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.
