Autumn Glory

Glen Affric (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF 70-200mm F/2.8L IS USM lens at 153mm, 160 sec at f/8, ISO 400, handheld, Zomei ND 0.9 Grad Filter)

After a long break away from doing any specific photography trips I have been inspired over the last few weeks to get out and try and capture some of the wonderful autumnal colours.  This is truly the most spectacular time of year for colour in our magical landscape and I think some of the following images are among my favourite shots in recent times. 
The above image was taken yesterday on a wonderful trip to Glen Affirc, always a popular destination at this time of year, for obvious reasons.  More from that trip at the end of this article, including one of my all-time favourite shots.
The first recent outing was on 15th October for a walk through the Coille Mhor Atlantic Oakwood, part of Scotland's globally important temperate rainforest.  I have selected a couple of shots that I feel really capture the sense of the character of the woodland, as well as the magnificent golden rays from the low sunlight.

Autumn Colours in the Coille Mhor Atlantic Oakwood (Canon EOS 250D, Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII VC lens at 44mm, 160 sec at f/16, ISO 800, handheld)

Look Down Kylereah from the Coille Mhor (Canon EOS 250D, Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII VC lens at 18mm, 3200 sec at f/16, ISO 800, handheld)

A week or so later I had the urge to get out of the office and took myself across the bridge to Skye and down the road to Loch Cill Chriosd.  It was late in the afternoon and the light was failing, with limited contrast, but I caught these two shots.

Beinn na Caillich Canon EOS 250D, Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII VC lens at 22mm, 200 sec at f/16, ISO 800, handheld)

Bla Bheinn from Loch Cill Chriosd in Autumn Canon EOS 250D, Tamron 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 DiII VC lens at 18mm, 125 sec at f/16, ISO 800, handheld)

The following day I was driving through Reraig and noticed that the light to the west, on the Skye Bridge and the Cuillins was looking magnificent, so I pulled into the car park and shot the following panorama, made from a composite of nine portrait oriented shots, merged in Adobe Lightroom Classic.  It is a pretty broad panorama but I think it worked well and captured the scene nicely.

The Skye Bridge and the Cuillins from Reraig (Canon EOS 250D, Sigma 150-600mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary lens at 150mm, 1/500 sec at f/5.0, ISO 800, handheld)

Last Saturday (28th October) I needed to pop over to Lochcarron, so I decded that afterwards I would conntinue northwards with my camera kit and try and get some autumnal shots.  Unsurprisingly, I ended up going over the Bealach an Ba to Applecross and then onwards to Shieldaig before heading home again.  This is a route I have travelled many times with my camera, and it can be a bit challenging to find new locations and compositions for photos.  That being said it is always different and  I got a few decent shots and had a lovely day out.

Applecross Village with Beinn na Caillich on Skye in the background (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 175mm, 1/320 sec at f/16, ISO 400, handheld)

Red Deer Stag at Applecross House (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary lens at 600mm, 1/500 sec at f/8, ISO 800, handheld)

Beinn Alligin from the Applecross to Shieldaig road (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 70mm, 1/125 sec at f/11, ISO 400, handheld)

Old Birch Tree by Loch Shieldaig (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 70mm, 1/160 sec at f/11, ISO 400, handheld)

Birchwoods by the Shieldaig road (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 70mm, 1/60 sec at f/11, ISO 400, handheld)

And, finally, back to yesterday's trip to Glen Affric.  The light varied a fair bit throughout the day, with periods of bright sunshine, some overcast times and occasional moments where partial light offered some interesting opportunities for mixed, contrasty landscape shots.  On arrival at the lower reaches of the glen it was still quite misty, and I captured the image below which is definitely my favourite from the day.

Pendulous Silver Birch in the Mist, Glen Affric (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 153mm, 1/1600 sec at f/2.8, ISO 400, CPL filter, handheld)

I love the pendulous foliage of the silver birch, it is well named Betula pendula.  I took far too many shots of similar compostions with golden birch trees illuminated by marvellous light.  The next few shots are essentially variations on a theme - birch trees in golden light.

Birch Tree in Autumn Sunlight (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 70mm, 1/1250 sec at f/2.8, ISO 400, CPL filter, handheld)

Sunlight Through Birch Foliage (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 50mm, 1/1250 sec at f/4, ISO 400, CPL filter, handheld)

Autumn Light in a Birchwood (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 90mm, 1/50 sec at f/11, ISO 400, CPL filter, handheld)

Birch Trees in Sunlight, Glen Affric (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF17-35mm f/2.8L USM lens at 20mm, 1/200 sec at f/11, ISO 100, CPL filter, handheld)

The last two shots are also among my favourites.  The first is a reminder to always look up, not just straight ahead.  The wonderful contrasting colours of the bright blue skye as a backdrop for the golden foliage and dark stems makes a compelling image, I think.  The last shot was taken while I was waiting for the light to improve for the shot looking up Gen Affric that was at the head of this article.  I looked to my left and the light on the pinewoods was amazing, highlighting the depth and layers in the scene really beautfully.  All-in-all, a really good day out and some lovelly images too.

Birch Canopy Against Blue Sky (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF17-35mm f/2.8L USM lens at 17mm, 1/100 sec at f/16, ISO 400, CPL filter, handheld)

Calednian Pinewood in Autumn (Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 200mm, 1/25 sec at f/8, ISO 400, handheld)