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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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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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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One of Scotland’s most popular west coast destinations has to be Plockton.  Enjoying a sheltered and sunny location on Loch Carron, Plockton even has palm trees along the shore and it’s easy to see why the crowds flock here in summer.  My favourite time though is in the autumn when the village is a bit more peaceful!  My “Sale of the week” this week is a picture taken from a well known vantage point above the village, which has views that reach as far as Torridon.  Alamy licensed this image, one of a set, for a Spanish educational book.  The pictures from this shoot have done well, selling as a postcard, brochure cover and, this year, as a calendar image.

To view and license this and other pictures click on this stock images of Plockton link.

 Plockton.

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One of my favourite places in Scotland just has to be Buachaille Etive Mor on the edge of Rannoch Moor.  From just about all angles, time of day or season you can find a good shot (its a superb view from the top too!).  Blackrock Cottage is a popular foreground and this image, taken in the warm morning light of late summer, was licenced for use in an educational book in Japan.

If you would like to licence this picture then click on this Blackrock Cottage link. 

View my other stock images of Blackrock Cottage and Buachaille Etive Mor.

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