Scott CJ McKelvie Pet Photography

31/05/2026

Dog running shots I captured over a month or so ago of wee Rudi. I was slightly disappointed as my initial plan was to photograph Rudi with at least a nice portrait shot at Chatelherault country park, I had the shot in mind, but I travelled with the main flash head of my AD1200 Pro and forgot to put the main battery pack that powers the flash into the motor, so I had to improvise.

I was a tad bit disheartened, but it's something I've learned to work around by setting out a checklist digitally so to ensure I have everything. It's easy done. The AD 1200 Pro is a very powerful flash and even at half power, it would have worked wonders photographing the running shots. At first I thought that was me done for, but I managed to improvise, skip the still portrait of Rudi and concentrate on the running shots.

In one of the pictures you can see me setting up my DJI Osmo Pocket 3 on a stand for recording. The photograph of me laying down and the railings behind is an example for why I moved, you wouldn't want distractions that would ruin the photograph. An image is more than just the action you capture, but the location, the foreground and background that make up for it.

In a number of the shots you can see how challenging it can be, whoever throws the ball would need to be accurate in throwing it directly in my direction and that can be challenging. Sometimes when the ball was thrown Rudi ran the other direction lost, and other times it was slightly wide off the mark, so when capturing photographs, you could see Rudi staring off in that direction. It takes a lot of patience, not only as the dog can quickly tire out from the running, but like Rudi, he got distracted by other things elsewhere and ran off once or twice. It can be funny, but was a lot of fun photographing him and you get to play fetch with a dog.

This wee shoot was good practice, although, if I do find a particular location where a dog could jump over an obstacle like a small log, it would make a terrific shot, especially if having my AD1200 Pro setup. Even without I felt I captured a pretty good shot, which the main one I happily put up on my Squarespace, that site I'll eventually replace once I get my own proper site finished off. Squarespace is decent, but has its limitations, especially design and control. The AD1200 Pro I'll likely do a flash tutorial on at some stage.

Another method of getting a dog to run towards the camera would be to have someone standing directly behind myself and depending if the dog is safe to let off the leash and when the person calls on the dog frantically it would come running, of course, it all depends on discipline. If the dog can't, a very long leash with safety cord can be suffice.

Before I had taken Rudi out to do the shoot, wee Rudi had a wee tick just above his eye. They are a nightmare and they seem so common these days that it raises concern for me. The last thing I want when going to do shoots with peoples pets outdoors is feeling guilty. I did drive him to the vets and thankfully it was sorted very quickly, a lot cheaper than the last time, perhaps because of how common these wee buggers are. I think for that reason it's worth checking the area shooting in, but you know yourself just how well hidden these wee things are. If there were any means to repel them when out shooting, I would.

30/05/2026

The Kilchurn Castle shoot was a reminder of how challenging landscape photography can be with regards to lighting, the weather being especially inconsistent and unpredictable in Scotland, just when you think you're going to get clear skies, things don't turn in your favour.

Having clouds and mist can be hugely advantageous for adding detail and drama to your scene, however, it's all about the right balance, capturing light from the sun that will light the scene you are after.

I set off after 2 in the morning, my first proper long drive since having passed my driving test late March. I knew from looking at the weather forecast there was going to be mist, unfortunately, when I arrived the sky was overly cloudy. Checking the weather forecast in the motor I noticed the weather forecast changed from what it was earlier, which was a disappointment as the window for golden hour was wiped out.

The sun in spells did break out from behind the thick dense cloudy sky and lit the foreground, whilst it may not look it, I had desaturated the photographs that create a more filmic look. Desaturating neutralises colours, but I find works best when you have more punch to photographs. Whilst I may do farther enhancements to the photographs I currently have, doing a reshoot at Kilchurn is definitely on my agenda.

The sky wasn't to properly clear up until after 8 in the morning and by that time the golden hour window had already passed. In those circumstances I try to do the best that I can with the available light on that day and despite the challenges, I managed to capture some decent photographs.

My time away from photography for a bit with all the driving lessons and working in retail for a period meant I was a bit rusty, whilst the shutter speed I set was about 1/15 second, it was still slow enough to cause noticeable camera shake, I had forgot to set the self-timer for the first part. Likewise, forgetting photo stacking, but it's good to get that out of the system and get back out shooting again. On a reshoot, I'll be able to address those obstacles with a breeze. Despite those slight hiccups, I managed to conjure up some pretty decent shots.

One of the problems I have as a photographer is I often hesitate and find I do that often, perhaps because I'm trained to know what I'm after, a bit of a perfectionist that way, and if photographing something to lighting that isn't to the standard I want, I hesitate shooting. Nonetheless, I went ahead and captured some of these shots you can see within some of these images. Perhaps I am often my own worst critique.

