Scotland #1

In mid-October, I spent an unforgettable eleven days in Scotland with Robert Makar. We hit the ground running on our first day with a drive from Edinburgh to the Glencoe area. The rainy weather that greeted us gradually cleared. The scenery along the way was breathtaking, with green valleys and pastures dotted with sheep stretching across the landscape. After about three hours, we arrived near Glencoe and scouted locations we planned to shoot at sunrise the following morning and other days.

As we explored the area, the storm that had been coming and going all afternoon began to clear again, revealing snow on the mountaintops and a rainbow in the distance. Excited by the dramatic weather, we jumped out of our cars near one of the lakes, Loch Ba, to capture the scene as best we could in the moment. It was a spectacular welcome to Scotland.

Our final stop before checking into our hotel was a visit to the often-photographed waterfalls with Buachaille Etive Mòr, “The Big Herdsman,” in the background. It was a short, muddy walk to the falls. The light was flat, but thanks to the recent rain, the waterfalls were flowing beautifully.

The next day, our first full day in Scotland, was equally magical. We started the morning at Lochan na h-Achlaise, which I later learned means “Lake of the Armpit.” The water was calm and peaceful, and we found several beautiful compositions as the sun rose, highlighting the mountains in the background and small rocky islands in the lake. We spent most of the morning there before taking a break for breakfast.

Later that day, we set off on an adventure despite intermittent rain, aiming to find a specific curve in the river. Unsure of the exact location, we wandered down into a valley, eventually reaching the river before climbing back up the grassy hillside. Finally, we found the spot we were looking for: a stunning bend in the river, where bluish-green water rushed through a small gorge surrounded by unique rock formations.