Travel Images Photo Gallery, Scotland, UK

Photography © John Baker, Travel Images

The following images represent the typical range of subjects for this particular Travel Images photo tour or workshop. They were selected in the knowledge that every client is able to obtain similar images, but should a particular technique be new to you I will share everything I know so that you reach every one of your photographic goals.

Please scroll down for images taken on Travel Images trips by John Baker.
In most cases, links to client images from this destination are at the bottom of the page

	On opening day as we head to the Isle of Mull I make a point of stopping short of Inverary on Loch Fyne to explore this type of close-up among the rock strata. One looks for pebbles that have been washed into crevices of 'flowing lines', and all that is left is to create a pleasing composition.


The first of three castles on day one of my Scotland photo tours, this one the classic straight on perspective of Inverary Castle on Loch Fyne.


Kilchurn Castle on Loch Awe is very foreboding, but needs just a little bit of light to set it off. I opted for some foreground interest with this one, and needed to stop down to at least f.16 for sharpness from front to back.


Light permitting, this is THE shot when taking the ferry from Oban to the Isle of Mull. The subject is Duart Castle which sits on Duart Point on Mull's northeast corner. As the ferry putters past, all that is needed is a steady hand and a long lens.

Oh, talking of ferries, these small ships chug between the inner and outer Hebrides and provide photo ops of their own.

While on ferry rides among the many Scottish Hebridean islands there is the opportunity to photograph Gulls in flight. This one is a Herring Gull. Wait on deck and they'll come to you, but be ready with a lens in the 200 to 300 mm range coupled with a fast shutter speed.


Oh hang on, maybe this is THE shot on that ferry crossing! It's the Eilean Musdlle lighthouse, and it's spectacular in it's own right but very different from the castle shot above.


The wide view of the Tobermory Harbour front.

A different kind of wide-angle perspective, but with foreground interest. Tobermory is 'Balamory' in a TV series put out by the BBC.


Tobermory harbour has a history of sunken ships and lost treasure, but I'll happily settle for photographic treasures such as this instead. Exposed with a lens in the 200 mm range to compress the perspective.

	Aahhh, the blessed Isle of Iona off the Isle of Mull. It's a tiny, spiritual place with plenty to point the camera at. I chose this contemporary wide-angle for the photo gallery, coupled with an angle of view that was guaranteed to distort.
More in keeping with the Isle of Iona's heritage is this Celtic cross that is around 10 feet high. The shadow is cast by the Abbey behind me, and adds a bit of depth to an otherwise 'standard' shot.


Iona is such a gorgeous place, and I'm privileged to have photographed it so many times.


At the end of a pretty 'monochromatic' day on the Isle of Iona I stepped out for some air. I wasn't expecting anything like this but when it was offered I said "I'll take that!" This was two images stitched together with Photoshop's photomerge.


On another trip the twilight went on 'forever', as it does in Scotland, and was blessed with this shot as the last light of the day faded on Iona. Magical moments in a very special place.

	I literally lived among sheep while in Wales a few decades ago, and had 'almost' captured something like this back then. 28 years on, and my patience was rewarded on the Isle of Iona! I had to prepare though, which meant seeing the image coming, increasing my ASA on the digital camera so that I could freeze the action, setting it on drive, and then anticipating that special moment.
Following the bagpipe, kilt and even whiskey, Heather is another Scottish icon that blossoms in August and September each year, and is usually found on mountain slopes and moors. Selective focus isolates the Heather from the busy background.

Back to the Isle of Skye for some more moody light par excellence.

	Highland cow, and a whitewashed cottage . . . this must be Scotland! We're back on the Isle of Mull for this one, and you can just about make out the Heather in the foreground.


The famed and very moody Glen Coe. Of course, all the white-washed cottages are built in just the right places.


