Scotland - the Final European Adventure (62 images!) Camera: Pentax K-3 Posted By: Heie, 06:31 PM 05-05-2014, Just started Tower Week (Week 2), but this is where I've been since that final departure from the Fatherland:



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(P.S., Jenny, my German wife, has arrived in New York and is officially a permanent resident of the United States of America )



A quick touch on gear (we're all about the gear, that's why we're here ). I packed the K-3 with the DA* 16-50mm f/2.8, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, and DFA 100mm Macro WR. I was originally going to bring the DA* 60-250, and then realized that I was planning a hike during the middle of the trip. While I have hiked with it before, this time would be different because it would require a photo backpack, which would be extremely cumbersome in addition to an actual hiking backpack (60 Liters) that I would have filled with all my clothing for the trip. The hike was a "Point A to Point B" hike with no intent on returning to the start point, so I would be taking everything I brought to Scotland with me. I settled on my Kata fanny pack that would allow me to keep it on my waist in front (opposite the backpack) or behind me directly under the backpack, hence the settling on the 10-17, the standard zoom, and the compact 100mm for telephoto reach, should I need it. Plus, with the K-3's 24mp resolution, I could easily "zoom in" via cropping. So, the packing list was finalized, including a 77mm filter, L-plate, backup SD cards, 2 extra batteries. I also brought the Sirui T-025x tripod that I love so much, and that was stowed inside my backpack (it easily fit laying down between clothing), and when I was hiking/touring around, it was clipped to my belt loop 100% of the time. It has become my defacto carrying method for that tripod, seen here for those that might be confused by what I mean (taken from the







All photos were shot in RAW (.dng) and then processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.4. Some were put through Topaz Clarity to give it that little extra pop when I felt it was warranted, and I've identified those photos below.



Anyway, this will be pretty long as it is, so I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story from the trip.



But before I do, I wanted to touch on just one thing and emphasize just how much effort I put into these photos. I am a product of the digital photography age. I had a camera here and there with film, but it was never anything more than a point and shoot with fixed lens. My "tenure" as an actual photographer is purely digital, and as such, its conveniences. I shoot in RAW and process all of my photos manually, with a very significant portion of my photographs being taken hastily and using rather poor technique, namely the lack of a tripod and using high ISO with abandon. In a fast-paced documentary situation (combat photography, weddings, etc.), tripods are not practical and high ISO becomes your best friend. But when you have the time, such as landscapes, not using one is nothing but laziness. Of course a situation may present itself and you just don't have a tripod with you - understandable. But when you actively leave the tripod at home or worse, have it with you and actively choose to not use it except for long exposures that would otherwise be impossible handheld? That's where I fell in much of the time, and I made a conscious decision to change that, altering my behavior so that a tripod and ISO 100 were (usually) achieved for any and every shot that time allowed, "getting it right" in camera rather than via post processing.



As a result of this exercise, I do believe that the quality of my photographs significantly improved. I encourage and welcome any and all criticism regarding the validity to that claim.



Ok, now, onto the pictures



1) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 18mm, 1/250s, f/7.1, ISO 400, Handheld



Jenny and I flew into Edinburgh and the next day, we went to the Edinburgh Castle. I had a few other things planned to do that day after leaving the castle, however.....wow....we were there for over 7 hours. They just had so many different exhibitions that we were there for a WHILE. It was fantastic, and while it's a bit pricey, highly recommended to go visit there yourself and dedicate several hours. This is one of the first views of the castle from inside the lower courtyard. I waited about 5 minutes for a gap in tourists to get this image without anyone in it.









2) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 34mm, 3s, f/7.1, ISO 200, Tripod, 2s Timer



Inside the castle one of the exhibitions displayed recreated living conditions for prisoners of the castle's dungeons. There weren't that many people, so I set up my tripod and captured the below image, converting it to black and white. Now that I'm looking at it again, it seems a bit too overexposed to properly capture the mood of a dungeon.









3) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 45mm, 1/125s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld



A view of the lower parts of the castle when viewed from the upper courtyard.









4) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 34mm, 1/80s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld



A side view of the wall shown in image #2. I must have taken about 6 images trying to get the lamp as perfect as I got (not distortion wise, but framing wise).









5) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 50mm, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 200, Handheld



Also in the castle grounds, along one of the "alleys" between courtyards.









6) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 45mm, 1/50s, f/4.5, ISO 1600, Handheld



Jenny being silly with the crown the castle cafe used to note which tables had orders with food coming from the kitchen so their servers knew where to go. Our first haggis was on the way









7) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 200, Handheld, Topaz Clarity



One perhaps the most beautiful day possible, we went for a hike above Edinburgh in the bluffs overlooking the city adjacent to the Palace of Hollyrood House (also beautiful and worth a visit). Here I handed my camera to a random person and asked her to take a picture. It took a few takes because she wanted to put us directly in the center - she seemed to have no concept of composition other than centering your subject. Even when I deliberately took a picture of Jenny while she was up there and said "Just like this, with us in the very corner." She still centered us as if that was the only way she could take a picture? I appreciated her patience and willingness to take a few extra attempts, because now it's one of my favorite images from the trip.









8) K-3, DFA 100mm Macro WR, 100mm, 1/3200s, f/6.3, ISO 200, Handheld, Topaz Clarity



As we were walking back down the hill, I looked behind me to see this scene. I quickly changed lenses and was able to catch it before it ended. I really like the way this image came out.









