November: month in review
Buachaille Etive Mòr. Perhaps not the most original composition, but still pleased to shoot this in decent light.
Fujifilm X-T3 | 10mm f/11 1s ISO160
What’s this month’s image? A classic view of the Buachaille Etive Mòr taken early in the month on a drive up the A82.
Did you do anything to it? It didn’t need a huge amount of work - most of the effort was in the composition and capture. I’ve added a little bit of contrast, played with the colour balance and done a little selective dodging and burning.
What’s it doing here? After a busy November I attempted to keep some of the momentum going by having a drive up the A82, getting about as far as the Meeting of the Three Waters via a short diversion via Glen Etive. I was quite pleased with the results from the day, taking a mixture of colour and infrared shots.
This viewpoint has been well photographed in all kinds of weather and light. Indeed, I shared the location with a small group of American photographers. The intent, therefore, was not to try and capture an original composition, but rather to see whether I could use some of the lessons learned over the last few months to create something that showed some level of technical competence and that was pleasing. Overall, I think I’ve met my goal.
There were a couple of other candidates for this month’s image from the trip, but overall this was the pick of the bunch. Having a day set aside and a semblance of a plan was a good use of a day; definitely worth a repeat…
Have you been up to much else? It’s been another fairly busy month. On top of the A82 road trip I’ve tried my hand (unsuccessfully) at photographing kitesurfing, had a bit of a wander around Loch Lomond and done a studio photography day with some other members of the club, which was instructive and good fun.
Helen and I also managed a couple of nights away in Newcastle. It’s not a place that I’ve spent much time (sober) and it was a good couple of days. We stopped in a couple of places on the way down, most notably Berwick-on-Tweed, and also took a circuitous route back via Tyneside and a couple of other locations. It’s an area that will definitely repay a return visit.
The images below are from Newcastle itself - like many major cities it has a wealth of interesting sights and curious corners…
Coming Up
There are no concrete plans in the diary for December… We have a trip up north at the beginning of the month and I will probably need to head across to the East to pick up daughter number two. Apart from that, the traditional Christmas slobfest will probably consume much of the month…
