WINTER IN THE HIGHLANDS
Amanda MacEachen
Dear PRISMA readers,
As the Christmas holidays came around once again, the freezing cold of winter may be off-putting to some, however as a photographer it was the perfect time to get the camera out. On the drive back to Oban for Christmas, we decided to take a detour through the gorgeous roads of Glencoe. We knew it had been snowing up there, so we were hoping to get some wonderful scenic mountain shots. The roads were quite slick with ice, with snow pushing into the side of the roads that had been watered down by previous cars. A striking aspect of Glencoe is how quickly the landscape changes, in the space of a few miles you can go from wide open roads to marrow mountain passes, open moorland to towering peaks.
Driving through the area is always an experience, regardless how many times you've driven it, every turn reveals a new view that demands to be photographed. The problem with photographing in Scotland is that the weather is utterly unpredictable. If you set out to do an outdoor shoot with specific scenery in mind, nine times out of ten, the weather wont do what you want it to. However, if you plan to photograph Glencoe, no matter the weather you're going to get shots you're happy with. If there are clear blue skies, then the snow-covered peaks of the mountains will be captured with utter quality and sharpness.
If the entire sky is covered in clouds, then the unpredictable fate of clouds comes with excitement of how they're going to play into the photo’s composition. A let down is very unlikely when photographing landscapes as beautiful as this. The weather during this trip was an example of this – completely unpredictable. One moment, the sun broke through lighting up the mountains in a frosty glow, then the next, thick clouds rolled in, casting shadows over any sunny landscapes we were wanting to photograph. Another incredible factor of Glencoe is the wildlife that resides within it.
Its been known that wild deer often loiter around the woods surrounding the carpark of the Kingshouse hotel. We therefore took a stop off there to chance any luck of seeing these magnificent creatures. At first it had seemed there was no luck, the car park was pretty quiet and the surrounding hills seemed empty. However, just as we were walking back to the car, we turned our backs to see a striking deer slowly walking towards us. I was in complete awe, never seeing such creature so up close before, I got my camera out slowly without alarming the deer, to see if I could manage any shots. The deer seemed fearless, walking around the car park as if it were their home, completely unafraid by any humans or cars.
I stood at a distance to get the shots, adjusting camera settings quickly. To my surprise, the deer seemed almost curious about the camera, pausing just long enough for me to get a few shots I was happy with. It was a very rare moment in wildlife photography where things aligned perfectly, usually you're waiting for hours for the right moment, but sometimes you're just lucky. The usual inpatient side of a photographer kicked in as I got the photos off my camera immediately to have a look at them. I flipped through them checking and editing any details, luckily the light and the contrast of the snow made an image that summed up what was right there. The shots of the mountains also showed how beautiful this part of Scotland is at this time of year, that even with the clear blue sunny skies, you could still tell with the snow that it was absolutely freezing.
As someone who’s spent a fair bit of time photographing these landscapes, I’ve come to appreciate winter as a season where these mountains and scenery feel their most raw. That’s why I keep coming back, for the experience of being in a place where nature still calls the shots.
This article first appeared in PRISMA, Issue 24.