9) K-3, DFA 100mm Macro WR, 100mm, 1/800s, f/6.3, ISO 200, Handheld, Topaz Clarity



On our walk back from the bluffs, walking through downtown Edinburgh we came across this tower. Directly to the left (outside the frame, but where that leafless tree is) is an old cemetery that was my first taste of Scottish cemeteries (stay tuned for pictures from Glasgow's Necropolis...). Munroe is buried there, the famous adventurer and mountaineer whose namesake dons all the mountains over 3,000 ft in the country. A popular hobby is to 'bag munroes,' and if I had more time in Scotland, I certainly would take part and bag a few.









10) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 50mm, 1/500s, f/6.3, ISO 200, Handheld



Jenny considered enrolling me









11) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 21mm, 1/50s, f/7.1, ISO 800, Handheld, Topaz Clarity



A part of the historic part of Edinburgh - there were just so many closes (old Scottish for alley because...you guessed it - the walls are close). I found it beautiful.









12) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 45mm, 0.6s, f/11, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer, Topaz Clarity



Another shot of a neighborhood in Edinburgh, but this time in the 'modern' part of the town. Took me a while to frame this one because of all the cars on the road.







And sadly, that was the end of Jenny being with me in the United Kingdom. She still had work (she's an elementary school teacher) and could only get the weekend, so when I left Edinburgh to continue my odyssey, she flew home and went to work. Yet another reason to revisit Scotland again





13) K-3, DFA 100mm Macro WR, 100mm, 10s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



When I arrived in Glasgow, I met up with my cousin, Avalon. She had been living there for several years now since marrying a Scotsman and moving in with him (woohoo free lodging! ). She asked if I was interested in seeing an abandoned and decrepit building that had just decayed. It was an old public bathhouse that was condemned about 10 years ago. Jumping at the opportunity, she let me in and let me wander on my own for several hours. I had a blast! Here is a small corridor in the maintenance tunnels that ran under the place. This took about 10 takes to get it right, and even then it was severely underexposed to save the grating along the back window.









14) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



Old boilers that helped heat one of the pools.









15) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 18mm, 1/50s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



I just fell in love with this room because of all the peeling paint along the ceiling. Just incredible. Those stalls you see are individual bathing rooms, each with a bathtub. I climbed on one of the stalls and I could hear the wood creaking under my weight. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have done that lol.









16) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 30mm, 1/320s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



I tried as hard as I could to get this perfectly aligned, but it just wasn't happening. Still, another interesting vantage point.









17) K-3, DFA 100mm Macro, 100mm, 1/10s, f/5.6, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



I set the tripod in a tub for this shot and pointed the lens straight up, manually focusing on the filament in the bulb. Focus peaking was a huge help on this shot, and because the camera was pointed straight up, I really wished I had a Flucard.









18) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 4s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



This room was also fascinating, and was another boiler room for a different pool in the complex. I defished the image in Lightroom, which explains the soft (almost smeared) edges. I don't think it necessarily detracts from the image as it kind of makes it seem like a DOF blur, focusing your eyes (mine at least) towards the center of the image. Either way, I still really like this shot.









19) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 50mm, 0.3s, f/5.6, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



If you look at the image above, it was taken from a slightly higher vantage point than simply ground level. I found a small ledge with a really rusted ladder and climbed up it (hoping the ladder wouldn't pull out of the wall as I did). As my head cleared the landing, I had the crap scared out of me by a pigeon that just took off and felt like it nearly flew into me. I continued climbing up and it wasn't until I was up there that I found these chicks huddling together. I tried to use my headlamp to paint light on them, and while I am not too happy with how it came out (the lighting seems a bit too harsh and obvious), I didn't stay for more than just a couple of tries so as not to stress them out more than I already was. My favorite part of it is the train ticket that the bird picked up to use as part of the nest.









20) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 1/40s, f5.6, ISO 800, Handheld



In one of the pools, kids turned it into a makeshift skate park. Pretty cool if you ask me.









21) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 1/15s, f/5.6, ISO 800, Handheld



The main pool, it has been used, oddly enough, to host theatrical productions with a thin, center running stage, the audience standing along either side in the drained pool.They just finished tearing down a set and were in the process of building a new one. And it was good to see Scots can be just as juvenile as Americans









22) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 0.4s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer, RAW HDR, Topaz Clarity



The entire ceiling of the Glasgow Cathedral, shot using the K-3's RAW HDR function (for those that don't know - the camera shoots three files at varying exposure levels and merges them together automatically, but it's one massive [i.e. 100+ mb]RAW file rather than a JPG). I was told that pictures were allowed, and when I asked about a tripod, I was told that you can take all the pictures you want, just no flash and the tripod cannot impede any trafficked areas. I nearly dropped my jaw when I heard that. So, I shot the vantage point I felt could completely capture the entire interior, and I think I succeeded with this image. It was not defished. Also, the entire time I was in there the organist was practicing and wow - it was movingly beautiful to witness that.









23) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 1/40s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



After visiting the cathedral, I made my way above it into the Necropolis, a famous cemetery in the city, and by far the most beautiful that I've ever visited. Anywhere. I tried my best to find the one vantage point that really capture the feeling of being in it, and this was the best I could come up with. It had just finished raining, so the grass is especially green as well.









24) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 18mm, 1/640s, f/9, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



Like I said, it had started raining, which caused most of the tourists to quickly depart the cemetery and seek refuge from the downpour. I held my ground, fixed in my assumption that if I waited it out, the sun would break through and provide some beautiful light through the clouds. it only took 30 min for my meteorological training (ha...none) to prove fruitful. It might be a bit overcooked (i.e HDR) for some, but it was the effect I was going for.







