Magical Landscapes

Technical: ISO 8000 30 Seconds F/5.6; Nikon 16-35mm at 16mm.

The Shot: Travelling with my campervan in Northern Scotland, on 3rd May I turned South from Durness on the north coast, down one of the most remote roads in the UK, passing Ben Hope in an increasingly empty hinterland. I stopped with this view of Ben Loyal and Loch Meadie in the foreground. For 16 hours I saw and heard no sign of human activity, no light and no sound beside those made by myself. Getting up in the middle of the night to enjoy the solitude, I encountered these Northern Lights, an unexpected and extraordinary sight. I felt so lucky to experience the aurora in this magical place. Nights are short in May this far north, so the window of opportunity for aurora photography is short. Although the loch is too bright from a technical point of view, with no detail possible for much of the loch surface, I think the glassy, silvery texture helps to bring out the mood. I brought up the shadow tones a little, but had no need to increase the sky saturation and contrast. Location: Loch Meadie, near Ben Hope and Ben Loyal, Northern Scotland.

Technical: ISO 1000 1/250 second, focus bracketed with three images; F/16.

The Shot: Preserved and partially petrified Neolithic Forest on Borth beach, near Aberystwyth. The challenge for me was to get detail in the wood, have a sense of the wider location in terms of the beach, the sea and the hills, and at the same time capture some of the magic of the place. Only visible at low tide on a Spring tide, it is a sight never to forget, with its echoes of the ancient land of Cantre'r Gwaelod (Lowland "100") whose capital Caer Wyddno was reputedly near to Aberystwyth - did its inhabitants walk these forests in the dawn of human history? I added some dehaze to this image using a linear gradient, and also selected the waves and brightened them marginally, adding some texture and clarity to give them presence. In general I brought up the shadows and reduced highlights but mostly reduced the effects of harsh light by waiting patiently for the sun to be covered slightly by thin layers of cloud; this partial sunlight is a favourite light for me, with vibrance from the sunlight presence, but without too harsh shadows and overblown highlights. Thiis light helped me get the exact atmosphere I was looking for in this image.

Technical. ISO 400 10 second long exposure. 28-300mm lens at 28mm. F/11

The Shot: Feeling rather weak after a severe bout of Covid, the one mile cliff walk from Shawbost beach seemed quite a marathon, but in normal times is a short and pleasant stroll with photographic opportunities everywhere. I was fortunate to have moody skies interspersed with sunlight and a moderately rough sea. Deciding on a long exposure I DIDN'T want to "smooth the sea over... to avoid making it a distraction" but to emphasize the power of the waves hitting the rocks through a sense of motion the direction of the waves. To get a good composition I wanted to have the foreground rocks "point" to both the arch and the middle-ground rocks. I also wanted to have the right view through the arch. I was very careful not to study a lot of other photographers' work as this is a much-photographed place, although hard to avoid evidence of their footfall on the rocky outcrops. Generally I try to avoid over-photographed locations. I'm really pleased wtih the outcome, though I have some other shots from the same place which have different qualities. Location: