Scots Magazine Cover
Readers of the Scots Magazine can see a big version of one of my photos of Scotland’s Rannoch Moor on the cover of the June issue available now.
And for anyone interested in seeing more of my pictures from one of my favourite countries to photograph, check out this gallery of images from Scotland. And here’s a second one if you can’t get enough!
Click to see a larger image:
Gallery of India Photos Posted
With this post, I would like to present you with a brand new gallery of photos, this time from India. Most of them come from Rajasthan whose oversized hill forts tower over bustling cities that overwhelm the senses. A few, like the one below, come from just outside the province, in or near Agra.
Click here to see the full gallery of photos of India.
Below is, of course, the Taj Mahal as viewed at sundown from across the Yamuna river.
Click to see a larger image:
Dusk at Eilean Donan Castle
Photo of the Day
I’ve posted a few photos of Eilean Donan Castle here so I won’t bore you with my waxing poetically about the beauty of the place. Here’s a panoramic image that should speak for itself.
Click here for more of my photos of Scotland.
Click to see a larger image:
Blackrock Cottage Panorama
Photo of the Day
Scotland’s dramatic vistas attract landscape photographers in swarms. The dependability of certain spots is clear when you scout out locations on Google Maps: you can often find photographers with cameras set up on tripods pointed at prime locations on the street view.
The Blackrock Cottage, just east of the entrance to Glencoe, is another one of those iconic views that every photographer has to grab if they’re anywhere nearby. On a trip into the highlands, you pass within a mile or two of this picturesque home, so of course, on the way up I had to stop and try my luck.
I tried to put my own spin on the oft-photographed view by making it into a panorama and capturing a little more of the stark surrounding countryside and not just the cottage with the imposing peak of Buchaille Etive Mor in the background.
Click to see a larger image:
Over Eilean Donan Castle
Photo of the Day
I’ve recently returned from another great week in Scotland. They all seem to be great, but this one even had the weather contributing to the quality of life. Sunny skies have browned my arms while hiking through gorgeous glens, trekking up and down hills overlooking lochs and castle, and spotting just about every bit of wildlife that the UK seems to have on offer.
One of those lochs and castles visited was the magical Eilean Donan on Loch Duich. It’s one of my favourite places in the world and I keep hoping I get to be in its neighbourhood every time I go up to Scotland.
For today’s photo of the day, I embarked on a little trek that quickly got a lot longer than anticipated when I was struggling to get the view I wanted. Driving up the tiny country road that provides views above the castle wasn’t quite good enough for me, but I couldn’t find an accessible path up to the hills. A couple miles of driving, a hefty climb, and then a couple of miles traversing steep slopes back to almost where I had started and I wound up in the spot I wanted just as the sun was descending.
The result is below showing the sun touching the mountains in the west while the colours sweep across the panorama of the lochs and castle below.
Click to see a larger image:
Vinales, Cuba
Photo of the Day
The energy of the Cuba’s capital, Havana, is relentless. Overwhelming sound and life inhabit every street. If you want to escape and take a little rest from it all, there’s probably no better contrast to Havana’s high pace than the tranquil Vinales Valley in Pinar del Rio province where giant limestone mogotes tower over placid farms and a small town that serves as a base to explore the region’s natural wonders.
This photo is the classic view of the Mogotes of the Cordillera de Guaniguanico mountain range at sunset. This viewpoint at the Hotel Los Jazmines is a popular spot for good reason – it’s the perfect place to take in one of Cuba’s most iconic landscapes.
Click to see a larger image:
Meteora Monastery above the Clouds
Photo of the Day
I’ve finally had a chance to go through some of my photos from my trip to Greece and I wanted to share one from incredible Meteora. This is the Holy Monastery of Varlaam. In the background, right in the middle of the shot, you can also see the Holy Monastery of Rousanou peeping through the clouds (make sure to click the image for a larger version).
Meteora is one of the most spectacular landscapes I’ve ever visited and I took this trip for the express purpose of getting shots like this. I had five days there and the weather really didn’t cooperate with me most of the time. This fleeting break in the clouds lasted for a half hour at the most, but it certainly was a perfect 30 minutes and I tried to make the most of it. After these clouds were swept away, the sun took over and made a nice change from the cloud and fog that had been hounding me for the previous few days.