24a) Here's the original RAW file, so you can see just how much detail the K-3 was able to salvage from the shadows. Utterly incredible if you ask me:









25) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 1/60s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer, Topaz Clarity



I saw this tombstone with the piece on the floor and immediately came up with this image in my head. I was glad I had my tripod with me because it required the camera to be at near ground level and pointed straight up. Another instance a Flucard would have been beneficial as I was laying on the ground trying to view the LCD screen at an angle.









26) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 21mm, 1/15s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld



Walking along the gardens just outside the downtown area, I came across this beautiful row of cherry blossoms.









27) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 1/60s, f/10, ISO 100, Tripod, 2x Strobes



While in Glasgow, I had made plans to visit Usuqa (aka Meuh on DPR), who happened to live just outside the city, to do a photoshoot together in hopes of learning a little about how to use off-camera flash as I am very, very much a newby to it. I had an absolute blast being with him in his studio and meeting his wonderful family. I was even invited to stay for a home-cooked Scottish meal!



We had brainstormed a bit before I even got on a plane about concepts to shoot. The first general idea was something about my personality/hobbies. As an avid outdoorsman, a photo of me hiking/trail running came to mind, but the terrain to do the shot properly wasn't readily accessible. So instead, we opted for option two, which was way more fun anyway.



I jumped on his son's brand new tricycle and the following badass-ness ensued







27a) Here is the behind the scenes shot with the lighting set-up:







Of my entire trip, visiting Paul was absolutely one of the highlights. Thanks again, Paul!



And so my time in Glasgow had come to an end, which led me north to Loch Lomond. I stayed at a beautiful B&B called the



I spoke with one of the owners about the prospect of exploring in the immediate area around the B&B, and the following conversation ensued:



Me: "I'd like to go hiking around here and I heard what seems like a waterfall walking up the road to your place. Is there a possibility that I can go check it out?"



Scottish Host: "Of course. In Scotland you have the right to roam."



Me: "I'm sorry, what?"



Scottish Host: "The 'Right to Roam.' It's Scottish law that you can go anywhere you want, even if it says private property or no trespassing. Just make sure if you open a gate you close it, and if it was already open, leave it open. Farmers tend to not be the friendliest if you chase their sheep or cows around, but unless you cause damage to their property, they legally cannot remove you from it. The one exception is military installations that you can't trespass on, but you won't find any around here. So yea, anywhere in the country, you have the right to roam where you want."



Me: "You try that in America and you have the right to get shot."





28) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 17mm, 2s, f/11, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



So, I took the advice and left for a few hours. I found the creek I had heard and traveled up along it, seeing if there were any interesting waterfalls along the way. I came away with this shot after several attempts and compositions.









29) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 28mm, 3s, f/10, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



On the way down from the creek waterfall, I stopped to look around, and this was the view of Loch Lomond beneath and in front of me. Too bad the time of year yielded only the drab brown and barren hills seen here.









30) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 28mm, 30s, f/5.6, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer, Topaz Clarity



I noticed a beautiful strip of green cutting through the rather drab undergrowth as viewed from above during my descent back. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a road covered entirely in moss. I have no way of knowing if it is actually an old Roman road (in actuality I suspect not ), but I was determined to get a shot of it. I started from the opposite shore, but it did nothing to capture the essence of it being a road and more dramatically, an old bridge over a stream. By the time I made it to the other bank, it was getting dark. Really dark, especially for a camera (by the time I left I was arguing with myself whether I should bring out the headlamp I had in my bag as I still had a little while to go back to the B&B through the forest).



I set up my framing, mounted the camera on the tripod, activated the 2s delay, and went straight for 30 seconds on the exposure. At one point while leaning back to see the LCD better (tripod was at its lowest level), I rolled backward, which scared the ever living crap out of me because had I continued to roll even so much as another foot (1/3 meter) further, I would have gone over the small cliff/ledge I was standing on.



I couldn't be more pleased with the result.









31) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 36mm, 1/100s, f/5.6, ISO 100, Handheld



After leaving Loch Lomond, I took the bus to King's House, a famous hotel off the highway that marks a formal stop along the West Highland Way. Determined to get some hiking in, I went did my research and the section between King's House and Kinlochleven seemed the most arduous (namely because of the Devil's Staircase). The bus dropped me off right on the highway, and several hundred meters later, I was at the starting for for this section. It started slow, and then climbed pretty quickly - here's the view looking up and the people along the route as well.









32) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 50mm, 1/125s, f/9, ISO 100, Handheld



The weather started to turn once we got above the low cloud ceiling.For reference, the second ground of hikers (in front of the hiker in the yellow jacket) was less than 15m away from me.









33) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 50mm, 1/125s, f/9, ISO 100, Handheld



After arriving into Kinlochleven, the next morning I quickly departed for Glencoe, where this was taken (looking towards the Pass with the Pap behind me to my left for those that know the area). I honestly would have gone for the Pap (the "Pap of Glencoe," or a small rounded mountain that resembles a woman's breast, hence the old Scottish name of 'pap'), but I was still recovering from a knee injury and decided it would be wise not to. It wasn't the clearest day anyway, so no worries.









34) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 28mm, 1/125s, f/7.1, ISO 100, Handheld



That evening, after retiring to my hostel for dinner, I encountered a group of three Canadians traveling through the area. We got to talking as we were eating in the community kitchen, and they invited me to tag alone with them the next day. We ended up driving first to Ballachulish, a small coastal town just south of Glencoe. Here they are doing a map check as I catch up to them after attempting some photos back in the forest.









35) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 34mm, 1/200s, f/7.1, ISO 100, Handheld



The town of Ballachulish from the trail we were hiking on.









36) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 1/60s, f/7.1, ISO 400, Handheld



While on the trail, we came across these moss covered ruins of what seemed to be a house with multiple rooms.











37) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 1/25s, f/7.1, ISO 400, Handheld



Adjacent to the above ruins were these ruins. I regret not taking the time to be more deliberate and deploy my tripod, but they were waiting on me and I had already told them to continue on and that I'd catch up over 20 min before. But still, I'm pleased with this shot despite my realization that the DA 10-17 Fisheye would have been better for the enclosed space.











38) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 19mm, 1/60s, f/7.1, ISO 400, Handheld



Another set of ruins in the same area, this time I tried using the trees to create a natural framing of the image.









39) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 1/800s, f/7.1, ISO 100, Handheld



A group portrait I took for them. It was a bit windy



Also, I found it funny that they asked "Are you sure we are in the picture? You aren't even looking at us."







40) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 1/1250s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld



And my landscape version devoid of humans.









41) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 1/800s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



This image was frankly one of the hardest images to take of the entire trip. We were driving through the Glencoe Pass (where the above two images and the below one was taken) and pulled off to the side of the road to get a closer look at this waterfall. The sun was just way too overpowering and I didn't have any filters (namely graduated ND filters) compatible with the DA 10-17 Fisheye (Google claims that none exist anyway). I think that all things considered and some heavy post processing (there's some digitally applied grad filters in LR to recover the cloud detail), this came out pretty well.







42) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 5s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



We stopped for lunch at the locally renowned









43) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 1.6s, f/10, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



Another of the interior, this time taken at the bar itself.









44) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 5s, f/8, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



This time I shot using RAW HDR, but from a different angle.









45) K-3, DFA 100mm Macro WR, 100mm, 1/640s, f/5.6, ISO 100, Handheld



I finally found the Highland Cow! How cool is he (she?) ?!









46) K-3, DFA 100mm Macro WR, 100mm, 1/320s, f/5.6, ISO 100, Handheld



Another angle, but this time with the most adorable dwarf pony slightly behind it. Shetland Pony?









47) K-3, DA 10-17 Fisheye, 10mm, 1/125s, f/5.6, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer



A series of small waterfalls where the river merged just downstream of all three.









48) K-3, DA 10-17 Fisheye, 11mm, 1/125s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld, Topaz Clarity



A fun shot - enjoying the view









49) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 19mm, 1.3s, f10, ISO 100, Tripod, 2s Timer, 6-stop ND Filter, Topaz Clarity



I would have loved this shot if the trees were bursting with green foliage...









50) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 19mm, 1/80s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld, Topaz Clarity



Way before I had stepped foot on Scottish soil, I had this type of shot envisioned - a rustic cabin/hut in the foreground with looming mountains in the background.







After leaving Glencoe, I was on my way to Oban, the "Gateway to the Islands" of Scotland. I left the hostel armed with the information that the bus would stop at around noon. Sure enough, the bus came...and kept going. Turns out the bus passes Glencoe on the only road heading to Oban, but doesn't stop. So now I have a 1 hour bus ride with no bus, and I was left to hitchhiking.



I parked myself and my gear on the side of the road, and because I didn't have a large piece of paper, I used the only "canvas" I could think of - my laptop! So I made a sign with Microsoft Paint and held up the laptop using my left hand, enthusiastic thumb pointing to the sky in my right. This was my sign:







After 45 min of no takers, it started to dawn on me that perhaps my desire to express my state of personal hygiene was a bit too forward and thus counter-productive to my cause. I edited it and came up with the following:







WIthin 10 min, a wonderful woman picked me up in her large tractor trailer and proceeded to chat my ear off and give me a guided tour of all the places we were passing along the scenic route. And a good thing to (regarding the within 10 min), my battery was getting pretty low, and I was resorting my putting my laptop in hibernate mode between each stream of cars



51) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 26mm, 1/100s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld



Part of my travels always at least incorporates the attempt to



Then my next thought was..."Blood?"





52) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 50mm, 1/160s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld



Turns out they are used vegetable oil collected from the town's restaurants (i.e. the grease your fries, aka 'chips,' are boiled in), and that's how he heats his place using a stove his made himself that also has has a stone surface that allows for cooking (it's how he cooked us pasta and tea!). Also, the water is heated using pipes that run along the stove.



Ingenious, and the entire set-up and how he lived so self-sufficiently instantly reminded me of my grandfather. Regardless - he was a fascinating person to meet and he offered free accommodation by way of a couch to sleep on. I really, really enjoyed my time there with him.









53) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 16mm, 1/500s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld



Good morning, Oban! A beautiful sunrise from his house. His place commanded such an incredible view in all 360 degrees.







53a) Again, another unprocessed RAW so you can see the dynamic range of the K-3. This was pushed over 3.5 stops, and not a hint of banding. Incredible feat of sensor technology, undoubtedly.









54) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 1/640s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld



Enjoying playing around with the beautiful day.







55) K-3, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, 10mm, 1/640s, f/8, ISO 100, Handheld



And now a serious shot, capturing the view of what I felt was a perfect place to pitch a tent. On the beach you can barely make out where some owners and their dogs are playing in the shallow water.











56) K-3, DFA 100mm Macro WR, 100mm, 1/640s, f/5.0, ISO 100, Handheld



This was a pretty interesting encounter - I was photographic this swan from afar when it came towards me to investigate who/what I was. I was a little concerned when the swan came within less than a meter of me - I thought it might attack me.







57) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 21mm, 1/60s, f/8.0, ISO 100, Handheld



A beautiful seaside house (town of Ganavan) - man I'd love to live there...









58) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 39mm, 1/100s, f/8.0, ISO 100, Handheld, Topaz Clarity

A couple watches the sunset and rain in the distance...









