Saturday 27th August 2011

I was completely spoiled for choice for photos today, it was a lovely day out in the hills with better weather than expected and I had my compact camera round my neck so I could snap away without it delaying our hike. This is the lochan below Sgurr an Iubhair with the attractive Stob Ban on the right-hand side.

4.6mm, 1/500s, f/2.8. (auto)

Sunday 31st July 2011

Ben Nevis! I've made an aim to walk all the Munros (Scottish mountains over 3000ft) before I'm 40. For Ben Nevis, I wanted to tackle it via Tower Ridge which is a scramble-cum-rock-climb up the North Face. This is something I've fancied for quite a while, and even though I don't engage in rock climbing much any more, it still appealed to me as it was a more interesting way for me to take on the hill, as well as being a 'through route' (a route that goes through a hole in the rock, I made a list of such routes and used to enjoy ticking them off). I traveled up with two friends the night before and had an early night. We were packed, fed and ready to leave the hut by 6am, and started walking just before 7. This photo was taken at 7:51, and was our first view of the route, the middle ridge of the three, it certainly looked dramatic from here (although not a great photo). A fuller write-up of our trip will appear on my sister blog this week (link at the top).

18mm, 1/50s (auto from aperture priority), f/7.1, ISO 400

Friday 24th June 2011

This is a typical path once on the ridge, working its way from a summit down to a bealach (saddle/col), before the route ascends again to the next peak. This particular section is after the Innacessable Pinnacle with Sgurr Banachdich ahead to the left.

6mm, 1/144s (auto), f/2.7 (auto), ISO 80 (auto)

Thursday 23rd June 2011

The Cuillin Ridge, what a stunning setting. This photo was taken on a Kodak EasyShare C713 that was given to me for free, that was small enough that it didn't weigh me down on the ridge. A lot of the photos I took with it were really washed out and pale, but this one came out with really nice light.

This is the Great Stone Shoot up Sgurr Alasdair, the lower section is obvious (the pale strip up the grey diamond), the top section zig zags up between the two peaks. Despite looking like a suicidally loose slope, it's a standard ascent and descent up and down the mountain, and if you look closely you may see a tiny person a third of the way up the lower slope.

6mm, 1/242s (auto), f/4.8 (auto), ISO 80 (auto)

Friday 29th April 2011

This (the peak) is Liathach, also featured on Thursday, and the day before it caught fire! Lochan an lasgair and the Ling hut are in the foreground. This photo was taken from the 'Achnasheen to Torridon Highway', a walkers' footpath, which we were following for the first part of our hike up Sgorr Ruadh and Beinn Liath Mhor, where we were to camp to get photos of the dawn light firing up the Torridon trio (Beinn Alligin, Liathach and Beinn Eighe).

25mm, 1/100s (auto from aperture priority), f/8, ISO 200

Also worthy of inclusion is this shot of the sunset, I like the way that due to the wispy cloud the sun maintained colour without being blown out.

250mm, 1/80s (auto from aperture priority), f/8, ISO 200

Thursday 28th April 2011

This was taken from one of the classic view points in Torridon but I've never been before and perhaps neither have you so there didn't seem any harm in repeating a shot thousands have taken!

35mm, 1/15s, f/11, ISO 200

Monday 25th April 2011

This may look like any other little bird but it's a snow bunting! The first one I've ever seen, and I was only saying earlier on that it would be great to see one this trip. It was very obliging when I pointed a lens at it, at first lying flat thinking it was camouflaged against the snow and that I couldn't see it, but then it noticed I was creeping right towards it but still stayed put until I was just a couple of metres away.

250mm, 1/250s (auto from aperture priority), f/6.3, ISO 400

Sunday 24th April 2011

Lone walker ascending Bheinn Bhrotain as we head towards Monadh Mor, in the Cairngorms.

18mm, 1/160s (auto from aperture priority), f/9, ISO 400