This weekend, I’m lucky enough to be heading to Cuba for two weeks to escape the dreary Manchester winter for a little while. I expect my access to internet to be a little bit sporadic there, so please be understanding if I don’t reply to any questions or comments immediately. In the meantime, if I do get any access there, I might be able to post an update or two on my Instagram feed or on my Facebook page.
Click to see a larger image:
Calgary Stampede Fireworks Panorama
Photo of the Day
The view of Calgary and its skyline from Scotsman’s Hill is classic, but when you throw in the fireworks of the Calgary Stampede grandstand show, the sight is even more stellar.
Watching the fireworks from Scotsman’s Hill was a mandatory part of growing up in Calgary, so I had been to this exact spot plenty of times before and I knew roughly what I wanted to try to capture. I got there early, since I know the prime spots fill up fast. After all, you can watch the chuckwagon races from up there for free – crowds start forming hours before the fireworks begin.
So, that leaves plenty of time to watch the chucks, dodge mosquitoes, check out the sunset, set up the tripod and chat with fellow fireworks aficionados.
On this particular night, the threat of rain hung in the air the whole evening. We were mostly spared the drizzle until the fireworks began and the rain made taking photos a bit awkward. Water on the lens wasn’t really the effect I was going for here, so my umbrella was open above my camera and I had a cloth handy to clean my lens when errant drops got through. The result is that I didn’t get quite as many shots to choose from since I spent half my time keeping my gear dry, but I managed to get enough to piece together the panorama below.
Click to see a larger image:
Moraine Lake Panorama
Photo of the Day
Today’s image is from one of my favourite places in the world: Moraine Lake in Banff National Park , Alberta, Canada.
The colour of the water is unrealistically blue and in it are reflected some astonishingly beautiful mountains, the Ten Peaks. If this place doesn’t stir you even a little bit, I feel bad for you and your dead soul. Even if landscapes aren’t your thing, you have to draw a line somewhere and just succumb to that voice inside you that’s trying to get out and say, “Wow.”
Due to this natural beauty, Moraine Lake is a big draw for photographers and the scene has been captured in most imaginable ways. I haven’t however, seen a lot of panoramas that pull back a little bit and frame the grandest part of the scene with the surroundings. The morning I was there didn’t quite yield the sunrise I had hoped for, so I felt I needed to do a bit more than just the standard shot. This place deserves the effort.
Click to see a larger image:
Grand Canal Panorama
Photo of the Day
This classic view from the Rialto bridge is a favourite among visitors and locals alike. You can’t blame them – it’s one of the best places to witness Venice’s magic.
This has to be one of the most photographed spots in Venice, so it’s a challenge to come up with something different from every other photo that has been repeated in the same location. By making this a panorama, I know I haven’t exactly broken new ground, but it’s a least a little bit different from the norm.
The wider format allows for a greater sense of place. It includes more of the surrounding buildings and the paths teeming with pedestrians along both sides of the canal. Gondoliers moving across the waters add to the interest of the evening scene.
Click to see a larger image:
Panorama of the Storr
Photo of the Day
A while ago I posted this image of the Old Man of Storr on the Isle of Skye, Scotland.
Today’s image comes from the opposite side of the Old Man. It was a breathtaking walk to get all the way around that took me to the summit of the Storr where a crystal-clear day allowed me to see almost the whole Isle of Skye in a 360-degree view. As evidenced by this photo, the views didn’t stop as I made my descent. This brilliant day gave me a great view of the magnificent rocks towering over the landscape.
Click to see a larger image:
Rannoch Moor Sunrise Panorama
Photo of the Day
The great views from Scotland’s Rannoch Moor keep coming. All of these spots are just off the road that leads into Glen Coe. I hope I get the chance to go back and explore more of the area to see if I can find any good walking trails.
Click to see a larger image:
Rannoch Moor at Dusk Panorama
Photo of the Day
From near the same spot as the previous photo of the day, the sun has set and the dusk colour paints the sky over Rannoch Moor.
