Glorious Glencoe

You don’t always need weather on your side when visiting Glencoe, says Damian Burton

Iam based in Merseyside in north-west England and have been a landscape photographer for around five years now, having first picked up a camera back in 2017.

In general, you would be most likely to find me on a mountain somewhere in Scotland or Wales. I shoot mostly in the Highlands and Snowdonia and sometimes in the Lake District, too. However, the location I prefer most of all would be Glencoe in Scotland, as you can find plenty of amazing compositions almost anywhere at any time of the year, and being able to do so is not always dependent on what the weather’s doing.

Light is incredibly important in photography, of course. However, I have visited Glencoe many times when the light hasn’t been on my side and still came away with some great images. This location is a magnet for many landscape photographers and although you may have already seen hundreds of images taken there, Glencoe is an absolute must for anyone to visit if they’re serious about landscape photography.

Lead the viewer’s eye in 1

I always look for leading lines to draw the viewer’s eye into an image. This could be a winding river, a road or even tree roots. If you have a strong background element then a leading line will be the perfect foreground for travelling through the image to the background subject.

Go for golden hour 2

Shooting at sunrise or sunset is the most rewarding time for me; the light isn’t as harsh as it is around midday, when the sun is higher in the sky and produces a stronger contrast between highlights and shadows. Aim for golden hour, one hour before sunrise or sunset.

Take full control 3

Shooting waterfalls like this is all about controlling the shutter, so I always shoot in Manual mode. Semi-automatic modes like Aperture Priority won’t give you the desired effect you want from the water. I prefer a shutter speed of around 1/3 sec.

Find the sweet spot 4

Most landscape photographers tend to shoot at apertures between f/8 and f/16, as this is the range that produces a sharp depth of field. I tend to shoot at around f/11 for the majority of the time, as this is the ‘sweet spot’ of my lens.

Add some drama 5

One of the best tips I can offer is not to be put off by dark, moody skies or stormy weather. Some of the most dramatic and atmospheric images are captured just before a rainstorm or just after one.