November: month in review
Each month I aim to pick an image that, in my mind at least, captures the flavour of that month. It might not be the best image from the month, or the most spectacular of subjects; it just needs to illustrate something about the month.
Buachaille Etive Mòr. Perhaps not the most original composition, but still pleased to shoot this in decent light.
Fujifilm X-T3 | 10mm f/11 1s ISO160
What’s this month’s image? A classic view of the Buachaille Etive Mòr taken early in the month on a drive up the A82.
Did you do anything to it? It didn’t need a huge amount of work - most of the effort was in the composition and capture. I’ve added a little bit of contrast, played with the colour balance and done a little selective dodging and burning.
What’s it doing here? After a busy November I attempted to keep some of the momentum going by having a drive up the A82, getting about as far as the Meeting of the Three Waters via a short diversion via Glen Etive. I was quite pleased with the results from the day, taking a mixture of colour and infrared shots.
This viewpoint has been well photographed in all kinds of weather and light. Indeed, I shared the location with a small group of American photographers. The intent, therefore, was not to try and capture an original composition, but rather to see whether I could use some of the lessons learned over the last few months to create something that showed some level of technical competence and that was pleasing. Overall, I think I’ve met my goal.
There were a couple of other candidates for this month’s image from the trip, but overall this was the pick of the bunch. Having a day set aside and a semblance of a plan was a good use of a day; definitely worth a repeat…
Have you been up to much else? It’s been another fairly busy month. On top of the A82 road trip I’ve tried my hand (unsuccessfully) at photographing kitesurfing, had a bit of a wander around Loch Lomond and done a studio photography day with some other members of the club, which was instructive and good fun.
Helen and I also managed a couple of nights away in Newcastle. It’s not a place that I’ve spent much time (sober) and it was a good couple of days. We stopped in a couple of places on the way down, most notably Berwick-on-Tweed, and also took a circuitous route back via Tyneside and a couple of other locations. It’s an area that will definitely repay a return visit.
The images below are from Newcastle itself - like many major cities it has a wealth of interesting sights and curious corners…
Coming Up
There are no concrete plans in the diary for December… We have a trip up north at the beginning of the month and I will probably need to head across to the East to pick up daughter number two. Apart from that, the traditional Christmas slobfest will probably consume much of the month…