Glen Coe again with another white-washed cottage for perspective. Glen Coe may ring a bell as it was the spot where the Campbell Clan rose early to slaughter their MacDonald hosts back in February of 1692. Revenge came several centuries later when the MacDonalds opened a slew of fast-food restaurants. On a serious note, Glen Coe translates as 'Weeping Valley' in Scottish Gaelic, which is very appropriate.


And the winner amongst all white-washed cottages in Glen Coe has to be the Black Cottage! Oh yeh, boulder, cottage, f.16 or f.22 and the use of a tripod.

	A coastal still life that could be anywhere. It was on Iona.


This is a pair of Eilean Donan castle shots on the shores of Loch Duich. This one is a silhouette with my exposure being made for the dramatic clouds. Dour, and consequently extremely Scottish.	Then the late light made all the more dramatic by the dark, stormy background. This castle is on the approach to the Isle of Skye.


The Cuillin Hills on the Isle of Skye. On some days this is a very dour scene, but this dawn shot was worth waiting for.

Same spot in Cuillins on a 'better' day? Fine weather is nice, but the pictures that make lasting impressions are often the result of changes in weather such as the one above.


Perched on the corner of Skye is the Neist lighthouse. A short 'up and down' walk is needed for this viewpoint though.

A completely opposite view of the Cuillins, shot across Loch Scavaig. The low angle with foreground interest carries more impact than does an image standing up at the same spot.
	One of my favourite Scottish moments is the return of the fishing boats to Portree harbour on the Isle of Skye. The flocks of hungry Gulls are what sets images like this apart.


The Old Man of Storr off in the distance on the Isle of Skye. I needed this image sharp from front to back, so used a tripod and an aperture of f.22. This in turn gives one a slow shutter speed and 'soft' water.

Sometimes one just gets to meet the locals head-on. I suppose you could say he didn't see me coming! He's a Highland cow, and quite harmless.

Wonderful light on the Isle of Skye brought about by the ever-changing weather patterns.

	On my first trip to Applecross in the 70's there was only one road in and out, but it still retains that out of the way feel.


A rare sighting of a Red Deer buck out on the moors in the western Highlands of Scotland.

Looking back to Skye from the west coast mainland. The thing about changeable weather is that you often get this kind of lighting between passing weather fronts and storms. Not all the time of course, but it adds up to images with 'character' which you don't get with constant blue skies.

	'Art' in the Star Moss.


Just as I was saying, and it's true that ya' gotta have the rain if you want rainbows! This is Loch Sheildaig.

A distressed Odonata Dragonfly - notice the loss of front legs - gives one the opportunity to get close. A 200 to 300 mm lens on a tripod, plus the use of macro or extension tubes will give you this kind of magnification. Go easy on these fellows as they consume vast amounts of Mosquitoes!
	With so many Sheep about it follows that wool and tweed production is a major industry in Scotland. A shot like this can be found at most of the many small wool producers that are scattered throughout the islands, and western Scotland.

Another rarity is the Golden Eagle. The Scottish moors are an absolute perfect match for this airborne predator.


A meeting head-on with Sheep on a long and winding road through the Highlands of Scotland . . . . . . with 'Passing Places' of course as the roads are just one vehicle wide.

This could be anywhere again, but you still have to 'see' the shot, choose the best composition, and expose it properly. So who was it that said that photography was a relaxing hobby then?!
	Typically British again, but it still needs to be handled with the right approach. I was shooting more or less into the light for this one, but still managed to retain some contrast in the flowers.


This 'monster' of a castle sits on the shore of Loch Ness, and this twilight image of Urquhart Castle was supposed to be secondary to the first light shot the following morning. As it happened it was fogged in, so it was especially good to have got this one in the bag.

One can't have a Scottish photo gallery without a bagpiper can you? There are many pipers who make a living posing for such shots around Scotland, and there is always one commissioned for a short session of pictures.
	A sucker for pattern shots, I found this 'finger' seaweed on the west coast of Scotland many years before I started leading photo tours there. I haven't seen it since, but will keep on looking.

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