59) K-3, DA* 16-50mm, 39mm, 1/160s, f/6.3, ISO 200, Handheld, Topaz Clarity

Wouldn't you love to have her reading spot?







I really hope you enjoyed this photo series - I can't wait to return to Scotland and get to the places I had to cut from my trip in the interest of time - the Outer Hebrides, the Islands of Mull and Skye, and Loch Ness, and especially with Jenny by my side.



Additionally, if you have never come across a photo essay of mine before, I invite you to visit a few of the others I have compiled from my travels/adventures elsewhere:

21 Apr 2014 - My Gear is Gone -Pelican 1510 Case (16 images)

8 Feb 2014 - Finnish Military Winter Training (40 images)

4 Aug 2013 - My First Wedding - Robert und Sylvia (31 images)

9 Jun 2013 - "Train as you Fight" (9 images)

30 Mar 2013 - Skiing in the Austrian Alps for St. Patty's Day (24 images)

14 Jan 2013 - New Zealand: a Deployment Getaway (82 images) They all follow the same photo essay style (including the Deployment series that I have had approved for a while now and just haven't gotten around to re-uploading...I know....I know....), which I am starting to realize might just be "my niche"...



Again, if you have any criticism, I welcome and encourage it to further hone my craft, both photographically and my prose.



Thanks again for stopping by!



