Trip to the Scottish Highlands (NC500)

Turbo-G

Turbo-G

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394
Name
Grant
Edit My Images
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Hi All,
Thought I would share "a few" images from a recent NC500 trip. For those interested, we actually started and finished in Lochcarron (rather than Inverness), and worked our way clockwise around the coast over the course of 7 days. The weather was changeable... 22 degrees on day 1, and high wind, rain and hail (-1 at times) the rest of the time! Incredible place though, can't recommend it enough. 1650 miles round trip from the Midlands :)

Please enjoy, and if you have any questions about the trip itself, I'm more than happy to share our experience... Mostly shot with my Fujifilm X-T3, 23mm 1.4 & 56mm 1.2, with just a couple on the D750 and 70-200 2.8 (Tamron).

Eilean Donan Castle
DSCF0827 by Grant Archer, on Flickr
Lochcarron to Gairloch
DSCF0985 by Grant Archer, on Flickr
DSC_2140 by Grant Archer, on Flickr
DSCF1067 by Grant Archer, on Flickr
DSCF1030 by Grant Archer, on Flickr
DSCF1144 by Grant Archer, on Flickr
Gairloch to Lochinver
DSCF1288 by Grant Archer, on Flickr
DSCF1271 by Grant Archer, on Flickr
 
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There’s not really much ‘traditional landscape’ here but looks like you had an enjoyable trip. I think the most pleasing is clearly 1459 - nice colours and a great view. A lot of the others are overedited in my opinion, maybe trying to make up for flat/midday light?
 
Scirocco_09 said:
There’s not really much ‘traditional landscape’ here but looks like you had an enjoyable trip. I think the most pleasing is clearly 1459 - nice colours and a great view. A lot of the others are overedited in my opinion, maybe trying to make up for flat/midday light?
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Thanks for the critique, and sharing your opinion
 
While I agree with @Scirocco_09 that this isn't necessarily a set of traditional landscapes, I think they work really well together and there are many that I like a lot (the wooden walkway, the girl walking through the trees, and the final shot of the life-ring stand out especially for me). I like the processing as well - it's got a nicely saturated Kodak Ektar film-type look that works well.
 
They are very cool though.
Be nice if you put the locations down.

I was in the highlands last week, cracking weather but I got no keepers in terms of photography.
 
Thanks for the comments - I’ll look to add the locations also.

In terms of whether these are considered traditional landscapes or not, wasn’t really a thought that came to mind - I just figured this sub-forum was the most suited, given there isn’t a travel forum.

These are rural and scenic landscapes after all...

Moderators feel free to move to a more suitable location, if I have missed one...
 
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Personally they look too gritty and too middle of the day for me with shadows nearly completely crushed to within a few percentage points of the gamut. I guess that must be some sort of instagram style which I have no understanding of.
 
LongLensPhotography said:
Personally they look too gritty and too middle of the day for me with shadows nearly completely crushed to within a few percentage points of the gamut. I guess that must be some sort of instagram style which I have no understanding of.
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Have you been to the highlands? It is quite gritty!

Personal taste and all that, but personally I think the edit works on these Fuji files.

I’m a bit confused by the “too middle of the day” comment though. These are just holiday photographs, intended to tell the story of the trip, and our days on the road - which I thought I would share. By definition, some are taken during the middle of the day!
 
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LongLensPhotography said:
Personally they look too gritty and too middle of the day for me with shadows nearly completely crushed to within a few percentage points of the gamut. I guess that must be some sort of instagram style which I have no understanding of.
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I hate to say - I kind of agree. The black's seem very pushed with very little finess or subtly to the images. Like Instragram.

And before the OP asks - I live in the highlands and run workshops up there. I know all these spots. It's hard to cram in all these locations getting good light in all of them - they're holiday snaps and judged as such - they tell the story of a fun road trip but judged as landscape photographs they tend to fall short. Without being unkind - a picture of a road sign - I mean why bother?

2311 and 2081 looks the best. With a waterfall - you don't need such a long exposure - try and retain detail and texture in the falls - an exposure between 1/8th and 2secs ought to be a place to start with. 1856 would be good less the people in the way. Timing is everything - invest a little in that and you will get heaps more out. 1385 would also work - without your Mrs getting in the way. It would be an effective landscape without a person taking up so much room in the shot. 2140 - the shot of the cattle is also quite nice.
 
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As a record of your road trip I think they're a great set. My favourite is the view of the cattle through the car window - it's a little whacky abut the subject is nicely framed :)

Processing style is very subjective and, like you, I kinda like it. Nice images :)
 
Turbo-G said:
Have you been to the highlands? It is quite gritty!
!
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Does living there for almost 2 years count for you? It was absolutely anything but gritty. I guess I avoided middle of the day and miserable weather with great success,
 
SFTPhotography said:
I hate to say - I kind of agree. The black's seem very pushed with very little finess or subtly to the images. Like Instragram.
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Thanks - although that's a little harsh. They are processed to my personal taste... nothing wrong with Instagram either :)

SFTPhotography said:
And before the OP asks - I live in the highlands and run workshops up there. I know all these spots. It's hard to cram in all these locations getting good light in all of them - they're holiday snaps and judged as such - they tell the story of a fun road trip but judged as landscape photographs they tend to fall short. Without being unkind - a picture of a road sign - I mean why bother?
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Good for you. These are holiday snaps, of a an NC500 tour - they are not intended to be award winning landscape photographs (of which I have no interest in). The images were posted here as they are mostly rural and scenic landscapes... we don't have a travel forum. The road sign helps tell that story, when part of a larger album - the roads are a key component of the trip.

SFTPhotography said:
2311 and 2081 looks the best. With a waterfall - you don't need such a long exposure - try and retain detail and texture in the falls - an exposure between 1/8th and 2secs ought to be a place to start with.
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Thanks - although I definitely wasn't trying to get "the perfect shot". These are simple shots, on a tripod / propped on a rock, a variable ND, and a 1 second exposure.

SFTPhotography said:
1856 would be good less the people in the way. Timing is everything - invest a little in that and you will get heaps more out.
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Do you mean 1586 (the two people on the beach)? If so, I purposely waited for them to get to that point in the frame - as it adds a bit of interest to the scene.

SFTPhotography said:
1385 would also work - without your Mrs getting in the way. It would be an effective landscape without a person taking up so much room in the shot.
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OK thanks - I'll tell her to clear off next time!

SFTPhotography said:
2140 - the shot of the cattle is also quite nice.
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Thanks :)
 
Bristolian said:
As a record of your road trip I think they're a great set. My favourite is the view of the cattle through the car window - it's a little whacky abut the subject is nicely framed :)

Processing style is very subjective and, like you, I kinda like it. Nice images :)
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Thanks! Yes I found myself shooting "through" a lot of foreground items on this trip, worked quite well I thought. The car and the road were key components off this trip, so I found myself capturing it quite a bit.
 
TGphoto said:
Lovely set. I certainly wouldn't say over edited - I think it's done very tastefully.
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Thanks very much - they are slightly punchier than my Nikon files, but personally i think it works. They look great printed as a lay flat book too :)
 
FishyFish said:
While I agree with @Scirocco_09 that this isn't necessarily a set of traditional landscapes, I think they work really well together and there are many that I like a lot (the wooden walkway, the girl walking through the trees, and the final shot of the life-ring stand out especially for me). I like the processing as well - it's got a nicely saturated Kodak Ektar film-type look that works well.
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Thanks very much. Certainly opting for filmic vibes with the processing - using the Fujifilm simulations as a base, and adding a bit more punch.
 
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