Click to see a larger image:
Rannoch Mooor at Panorama at Sunset
Photo of the Day
A perfectly colourful sunset breaks over Rannoch Moor in the Scottish Highlands.
Click to see a larger image:
Eilean Donan Castle Evening Panorama
Photo of the Day
Here’s the last one for now from Eilean Donan Castle. This is also from from this evening that threatened to kick up a serious storm with these brooding clouds. The rains never came in force, so I was able to capture this without getting too wet, though I did have to clean off the lens a few times. Scotland’s dramatic weather made for a colourful, moody background to this gorgeous location.
Click to see a larger image:
The Bridge to Eilean Donan Castle
Photo of the Day
The last photo of the day was a bit far away from Scotland’s Eilean Donan Castle, so we’ve moved closer and in this shot. Now, we’re ready to cross the bridge on the way out to the little tidal island that is home to one of the UK’s loveliest castles.
Click to see a larger image:
Eilean Donan Castle Panorama
Photo of the Day
Happy 2012 everyone! Let’s start the new year off with a photo of one of my favourite places on earth: Eilean Donan Castle.
This is one of the first castles I ever visited and I’ve been hooked on the things ever since. I grew up reading Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and whatever other fantasy novels I could get my hands on, so if I couldn’t spend any time around knights or dragons, a castle would suit me just fine. Unfortunately for me, you don’t find a lot of epic castles in western Canada.
So when I took a trip to Scotland in the year 2000, I was awestruck. All my romantic, idealised visions of medieval Europe came to life. I had never walked a castle’s walls until Eilean Donnan, so it holds a pretty special place in my fantasy-loving heart. After all, you never forget your first castle, right? It was just as great when we got the chance to last year.
This particular shot of the castle deviates from the usual views you’ll spot on the postcards in that it’s shot from the East to the West. The castle itself doesn’t cut quite as interesting a profile from this side, but this blossoming sunset was too good to pass up especially after a mostly rainy day driving up from Northwest England on our way to the Isle of Skye.
This panorama was a challenging one to get exposed properly. The sun obviously overwhelmed the scene on the left side, so I bracketed exposures through the whole panorama. There was a fair amount of post-processing work that needed to be done to align the photos and get the different exposures working together, butI got there in the end to reveal this photo which captures some of the warm glow that bathed the castle that evening.
Click to see a larger image:
Hadrian’s Wall at Housesteads
Photo of the Day
I took this picture only a few feet away from the previous photo of the day, but the effect of it is pretty different. In the cool, purple of dusk, this shot really emphasizes the line that Hadrian’s Wall follows along the crags.
The Roman builders of the wall knew what they were doing. As much as they could, they used the natural cliffs and steep slopes of the land to form the better part of their defence. When the wall you’re building spans the length of an entire country, you better make sure you use every shortcut you can.
It would have been quite a spectacle to behold in its original form, but even today, it’s an impressive sight.
One funny detail I only noticed after processing the image: All the black cows are on one side of the wall and the white sheep on another. Can’t we all just get along?
Click to see a larger image:
Hadrian’s Wall Panorama from Housesteads Roman Fort
Photo of the Day
A brilliant, saturated sunrise rewarded my efforts to wake early and trek up the hill to get this classic shot of Hadrian’s Wall from near the Housesteads Roman Fort. I took plenty of shots from at or near this vantage point at various different times of the day, but I think this is my favourite. It captures both the detail of the wall and its snaking path along the crags while also showing some of the surrounding countryside bathed in a light that had me applauding Mother Nature.
I’ve now managed to process a few shots from this trip as well as more from the earlier visit to Scotland, so those will trickle through in the next the next little while and I’ll try to show off images from some of the top landscapes in the UK.
Click to see a larger image:
Glenfinnan Monument Panorama
Photo of the Day
The drive up to the Isle of Skye is a fairly long one by UK standards, but it certainly has a lot of possibilities for stopping points along the way. Though this was a little bit out of the way for our route, the view is worth it.
