Dawn light at Greenan Castle
I looked through the viewfinder of the camera for the last time, just to double check everything; the focus, exposure, framing, were as they should be, before finally pressing the cable release. A couple of seconds later I heard the click of the shutter and the photograph was taken. The shot was in the bag so to speak. The colours of the dawn glow on the horizon above the towns of Ayr and Prestwick were stunning and when infused with the amber glow of the street lights it seemed all the more beautiful. Simply great light and simply wonderful to be there to experience and capture it with the camera.
Pentax K-1 with 24-70mm lens at 24mm, ISO 100, 15s at f/16, cable release, tripod
Greenan Castle is a 16th century ruined tower house in south Ayrshire that sits atop a small sea cliff. It commands a spectacular location overlooking a sweeping bay on the Firth of Clyde with the towns of Ayr and Prestwick to the north east and the Isle of Arran to the west. This makes the castle a great location to shoot at any time of the year and particularly so in the mid-summer when it catches the early morning light and sunrise. However, there is a catch. You have to get up early to catch the best of the light and I mean crazy early. People are staggering into their beds as I’m getting up to head out.
The alarm went off at 2am and after a short struggle with my bed I was finally up and out the house some thirty minutes later and heading in the direction of the coast. I had checked the weather forecast so many times beforehand, and it looked favourable, hence the reason I wasn’t still fast asleep in bed like millions of other contented souls. Driving in the early morning is a great experience as the roads are usually quiet and you can make good haste. On this morning one of the roads in Doonfoot, a suburb of Ayr, was closed for some unknown reason but a quick detour soon saw me pulling into the car park at Greenan.
On the horizon there was now a faint glimmer of light as dawn crept ever closer. Rather than feeling tired or sleepy, I felt alive, awake with the excitement of getting the camera out, witnessing something beautiful and perhaps capturing a memorable image. It’s all about the light now. Without wonderful light I know it’ll be hard to take an image that does the scene justice and, as on countless other occasions, I could return home empty handed.
When venturing out with the camera nothing is ever guaranteed and luck plays a crucial role more often than we would like to admit. On some occasions everything appears to go to plan only for mother nature to throw a spanner in the works when it clouds over snuffing out the light or even starts to rain. When the weather is fine there is still no absolute certainty that magical light or colours will appear as you might have anticipated. This morning on the shore at Greenan everything was like magic and I could feel that lady luck was definitely on my side.
Pentax K-1 with 24-70mm lens at 70mm, ISO 100, 6s at f/16, cable release, tripod
As I walked rather hurriedly along the shore, the tide slowly coming in and lapping at my feet, a quick glance over my shoulder confirmed the light was developing nicely. I needed to get to the shore just south of the castle, to my intended shooting position, and I just made it past the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. Five minutes later and it would have been real touch and go stuff to get past however another potential obstacle had been safely overcome and finally it was time to get the camera out.
We all need goals or objectives in life to help us live and be successful and I’m no different. I always aim to capture at least one good image, faithful to the scene I saw at the time, that I deem worthy of sharing with others and printing. This is my aim. This is the goal I strive for when I’m out with the camera but I never lose sight of why I’m actually there. Photography is fun and I love doing it. It’s my passion and I also enjoy being outdoors in the fresh air. The camera is only a tool that allows me to express myself creatively just like an artist would with a painting or drawing.
Pentax K-1 with 24-70mm lens at 50mm, ISO 100, 20s at f/22, 3-stop reverse ND filter, Lee little stopper, cable release, tripod
On this particular morning the sunrise was also spectacular. The golden orb of the sun rose directly above the towns of Ayr and Prestwick and I was able to frame it with the castle in silhouette. The experience will live long in my memory and I was just thankful to be there to witness it first hand. Once the best of the light has gone you know its time to head home for a welcome cup of tea and to also catch up on some sleep.
There are so many different stages to photography from planning and research to the organising and editing of images however for me printing is the final one. If I can print one image that I’m really happy with, the best one, and I’m touching and holding a print of it in my hands then that is the real conclusion. I print my own images and I have done this for many years so for me it’s now just an extension of the whole process.
The print has to be large as every image should be printed and displayed large. I’m talking at least A3+ size or even larger. What’s the purpose of all those mega-pixels on the camera that we’ve paid hard earned money for if we don’t use them to their full potential. In this age of digital and electric everything the print is only paper and ink but it exists physically outside this technological realm. It may be stored in a folder, pinned to the wall or hopefully framed, it doesn’t really matter, but holding a print is the end result for me.
Enjoy the photographs.