Conic Hill above Balmaha

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Falls of Falloch is a waterfall near the village Crianlarich in the county of Stirling in Scotland.

Milarrochy Bay can be found on the eastern shore of Loch Lomond just north of the village of Balmaha in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. There are lovely views to be had of Loch Lomond from the shoreline and this lone tree must be the most photographed tree in the area. No matter what, it is a splendid Bay to visit at any time of year.

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This is part of an old coffin road that people would have used to carry their dead from the Balloch area at the foot of Loch Lomond to be buried in St. Mahew's Chapel near the Village of Cardross. At nearly 7km long it is quite a distance to carry a heavy load and often coffin rests were found along the way, which were flat or raised stones for resting the coffin on. At these points the carriers could also take a rest. The path is now part of the 130mile "John Muir Way" stretching from Helensburgh in the West to Dunbar in the East.

Port of Menteith Parish Church was built around 1876 on the site of a previous church, dating from 1771, it sits in a prominent position on the north east shore of the Lake of Menteith (the only Lake in Scotland). It is suggested through historical information that a church has been sited here on the lakeside since before the Reformation. Sitting adjacent to the church is home to the Lake of Menteith Fisheries where boats and angling equipment can be bought or rented, the Lake itself is the main venue for the National Fly fishing Championships in Scotland.

This scene caught my eye when I was heading to the Brack Linn Falls near Callander.

The Brenachoile Boathouse sits just offshore in the shadow of the 2,386ft adjacent “Ben Venue” on the beautiful waters of “Loch Katrine” in the Trossachs area of Stirlingshire, Scotland.

Loch Lomond and islands lit by moon light

Craigmore above Aberfoyle

The Falls of Dochart are situated on the River Dochart at Killin in Stirling, Scotland, near the western end of Loch Tay.

Loch Lomond, Scotland

The Loch Earn Mirrorman, an art installation by the artist Rob Mulholland.

It seems like ages since I uploaded any black and white images, and just looking it was actually back in November last year, so to break up the colour uploads I thought I'd share this one.

Taken back in February of this year this was a bitterly cold morning on the banks of Loch Lomond, with snow still on the mountains in the distance, not much of an issue if you are are just grabbing a passing shot, much more so though when your image exposure time runs into minutes, which with a heavily overcast day it was always going to as the ND filters were always going to be brought into play, jumping about near to the camera to keep warm wasn't an option for obvious reasons so I had to do it further along the shore, a few people were about walking their dogs, I don't know if they actually noticed the camera set up but needless to say I got a few strange looks..

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Or thats how Pucks Glen felt at times!

Scotland

A view across the western end of Loch Katrine to Glengyle House, where Rob Roy MacGregor the Scottish outlaw is said to have been born in 1671 to Donald MacGregor and Mary Campbell. He was to grow up and become not only the Clan leader but also a daring hero, few men have been as celebrated in Scottish folk legend or literature as Rob Roy MacGregor.

Panorama of 2 shots