Scot-image

One of my favourite shots was licenced this week for use in a newspaper and it brings back happy memories. I’m proud of the picture but it was the fun we had getting there that I think of. To get this shot involved a very early start one November morning and setting off on foot in the dark. Ben A’an, which overlooks Loch Katrine, is not a big climb but negotiating the wet, and then icy, path in the dark through the dense forest on the lower slopes was interesting. Despite our planning, it was all a bit of a rush at the summit. A few pre-sunrise shots in the bag, I then set up a shot ready for the first sunlight hitting the summit. Unfortunately, my camera and I cast a huge shadow across the scene and I had to quickly adjust the shot. Meantime, Sarah is standing balanced on the summit rocks slowly freezing and starting to mutter (can’t say I blame her!). The image below is the final result.

To license this image or buy a print, click this Ben A’an at sunrise link.

To view more images of this area follow this Trossachs link, or view this slideshow.

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Bad news. Superfast Ferries announced yesterday that the Rosyth - Zeebrugge ferry service would sail for the last time on September 13th. We have used the ferry several times on our continental trips and will miss it. To arrive at Zeebrugge refreshed and ready to go was so much better than to arrive in Calais, bleary-eyed and with over 500 miles already driven.

Apparently, there is some hope that a new operator can be found. Let’s hope so!

Superfast Ferry and Forth Road Bridge.

To view similar images click on this Superfast Ferry link.

Yesterday was a very bad day for ferry services to and from the UK. DFDS also announced that they will stopping the Newcastle - Bergen ferry service later in the year. We have used that one too!

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A statue depicting the Declaration of Arbroath is the subject for this week’s highlighted sale.  Situated on the outskirts of Arbroath, where the declaration was made in 1320, the statue makes a simple subject for a photograph.  This picture was licensed by Alamy for use on a keyring. 

The declaration was a declaration of Scotland’s independance and is stirring stuff, “… for, as long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule.  It is not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom — for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself.”  These strong words were forgotten in 1707, obviously.

To license this image or buy a print, click this Declaration of Arbroath link.

To view more images follow this Arbroath link, or view this slideshow.

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My sale of the week image this week is a simple photograph of a statue of Sir Walter Scott, the famous Scottish author, at the foot of the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.  It was licensed by Alamy for use in an in-flight magazine.  It’s not particularly special but it was taken with a pure blue sky behind and in some lovely warm evening light - perhaps that’s why it stands out.  Whatever, a sale is a sale!

Sir Walter Scott at the foot of the Scott Monument in Edinburgh.
 
To license this image or buy a print, click here.

To view more images follow this Sir Walter Scott link, or view this slideshow.

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Stock photography is a numbers game.  And in the digital age those numbers are growing at an alarming rate, a rate that is far too fast for any one photographer to keep up with.  It seems to me that most stock photographers are going to have to accept diminishing returns as the number of photographers submitting images to agencies and the number of images increace.  Add to that the falling value of stock imagery and the future look a little bleak. 

Ah well, the best I can do is try and keep up.  In the week that Alamy surpassed 12 million images I breached the 5000 mark, which is roughly 0.042% of Alamy’s total image count! A “small fish in a big pond” comes to mind.

I have spent many an hour photographing this fabulous memorial, which is sited on a hillside above Spean Bridge.  The Commandos trained in this rugged area during World World Two and this memorial is a tribute to the bravery and the sacrifice they made for us.  For further information about the Commandos visit the Commando Veterans website.  Two separate images sold this week, one as a print and another licensed for use in a guidebook.

The Commando Memorial, near Spean Bridge, Lochaber, Highland, Scotland. 

To license this image or buy a print, click here.

To view more images of this sculpture, follow this Commando Memorial link, or view this slideshow.

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Today, I’ve added 597 images of Norway, mostly taken during our 2007 trip.  Regions represented are Hordaland, More og Romsdal, Oppland, Rogaland and Sogn og Fjordane.  Personal highlights are Eidfjord and Voringsfossen, plus the apple blossom in Hardanger, Hordaland; Alesund, the Atlantic Road, Geiranger, Mardalsfossen in Eikesdalen and the fishing island of Ona in More og Romsdal; Stavanger and Preikestolen in Rogaland; the Flam railway, Naeroyfjorden; Balestrand, Fjaerland and Oldevatnet in Sogn og Fjordane.

Norway is a beautiful and varied country.  Next year we plan to explore above the Arctic Circle. 

View my images of Norway.

Undredal beside Aurlandsfjorden, Sogn of Fjordane, Norway.

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My sale of the week this time around is a simple image of sand, sea and blue sky. It could be anywhere but was in fact taken at Uig Sands on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. It’s not an image I would want to hang on my wall but its a successful stock image. Alamy licensed this image for a cover of an atlas with a print run of one million.

Uig Sands, Isle of Lewis.

To license this image or buy a print, click here.

To view more images of this hebridean island, follow this Isle of Lewis link.

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Rannoch Moor is much photographed, and no wonder! For me, Lochan na h-Achlaise is the main draw with its stunning backdrop of the Black Mount. Foreground interest is important in a scene like this and a small tree on an island is a feature that attracts me back, again and again. This week, this image was licensed by Alamy as a greetings card.

 Lochan na h-Achlaise and Rannoch Moor.

To license this image or buy a print, click here.

To view more images of this area, follow this Rannoch Moor link.

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Print sales from the website are a steady source of income and just recently there has been a spike in enquiries and, more importantly, orders.  One print, sold for a wedding present, is this image of the Old Man of Storr on the Trotternish peninsular of the Isle of Skye.

It’s not my favourite image of this fabulous rock pinnacle but it sells regularly. 

The next image is the one I like best.  It was taken on the same day but in the “golden hour” of a June morning. 

 Old Man of Storr in the “golden hour”.

Which do you like best?

To see more images follow this stock images of the Old Man of Storr link.

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