First Photography Outing of 2025

Suilven from Lochinver (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 106mm (212mm full frame equivalent), 1/250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld)

So, after a couple of weeks back at work, and a decent weather forecast, I was keen to get out with the camera this weekend.  I agreed with a friend, Graham Ryland, that we would head north to my favourite area and just see what took our fancy by way of locations.  The result was a long drive around Wester Ross and south-west Sutherland, and we had a really good day out.

The above shot is perhaps a familiar one, although neither Graham nor I had managed to work out where exactly this view was taken from, until yesterday.  We had a wee rake around the back streets of Lochinver and eventually worked it out.  While it would be preferable to have a bit more dramatic lighting, or some snow on Suilven, I think it is such an excellent view, with the mountain looming large over the church, that it still worked well.  We will be back!

We basically visited the Achnahaird peninsula and then took the Inverkirkaig road north to Lochinver, dropped into the wonderful pie shop to get some pies for the family, and then up to the superb viewpoint overlooking the Assynt hills.  Then, finally in the late afternoon we headed home, via Loch Assynt.  The following shots are the best I managed to capture, and given that it was bitterly cold, with a strong wind, and the light was pretty flat and a bit hazy, the results are decent.

The Summer Isles (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 40mm (80mm full frame equivalent), 1/800 sec at f/8, ISO 200, handheld)

Old Anchors at Bandentarbat (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 36mm (72mm full frame equivalent), 1/320 sec at f/11, ISO 200, handheld)

Old Anchor at Badentarbat (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 19mm (38mm full frame equivalent), 1/160 sec at f/8, ISO 200, handheld)

Cottage by the Sea, Badentarbat (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 12mm (24mm full frame equivalent), 1/250 sec at f/8, ISO 200, handheld)

Bouys (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 27mm (54mm full frame equivalent), 1/400 sec at f/8, ISO 200, handheld)

Male Bullfiinch (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 300mm f/4 IS Pro lens with MC20 teleconverter (1200mm full frame equivalent), 1/1000 sec at f/8, ISO 6400, handheld)

Canisp & Suilven from Lochinver (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 40mm (80mm full frame equivalent), 1/250 sec at f/6.3, ISO 200, handheld)

Suilven Looming Over the Church, Lochinver (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 67mm (134mm full frame equivalent), 1/250 sec at f/6.3, ISO 200, handheld)

Assynt Hills Panorama (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 52mm (104mm full frame equivalent), 1/200 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld) Panorama of 10 shots.

Canisp (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 75mm (150mm full frame equivalent), 1/200 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld)

Suilven (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 40-150mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 130mm (260mm full frame equivalent), 1/250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld)

Sunset and Pine Trees on Loch Assynt (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 11mm (22mm full frame equivalent), 1/250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld)

Sunset and Pine Trees on Loch Assynt - cropped (Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 7-14mm f/2.8 Pro lens at 11mm (22mm full frame equivalent), 1/250 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, handheld)