-Heie

For those who do not know me, I am a U.S. Army officer that was until recently (as in, last week) stationed in Bavaria, Germany. As with all good things, it had to come to an end (and man do I already miss it). Seeing as my window to travel Europe was closing, I made it a priority to make one last excursion to a place I have been dreaming of visiting since I first heard Sean Connery's sultry voice - Scotland. I traveled from the end of March into the first week of April (so I returned about a month ago), but I have been so busy since returning that I have not been able to post the photos until now. Outprocessing from your unit, packing and moving your entire house, last minute visits to friends you won't see for a while, and then being sent away for training will suck up all your timeJust started Tower Week (Week 2), but this is where I've been since that final departure from the Fatherland:(P.S., Jenny, my German wife, has arrived in New York and is officially a permanent resident of the United States of AmericaA quick touch on gear (we're all about the gear, that's why we're here). I packed the K-3 with the DA* 16-50mm f/2.8, DA 10-17mm Fisheye, and DFA 100mm Macro WR. I was originally going to bring the DA* 60-250, and then realized that I was planning a hike during the middle of the trip. While I have hiked with it before, this time would be different because it would require a photo backpack, which would be extremely cumbersome in addition to an actual hiking backpack (60 Liters) that I would have filled with all my clothing for the trip. The hike was a "Point A to Point B" hike with no intent on returning to the start point, so I would be taking everything I brought to Scotland with me. I settled on my Kata fanny pack that would allow me to keep it on my waist in front (opposite the backpack) or behind me directly under the backpack, hence the settling on the 10-17, the standard zoom, and the compact 100mm for telephoto reach, should I need it. Plus, with the K-3's 24mp resolution, I could easily "zoom in" via cropping. So, the packing list was finalized, including a 77mm filter, L-plate, backup SD cards, 2 extra batteries. I also brought the Sirui T-025x tripod that I love so much, and that was stowed inside my backpack (it easily fit laying down between clothing), and when I was hiking/touring around, it was clipped to my belt loop 100% of the time. It has become my defacto carrying method for that tripod, seen here for those that might be confused by what I mean (taken from the Pentax Forums in-depth review of the tripod ):All photos were shot in RAW (.dng) and then processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.4. Some were put through Topaz Clarity to give it that little extra pop when I felt it was warranted, and I've identified those photos below.Anyway, this will be pretty long as it is, so I will let the pictures tell the rest of the story from the trip.But before I do, I wanted to touch on just one thing and emphasize just how much effort I put into these photos.I had a camera here and there with film, but it was never anything more than a point and shoot with fixed lens. My "tenure" as an actual photographer is purely digital, and as such, its conveniences. I shoot in RAW and process all of my photos manually, with a very significant portion of my photographs being taken hastily and using rather poor technique, namely the lack of a tripod and using high ISO with abandon. In a fast-paced documentary situation (combat photography, weddings, etc.), tripods are not practical and high ISO becomes your best friend. But when you have the time, such as landscapes, not using one is nothing but laziness. Of course a situation may present itself and you just don't have a tripod with you - understandable. But when you actively leave the tripod at home or worse, have it with you and actively choose to not use it except for long exposures that would otherwise be impossible handheld? That's where I fell in much of the time, and I made a conscious decision to change that, altering my behavior so that a tripod and ISO 100 were (usually) achieved for any and every shot that time allowed, "getting it right" in camera rather than via post processing.As a result of this exercise, I do believe that the quality of my photographs significantly improved. I encourage and welcome any and all criticism regarding the validity to that claim.Ok,, onto the picturesJenny and I flew into Edinburgh and the next day, we went to the Edinburgh Castle. I had a few other things planned to do that day after leaving the castle, however.....wow....we were there for over 7 hours. They just had so many different exhibitions that we were there for a WHILE. It was fantastic, and while it's a bit pricey, highly recommended to go visit there yourself and dedicate several hours. This is one of the first views of the castle from inside the lower courtyard. I waited about 5 minutes for a gap in tourists to get this image without anyone in it.Inside the castle one of the exhibitions displayed recreated living conditions for prisoners of the castle's dungeons. There weren't that many people, so I set up my tripod and captured the below image, converting it to black and white. Now that I'm looking at it again, it seems a bit too overexposed to properly capture the mood of a dungeon.A view of the lower parts of the castle when viewed from the upper courtyard.A side view of the wall shown in image #2. I must have taken about 6 images trying to get the lamp as perfect as I got (not distortion wise, but framing wise).Also in the castle grounds, along one of the "alleys" between courtyards.Jenny being silly with the crown the castle cafe used to note which tables had orders with food coming from the kitchen so their servers knew where to go. Our first haggis was on the wayOne perhaps the most beautiful day possible, we went for a hike above Edinburgh in the bluffs overlooking the city adjacent to the Palace of Hollyrood House (also beautiful and worth a visit). Here I handed my camera to a random person and asked her to take a picture. It took a few takes because she wanted to put us directly in the center - she seemed to have no concept of composition other than centering your subject. Even when I deliberately took a picture of Jenny while she was up there and said "Just like this, with us in the very corner." She still centered us as if that was theway she could take a picture? I appreciated her patience and willingness to take a few extra attempts, because now it's one of my favorite images from the trip.As we were walking back down the hill, I looked behind me to see this scene. I quickly changed lenses and was able to catch it before it ended. I really like the way this image came out.On our walk back from the bluffs, walking through downtown Edinburgh we came across this tower. Directly to the left (outside the frame, but where that leafless tree is) is an old cemetery that was my first taste of Scottish cemeteries (stay tuned for pictures from Glasgow's Necropolis...). Munroe is buried there, the famous adventurer and mountaineer whose namesake dons all the mountains over 3,000 ft in the country. A popular hobby is to 'bag munroes,' and if I had more time in Scotland, I certainly would take part and bag a few.Jenny considered enrolling meA part of the historic part of Edinburgh - there were just so many closes (old Scottish for alley because...you guessed it - the walls are close). I found it beautiful.Another shot of a neighborhood in Edinburgh, but this time in the 'modern' part of the town. Took me a while to frame this one because of all the cars on the road.And sadly, that was the end of Jenny being with me in the United Kingdom. She still had work (she's an elementary school teacher) and could only get the weekend, so when I left Edinburgh to continue my odyssey, she flew home and went to work. Yet another reason to revisit Scotland againWhen I arrived in Glasgow, I met up with my cousin, Avalon. She had been living there for several years now since marrying a Scotsman and moving in with him (woohoo free lodging!). She asked if I was interested in seeing an abandoned and decrepit building that had just decayed. It was an old public bathhouse that was condemned about 10 years ago. Jumping at the opportunity, she let me in and let me wander on my own for several hours. I had a blast! Here is a small corridor in the maintenance tunnels that ran under the place. This took about 10 takes to get it right, and even then it was severely underexposed to save the grating along the back window.Old boilers that helped heat one of the pools.I just fell in love with this room because of all the peeling paint along the ceiling. Just incredible. Those stalls you see are individual bathing