This the Glenfinnan Monument which presides over Scotland’s Loch Shiel. The monument commemorates Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Jacobite uprising – Glenfinnan was the place where he raised his standard to begin his campaign.
I was only able to get this photo after making a couple of trudges up the hill behind the monument. When I first climbed to the viewpoint, the weather decided to be rather uncooperative. As soon as my camera was out, it started to rain. I put my camera away, and the sun briefly broke through. No sooner was my tripod set up again and the rains came back. The fast-moving clouds seemed to be taunting me.
I headed back down the hill and I wandered out to the monument with my very patient wife. On the way, the clouds parted and dramatic bursts of light dappled the loch. Back up the hill I went. I got there just in time to catch the last rays hitting the hills before being sealed up behind the clouds.
This shot was easily worth two trips up the hill.
Click to see a larger image:
Sligachan Bridge Panorama
Photo of the Day
On my way up to the Old Man of Storr to try to catch the sunrise, I was driving past one of my favourite sights on Skye and had to stop to catch the dawn breaking over the old bridge on the river Sligachan. Despite having gone past this place a number of times, this was the first where there was good light, so the Storr would have to wait a few moments.
I’m glad I did stop because the sunrise at the Old Man was lacklustre that day, so I happily took this as a consolation prize.
Click to see a larger image:
The Old Man of Storr Panorama
Photo of the Day
I haven’t had much time to process many of the photos from the trip to the Isle of Skye in Scotland and, this Saturday, I’m set for another jaunt. This next trip is to Alston and Hadrian’s Wall will likely be the main subject of my photos. My hard drive will soon be overflowing and I’ll have even more images to try to catch up on.
One of the few photos I’ve had the chance to pay attention to is today’s photo-of-the-day offering from the Old Man of Storr. The Storr is a rocky hill sitting on the ridge that rises over much of the Trotternish Peninsula on the Isle of Skye and the Old Man is the jagged pinnacle you see in the photo below.
It took a couple of attempts to get this photo. The first morning I attempted the ascent to this position, the clouds swept in before I was in the right spot and no amount of cajoling would make them leave (actually, that seem to anger them and they rained on me fast and hard).
The second hike up the hill was much more fruitful than that blustery morning. The Isle of Skye is full of magical places and this might be one of the most magical for me. The pinnacles of rock are far more immense than this photo conveys in low resolution. The full res shot reveals a head-high sign on the path and it is completely dwarfed by the Old Man’s gargantuan size. Walking amongst those giants is like living in a fantasy novel. It’s quite a place.
Click to see a larger image:
Loch Slapin on the Isle of Skye
Photo of the Day
A recent trip to Scotland’s Isle of Skye was accompanied by some predictably damp Scottish weather. What I hadn’t predicted was that the tail end of a hurricane would be sailing overhead and drenching the land beneath.
For a couple days, the driving rains kept most sensible folk inside. Apart from a few stubborn moments that resulted in unusable photos of raindrops on a camera lens, I was sensible too.
But on the day of this photo, the rain had started to abate, so it was time to start exploring in earnest. While coming back from a drizzly stop in Elgol, the clouds briefly parted and illuminated the hills behind Loch Slapin and I jumped from the car excited that I might actually get to take a photo without having to hold an umbrella over my head.
A rainbow bloomed to the left and yellow light bathed patches of the landscape and this panoramic shot is the end result.
Click for a larger image:
Singapore Esplanade Panorama
Photo of the Day
Here’s another of those rare instances where I took a panoramic shot on my travels in Southeast Asia and, yet again, it makes me wish I had done more.
This one is from Singapore, a city that has probably already changed quite a bit since I took this shot. This shot features the Esplanade (a.k.a. the Durian, the performing arts centre in Singapore) and the city’s financial centre.
If this shot wrapped any further to the left, I know it would be rather out of date by now since there has been a massive amount of construction on the other side of the bay.
Click to see a larger image:
Darby Sawchuk is a Canadian-born photographer who currently resides in Manchester, England. He has travelled to over 40 countries and is always adding more to the list. He creates stock for multiple agencies and is available for assignments.
+44 0790 992 8932
