The Scottish Highlands

Back in December 2019, I visited Glencoe in the Scottish Highlands. My main goal for the trip was to get some photos of snow and the mountains, hoping to capture some ‘Wintery’ images. I managed to get quite a few decent images, some of which have made it into the portfolio! Despite this, this was one of the hardest trips I’ve been on, and at times the most disappointing, not due to the surroundings but my own timeframe and planning.

The mountains above Kinlochleven - f11 | 1/20 sec | 32mm | ISO 100

The first issue I faced was travelling from my Uni house in Birmingham up to Glencoe, which ended being an 8-hour drive which left me drained for the first day of the trip. Even so, day 1 was still a success. We decided to follow a hike through the mountains surrounding the town of Kinlochleven. Walking through the silent snow-capped mountains made me appreciate the scale and age of the highlands. I captured a few images with longer exposures, which helped paint the peace and serenity I experienced.

I wanted to try and get some photos on some black and white Ilford SPX 200 film. This would really accentuate the age of the mountains, especially any man-made structures in the area. However, when I went to take my first photo with my film camera, nothing happened. The cell battery had run out, and I hadn’t brought the specific battery type with me. So I missed out on that opportunity, but I believe it helped push me toward the more peaceful, long-exposure images I’d captured.

The path back down to Kinlochleven - f11 | 0.3 sec | 35mm | ISO 100

With a decent breakfast, we set out for another hike on day 2. This time we were hiking around a set of mountains, up and down two valleys known as Lairig Eilde and Lairig Gartain. We started the hike from a nearby car park, it started rather steep, and while heading up, I’d already managed to spot a scene and get a few images. We eventually came to a river at the bottom of the first valley. Generally, in summer, the river would be relatively easy to pass; however, given the time of year and the snow in the surrounding, it was much deeper than usual and required some interesting yoga-esque moves to cross the islands of rocks.

Once we passed the river, we began hiking up the first valley; as we progressed, it started to snow. I was pretty excited about this; I knew I’d be able to get some abstract photos of the snow and get a unique perspective of the surrounding mountains. However, as we continued further and further up the valley, the snow got heavier and heavier. After walking about a third of the way up the valley, we decided to head back the way we came and abandon the hike without any new images. It was one of those situations where the photographer in me wanted to carry on, but common sense got the best of me, and I knew we’d get into trouble quite quickly.

After getting back to the cottage, drying off, and having some lunch, I was determined to make something of the day, given we’d be making that 8-hour drive again tomorrow. We decided to drive around the area to explore random valleys and coasts. This is how I got most of my images from the trip; it felt like a massive clash with the peaceful quiet of the towns and villages we drove through, me rushing around, jumping in and out of the car, chasing the light. The theme of my photos moved more towards highlighting the demanding power of the mountains and their constant presence in every view.

Despite the difficulties of this trip with the weather, batteries, and generally travelling to the highlands. I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and got some of the first photos I felt genuinely proud of. I’d love to return to Glencoe and see how my photography has changed since the trip and what scenes I’d be able to capture now.