The post processing back home was obviously challenging, as seen by some of the images having noticeable camera shake, those panoramic shots were somewhat ruined. Topaz Labs is useful, but not in extreme cases where camera shake has destroyed detail. For other photographs, whilst they turned out fine, it was more a case of the lighting. It was very noticeable of the contrast between foreground and background with regards to lighting, and in some ways it creates an interesting contrast, but the main subject being the castle, it didn't capture the same lighting.

I did research on the location before traveling out to Kilchurn Castle, it did mention that it was boggy territory and even Copilot A.I. assisted mentioning that the graze is typically more boggy closer to the water, which proved to be the case. It wasn't that bad though, your feet definitely sink in right in, so long as you have wellies or boots, you're fine crossing.

The gate lock mechanism, I'm hardly in and out of fields, so hadn't seen one of those strong metal chain locks before, it's just a hook mechanism where the clip you push in to then unhook, first I've seen or used one.

Having explored the area, the one big advantage is that I now have a fair idea of the area and compositions which is hugely helpful. I got some decent lighting despite the time being long after the main sunset. Some compositional options would be the trees, the rocks to the foreground forming in line that give a leading lines opportunity and a graze area off to the left with some trees to photograph the castle from a different angle.

There was also the other entrance on the castle side of Loch Awe. Given that the sun will rise behind that southerly graze I was on, it's the best shooting location for that. The sunsets behind which gives different lighting.

I have included in this upload the same castle photograph captured from roadside but without desaturating to give you an illustration of the contrast in light difference between foreground and background. Whatever final edits I decide upon, perhaps a balance, I may keep on my portfolio site, but no doubt I'll capture better in the near future as I strive to produce better.

The 70-200mm f/2.8 II lens I opted to use for my main shoot because it flattens out subjects and makes subjects that appear farthest, like the hills/mountains, appear closer behind the subject you're shooting. My Wallace Monument photograph illustrates this best, and using telephoto removes distortion on buildings that you get with wide angle lenses. I wasn't sure whether the 150-600mm lens would be too much and the only disadvantage for that lens, I don't have filters anyway and 70-200mm proved good enough. I did use the 24-70mm f/2.8 II lens closer to the water which gives a different perspective. I also used the Canon EOS R8, which is my main camera body.

The only downside to the shoot was the early morning midges, they are an absolute nightmare, which I imagine they are attracted to damp climates and with the morning mist they are at their worst. As the morning picked up and sun came out they were definitely far fewer the number.

09/06/2024

Captured Rudi at Loch Lomond with Ben Lomond to the backdrop.

Probably one of the most challenging locations due to how many distractions around Luss at Loch Lomond, but very pleased I pulled off this shot.

Canon EOS R8
Tokina 11-20mm
Aperture: f/16
Shutter: 1/200
ISO: 320

Flash: AD 1200 Pro
Power: 1/16

30/04/2024

Photographs I captured in Bradford at the Robyn Red concert. I'll hopefully be down in Ayr at Culzean to capture the castle in sunset Friday if forecasted for sun.

03/07/2023

Plodda Falls from the more touristy spot.

02/07/2023

The main two photographs I uploaded to my temp business site on Squarespace under my landscapes. I typically mix the photographs up; one is from the upper part of the waterfall leading to the main waterfall, and the second is a panoramic I created at the foot of the waterfall.

I was unfortunate with the weather that day, despite being overcast I made the most of it and pleased with the photographs.

02/07/2023

02/07/2023

Plodda Falls, decided to leave my personal best shot of the waterfall for my temporary business site on Squarespace, which I'll get uploaded soon enough.

Still work in progress on my proper business website.

29/04/2023

Looking after cousin's dog for a day, despite dreary overcast weather, I made the most of it and was a fun experience photographing Rudi.

He was very active and is very much treat and sound driven, managed to capture his attention with both, but it certainly took patience to get him to sit still. 🙂📸

Shot on my new Canon EOS R8 with my EF control ring adapter and EF 24-70mm f/2.8 II lens.

12/06/2022

Set off a couple of days ago and organised first practice shoot with wee Mylo the Pomeranian, as just a 4-month old pup he was quite the task. The weather over the course of time was pretty awful, unfortunately, but this photoshoot was well worth the experience.

I have a shoot organised hopefully in a few weeks time with Mylo and hopefully another dog at a beach, so hoping for some better weather and hopefully get a lot more pictures.

It's like I've said to people before, it's one thing knowing how to use a camera and taking good pictures, experience is the other half of the battle and although it takes time and patience with these wee creatures, i'll certainly look to capture their character even if it takes time with them so they aren't stressed out.

You can see these photographs from this screenshot up on my temp portfolio business website here:

https://www.scottcjmckelvie.com