Early May 2023 we spent a fabulous few days with some freinds in Scotland, initially touring around the east of Edinburgh, and then spending two days up in the highlands driving round the lochs, glens, and mountains.

Kelpies

We were very lucky with the weather. It wasn’t sunny, but neither did it rain, and it was reasonably mild. Touring to the west of Edinbugh we visited the Kelpies. These are magnificent 30m high sculptures of Duke and Baron, two of the dray horses that used to pull the canal boats. As a photographic opportunity, they are terrific. Their bright metallic construction, together with the mesh work of through light makes them a delight to photograph.

One of the images is very obviously manipulated. I used the Solarize filter in Affinty, which effectively switches clouds and sky. To do this it must first identify and then isolate the sky, and if you look you will see a slight white outline around the skyline. This includes Baron, which gives the sculpture a 3D effect, bringing it out from the rest of the image.

Falkirk Wheel

We also visited the Falkirk Wheel. This is an amazing Victorianesque piece of engineering situated on the Falkirk canal, and is the worlds only rotating boat lift. The structure replaces what was originally eleven locks to bridge the 35 meter height change between the Union Canal and the Clyde & Forth Canal. It reconnected the two canals for the first time since the 1930s, and opened in 2002 as part of the Millennium Link project.

It operates like a giant ferris wheel, swinging in an arc to take one barge up at the same time as bringing one barge down. Capturing the motion of this magifient piece of engineering is nigh impossible in single images, so I have chosen a selction of stills with the wheel going through the motions.

In addition to the stills on the wheel in motion, I also had a play with the Solarize filter demonstred in the section above. Thinking going that the dramatic effect it had with the sculptures might work equally well with the Falkirk Wheel. Here is result – judge for yourselves.

Taychreggan & Loch Awe

We stayed one night on the shores of Loch Awe at the Taychreggan Hotel. Beautiful hotel, beautifully located. The main section of the hotel dates back to the 17th C, with a modern extention hosting the resturant, lounge area and additional bedrooms. And the hotel is situated literally on the shores of Loch Awe.

The images taken from the hotel grounds are dramatic, and whilst the weather initially was thick low clouds, it did eventually break up to give intermittent sunshine, the combination of which provided for some very atmospheric photos

Whilst a the hotel I had the opportunity to try out my news lens – a Nikkor 200 – 500mm F5.6 zoom. Now there wasn’t a great deal to demonstrate the quality of this lens, but here is an example

This is the view from the hotel across Loch Awe. The mountain that you can see in the distance with the hint of snow remaining is Bennin Ghais. The picture below is taken from the same location with the 200 – 500 zoom. Oh and if you are wondering what has happend to the pylon in the image below, I erased it, along with the all the cables using Affinity Photo’s Inpainting Brush tool.