rooms, each with a bathtub. I climbed on one of the stalls and I could hear the wood creaking under my weight. In retrospect I probably shouldn't have done that lol.I tried as hard as I could to get this perfectly aligned, but it just wasn't happening. Still, another interesting vantage point.I set the tripod in a tub for this shot and pointed the lens straight up, manually focusing on the filament in the bulb. Focus peaking was a huge help on this shot, and because the camera was pointed straight up, I really wished I had a FlucardThis room was also fascinating, and was another boiler room for a different pool in the complex. I defished the image in Lightroom, which explains the soft (almost smeared) edges. I don't think it necessarily detracts from the image as it kind of makes it seem like a DOF blur, focusing your eyes (mine at least) towards the center of the image. Either way, I still really like this shot.If you look at the image above, it was taken from a slightly higher vantage point than simply ground level. I found a small ledge with a really rusted ladder and climbed up it (hoping the ladder wouldn't pull out of the wall as I did). As my head cleared the landing, I had the crap scared out of me by a pigeon that just took off and felt like it nearly flew into me. I continued climbing up and it wasn't until I was up there that I found these chicks huddling together. I tried to use my headlamp to paint light on them, and while I am not too happy with how it came out (the lighting seems a bit too harsh and obvious), I didn't stay for more than just a couple of tries so as not to stress them out more than I already was. My favorite part of it is the train ticket that the bird picked up to use as part of the nest.In one of the pools, kids turned it into a makeshift skate park. Pretty cool if you ask me.The main pool, it has been used, oddly enough, to host theatrical productions with a thin, center running stage, the audience standing along either side in the drained pool.They just finished tearing down a set and were in the process of building a new one. And it was good to see Scots can be just as juvenile as AmericansThe entire ceiling of the Glasgow Cathedral, shot using the K-3's RAW HDR function (for those that don't know - the camera shoots three files at varying exposure levels and merges them together automatically, but it's one[i.e. 100+ mb]RAW file rather than a JPG). I was told that pictures were allowed, and when I asked about a tripod, I was told that you can take all the pictures you want, just no flash and the tripod cannot impede any trafficked areas. I nearly dropped my jaw when I heard that. So, I shot the vantage point I felt could completely capture the entire interior, and I think I succeeded with this image. It was not defished. Also, the entire time I was in there the organist was practicing and wow - it was movingly beautiful to witness that.After visiting the cathedral, I made my way above it into the Necropolis, a famous cemetery in the city, and by far the most beautiful that I've ever visited. Anywhere. I tried my best to find the one vantage point that really capture the feeling of being in it, and this was the best I could come up with. It had just finished raining, so the grass is especially green as well.Like I said, it had started raining, which caused most of the tourists to quickly depart the cemetery and seek refuge from the downpour. I held my ground, fixed in my assumption that if I waited it out, the sun would break through and provide some beautiful light through the clouds. it only took 30 min for my meteorological training (ha...none) to prove fruitful. It might be a bit overcooked (i.e HDR) for some, but it was the effect I was going for.24a) Here's the original RAW file, so you can see just how much detail the K-3 was able to salvage from the shadows. Utterly incredible if you ask me:I saw this tombstone with the piece on the floor and immediately came up with this image in my head. I was glad I had my tripod with me because it required the camera to be at near ground level and pointed straight up. Another instance a Flucard would have been beneficial as I was laying on the ground trying to view the LCD screen at an angle.Walking along the gardens just outside the downtown area, I came across this beautiful row of cherry blossoms.While in Glasgow, I had made plans to visitakaon DPR, who happened to live just outside the city, to do a photoshoot together in hopes of learning a little about how to use off-camera flash as I am very, very much a newby to it. I had an absolute blast being with him in his studio and meeting his wonderful family. I was even invited to stay for a home-cooked Scottish meal!We had brainstormed a bit before I even got on a plane about concepts to shoot. The first general idea was something about my personality/hobbies. As an avid outdoorsman, a photo of me hiking/trail running came to mind, but the terrain to do the shot properly wasn't readily accessible. So instead, we opted for option two, which was way more fun anyway.I jumped on his son's brand new tricycle and the following badass-ness ensuedHere is the behind the scenes shot with the lighting set-up:Of my entire trip, visiting Paul was absolutely one of the highlights. Thanks again, Paul!And so my time in Glasgow had come to an end, which led me north to Loch Lomond. I stayed at a beautiful B&B called the Ardvorlich House . If you are ever in the area, pay it a visit. The hosts were arguably the most accommodating I've ever had the pleasure of staying with. They were waiting for me to pick me up from the bus stop (a 15 min drive, whose arrival was about 30 min delayed because of traffic). Later that evening and without any prompting from me, I was offered a lift to a fantastic pub for dinner (another 15min drive each way), picking me up two hours later to bring me back. Then, the next morning the breakfast was unbelievable. Finally, I realized that I made a mistake and paid for my dinner using the last bit of cash I had rather than my credit card, so I needed to get to an ATM in order to pay for the bus ticket the next morning. No worries - they drove me to the nearest money machine, which was about 35 min away. When I said my goodbye and offered some cash to cover all the fuel spent on me, I was adamantly refused and told to enjoy the rest of my trip.I spoke with one of the owners about the prospect of exploring in the immediate area around the B&B, and the following conversation ensued:Me: "I'd like to go hiking around here and I heard what seems like a waterfall walking up the road to your place. Is there a possibility that I can go check it out?"Scottish Host: "Of course. In Scotland you have the right to roam."Me: "I'm sorry, what?"Scottish Host: "The 'Right to Roam.' It's Scottish law that you can go anywhere you want, even if it says private property or no trespassing. Just make sure if you open a gate you close it, and if it was already open, leave it open. Farmers tend to not be the friendliest if you chase their sheep or cows around, but unless you cause damage to their property, they legally cannot remove you from it. The one exception is military installations that you can't trespass on, but you won't find any around here. So yea, anywhere in the country, you have the right to roam where you want."Me: "You try that in America and you have the right to get shot."So, I took the advice and left for a few hours. I found the creek I had heard and traveled up along it, seeing if there were any interesting waterfalls along the way. I came away with this shot after several attempts and compositions.On the way down from the creek waterfall, I stopped to look around, and this was the view of Loch Lomond beneath and in front of me. Too bad the time of year yielded only the drab brown and barren hills seen here.I noticed a beautiful strip of green cutting through the rather drab undergrowth as viewed from above during my descent back. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a road covered entirely in moss. I have no way of knowing if it is actually an old Roman road (in actuality I suspect not), but I was determined to get a shot of it. I started from the opposite shore, but it did nothing to capture the essence of it being a road and more dramatically, an old bridge over a stream. By the time I made it to the other bank, it was getting dark. Really dark, especially for a camera (by the time I left I was arguing with myself whether I should bring out the headlamp I had in my bag as I still had a little while to go back to the B&B through the forest).I set up my framing, mounted the camera on the tripod, activated the 2s delay, and went straight for 30 seconds on the exposure. At one point while leaning back to see the LCD better (tripod was at its lowest level), I rolled backward, which scared the ever living crap out of me because had I continued to roll even so much as another foot (1/3 meter) further, I would have gone over the small cliff/ledge I was standing on.I couldn't be more pleased with the result.After leaving Loch Lomond, I took the bus to King's House, a famous hotel off the highway that marks a formal stop along the West Highland Way. Determined to get some hiking in, I went did my research and the section between King's House and Kinlochleven seemed the most arduous (namely because of the Devil's Staircase). The bus dropped me off right on the highway, and several hundred meters later, I was at the starting for for this section. It started slow, and then climbed pretty quickly - here's the view looking up and the people along the route as well.The weather started to turn once we got above the low cloud ceiling.For reference, the second ground of hikers (in front of the hiker in the yellow jacket) was less than 15m away from me.After arriving into Kinlochleven, the next morning I quickly departed for Glencoe, where this was taken (looking towards the Pass with the Pap behind me to my left for those that know the area). I honestly would have gone for the Pap (the "Pap of Glencoe," or a small rounded mountain that resembles a woman's breast, hence the old Scottish name of 'pap'), but I was still recovering from a knee injury and decided it would be wise not to. It wasn't the clearest day anyway, so no worries.That evening, after retiring to my hostel for dinner, I encountered a group of three Canadians traveling through the area. We got to talking as we were eating in the community kitchen, and they invited me to tag alone with them the next day. We ended up driving first to Ballachulish, a small coastal town just south of Glencoe. Here they are doing a map check as I catch up to them after attempting some photos back in the forest.The town of Ballachulish from the trail we were hiking on.While on the trail, we came across these moss covered ruins of what seemed to be a house with multiple rooms.Adjacent to the above ruins were these ruins. I regret not taking the time to be more deliberate and deploy my tripod, but they were waiting on me and I had already told them to continue on and that I'd catch up over 20 min before. But still, I'm pleased with this shot despite my realization that the DA 10-17 Fisheye would have been better for the enclosed space.Another set of ruins in the same area, this time I tried using the trees to create a natural framing of the image.A group portrait I took for them. It was a bit windyAlso, I found it funny that they asked "Are you sure we are in the picture? You aren't even looking at us."And my landscape version devoid of humans.This image was frankly one of the hardest images to take of the entire trip. We were driving through the Glencoe Pass (where the above two images and the below one was taken) and pulled off to the side of the road to get a closer look at this waterfall. The sun was just way too overpowering and I didn't have any filters (namely graduated ND filters) compatible with the DA 10-17 Fisheye (Google claims that none exist anyway). I think that all things considered and some heavy post processing (there's some digitally applied grad filters in LR to recover the cloud detail), this came out pretty well.We stopped for lunch at the locally renowned Clachaig Inn , and because it was about 1400, it was completely empty. I asked if I could take pictures of the interior, and the staff said to have at it. So I deployed my trusty travel tripod and took about 30 shots. The following were what I felt were the best.Another of the interior, this time taken at the bar itself.This time I shot using RAW HDR, but from a different angle.I finally found the Highland Cow! How cool is he (she?) ?!Another angle, but this time with the most adorable dwarf pony slightly behind it. Shetland Pony?A series of small waterfalls where the river merged just downstream of all three.A fun shot - enjoying the viewI would have loved this shot if the trees were bursting with green foliage...Way before I had stepped foot on Scottish soil, I had this type of shot envisioned - a rustic cabin/hut in the foreground with looming mountains in the background.After leaving Glencoe, I was on my way to Oban, the "Gateway to the Islands" of Scotland. I left the hostel armed with the information that the bus would stop at around noon. Sure enough, the bus came...and kept going. Turns out the bus passes Glencoe on the only road heading to Oban, but doesn't stop. So now I have a 1 hour bus ride with no bus, and I was left to hitchhiking.I parked myself and my gear on the side of the road, and because I didn't have a large piece of paper, I used the only "canvas" I could think of - my laptop! So I made a sign with Microsoft Paint and held up the laptop using my left hand, enthusiastic thumb pointing to the sky in my right. This was my sign:After 45 min of no takers, it started to dawn on me that perhaps my desire to express my state of personal hygiene was a bit too forward and thus counter-productive to my cause. I edited it and came up with the following:WIthin 10 min, a wonderful woman picked me up in her large tractor trailer and proceeded to chat my ear off and give me a guided tour of all the places we were passing along the scenic route. And a good thing to (regarding the within 10 min), my battery was getting pretty low, and I was resorting my putting my laptop in hibernate mode between each stream of carsPart of my travels always at least incorporates the attempt to couchsurf , as I'm a big proponent of the idea and have been doing it since 2008 (my profile can be found here , since made a joint account for Jenny and I). I found a willing host in Oban, my next stop after Glencoe, and this was my first sight (he was not at home when I arrived) after climbing the massive hill to his house (it was originally a WWII lookout point overlooking the entire area on top of the mountain to watch the bay for U-Boats and Germany airplanes with a 3-man guard shift that rotated every hour). My first thought upon seeing this scene? "If this were Afghanistan, this would be REALLY bad," referencing a homemade explosives factory that produced the ubiquitous roadside bomb.Then my next thought was..."Blood?"Turns out they are used vegetable oil collected from the town's restaurants (i.e. the grease your fries, aka 'chips,' are boiled in), and that's how he heats his place using a stove his made himself that also has has a stone surface that allows for cooking (it's how he cooked us pasta and tea!). Also, the water is heated using pipes that run along the stove.Ingenious, and the entire set-up and how he lived so self-sufficiently instantly reminded me of my grandfather. Regardless - he was a fascinating person to meet and he offered free accommodation by way of a couch to sleep on. I really, really enjoyed my time there with him.Good morning, Oban! A beautiful sunrise from his house. His place commanded such an incredible view in all 360 degrees.53a) Again, another unprocessed RAW so you can see the dynamic range of the K-3. This was pushed over 3.5 stops, and not a hint of banding. Incredible feat of sensor technology, undoubtedly.Enjoying playing around with the beautiful day.And now a serious shot, capturing the view of what I felt was a perfect place to pitch a tent. On the beach you can barely make out where some owners and their dogs are playing in the shallow water.This was a pretty interesting encounter - I was photographic this swan from afar when it came towards me to investigate who/what I was. I was a little concerned when the swan came within less than a meter of me - I thought it might attack me.A beautiful seaside house (town of Ganavan) - man I'd love to live there...A couple watches the sunset and rain in the distance...Wouldn't you love to have her reading spot?I really hope you enjoyed this photo series - I can't wait to return to Scotland and get to the places I had to cut from my trip in the interest of time - the Outer Hebrides, the Islands of Mull and Skye, and Loch Ness, and especially with Jenny by my side.Additionally, if you have never come across a photo essay of mine before, I invite you to visit a few of the others I have compiled from my travels/adventures elsewhere:They all follow the same photo essay style (including the Deployment series that I have had approved for a while now and just haven't gotten around to re-uploading...I know....I know....),Again, if you have any criticism, I welcome and encourage it to further hone my craft, both photographically and my prose.Thanks again for stopping by!-Heie

Last edited by Heie; 05-05-2014 at 06:56 PM .