On my latest trip to the Scottish Highlands, I had made a long list of locations I wanted to photograph. Amongst the unmissable ones I had placed Kilchurn Castle, an ancient ruined keep that lies on a peninsula jutting into Loch Awe.
The location is spectacular in itself, but even more at the golden hour, when the castle can be seen from across the lake against the backdrop of the mountains. It is equally good at sunrise and at sunset.
Due to a delay in arrival at Edinburgh airport, we couldn’t make it there on time for sunset, so we set our alarm clocks early to be able to get there for sunrise the next day.
The weather forecast indicated fog and I envisioned a scene with the castle emerging from banks of fog lingering on the lake and glowing from the rays of the rising sun.
The reality was quite different however, as the fog was so thick that we could barely see the castle as a pale, indistinct shape.
The complete absence of wind meant that the surface of the lake was smooth as glass, making for beautiful reflections. Unfortunately, it also meant that no wind was going to blow the fog away anytime soon.
We had still hopes that, as the sun rose, it would warm the lake enough to dissipate most of the fog. So we took a few more atmospheric photos of the castle and of the copse of trees surrounding our shooting location.
To be honest, the situation wasn’t dire. There were lots of details of rocks and trees covered with moss to take pictures of. In fact, we spent almost two hours there.
Alas, we had come for a glorious sunrise, but the weather had different plans.
Even though we didn’t get what we had come for, we still brought home a handful of pretty good pictures and we made the best of what the destiny had given us.
At least, I have now a good excuse to go back. In fact, I’m already planning another trip to Scotland. Would you like to join me there? Then click here to read about my next trip.
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