Glencoe

Car camping is not for everyone that’s for certain, especially when your car is an old Citroen C3 and you’re carrying photography equipment and cold water swimming gear too. When you arrive at your much anticipated destination, in this case Glencoe, and there is unforecasted rain for two days, you need to be prepared to spend a lot of time sat in the driver seat and not being able to cook food, make images or sit outside. However, it is worth it for me as it gives me access to some of the most beautiful wild spaces cheaply and without the need to travel to a specific location from say, a hotel, and has the privacy you don’t get at a hostel (as long as you cover your windows!). My third and last day was dry and I was greeted by the most beautiful sunrise and my journey home was accompanied by a sky on fire.

I arrived in the dark, but could make out the outlines of the imposing snow capped peaks on both sides of me and could see the moonlight reflecting on the Lochs as I sailed past trying to keep my eyes on the curvy, pot holed road ahead - forever on the lookout for Deer leaping in front of me at anytime. During the day, the A82 running the length of the Glen has other issues such as lorries thundering past, few safe places to stop and the numerous coaches arriving from both directions.

There are some places to park for the night with epic views, but they seem to be very close to the road so I looked for something a little safer. I found a small car park just outside Glencoe village where I took comfort from having quite a few van neighbours. Cooking wasn’t easy, but I managed a passable pasta dish with pesto and some stem ginger cookies dipped in tea. 

When I wasn’t trudging across bogs squelchy with water retaining red and green sphagnum mosses, I was reading about the history of witchcraft in the region. I thought of them in this same landscape gathering plants to use for their healing remedies such as Bog Myrtle used medicinally and recreationally for beer,  but also used as part of a ritual to ward away mischief and negativity.  Driving along the road that hugs Loch Leven, I imagined Selkies with watchful eyes peering around the rocky outcrops, their pearlescent seal skins glistening in the moonlight. The Moon was almost full and in Cancer, which can leave you deeply affected by your environment. 

My soundtrack for this trip featured Benny Jones - Mountains of Light, First Aid Kit - Angel & Goldfrapp - Caravan Girl. The Orbital album ‘Orbital’ always gets a play in epic landscapes like Glencoe - it just seems to suit the environment.

My intention was to capture mood using the elements to achieve this. Some of the shots I will definitely revisit when conditions lend themselves to the look I want to achieve. My photography was limited to one day of dry weather, so there is a lot of potential left for my return.

For most of the images below, I used exposure bracketing as the light was highly dynamic. To show movement in the water I used a CPL filter up front  just to enable me to slow the shutter speed down enough to get some movement but not so smooth that the water looks milky. It’s also great for taking down reflective glare on the wet rocks. I have included settings with each image along with the location.

The locations for the shots below are all well known and well photographed, so next time I go, I will be heading to lesser known spots and will definitely be packing a wider angle lens, as some compositions were impossible with the ‘all-rounder’ lens I took such as Glen Etive waterfall with the Buckle in the background. 

Camera - `Fujifilm X-T3

Lens - Tamron 18-300mm

K&F Concept magnetic filters - CPL

K&F Concept camera backpack

Benro Tripod

Bloopers - not having a wide angle lens, crushing 6 whole eggs in my car under camera bag, spilling three whole cups of coffee over seat and sleeping bag  #carcamping

Wins - after many submersions and traipsing across moorland my Palladium boots have never let any water in and very comfortable - they look cool too. My new long lens support bracket; and my magnetic filter system. - much less fumbling around