Golden Evening at Drumbuie

Globeflower at Drumbuie (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 20mm f/2.8 USM lens, ISO 100, 1/500 sec at f/11, handheld)

Last night was a beautiful evening with lovely late golden light.  I went for a walk at Drumbuie to try and see if any orchids were flowering yet, and to capture some images of the globeflower which I knew was in full flower.  Globeflower is a fantanstic lemon yelow flower in the shape of a globe, slightly smaller than a ping pong ball.  It thrives in areas of seasonal grazing like the rougher areas of the meadows at Drumbuie, and as you can see from the above shot is an early flowering plant that likes wonderful views. The following shot was taken using my 105mm macro lens but the plants were waving around a bit in the northerly breeze and it was very difficult to get a sharp image, this being the best one.

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Globeflower (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG Macro lens, ISO 200, 1/160 sec at f/5.0, handheld)

As for the orchids, well it is still a bit early for them, but we did get some early Northern Marsh Orchids in the wetter areas.

Northern Marsh Orchid (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 20mm f/2.8 USM lens, ISO 800, 1/160 sec at f/11, handheld)

The Common Lousewort is another small flower found in these acid grasslands, and was in flower too, so I took the opportunity of taking another macro shot for reference purposes.

Common Lousewort (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG Macro lens, ISO 200, 1/60 sec at f/7.1, handheld)

Beyond the flowers, the landscape was also wonderfully lit, although the low bright sun posed some difficulties in exposing images properly and avoiding flare from the lens.

The Cuillins from Drumbuie (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG Macro lens, ISO 200, 1/100 sec at f/11, handheld)

Duirinish from the Railway Station (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG Macro lens, ISO 200, 1/160 sec at f/5.6, handheld)

Finally on the way home I stopped above Balmacara Square to capture this shot lookng towards the Five Sisters of Kintail which were lit wonderfully as the sun set behind me, producing fantastic pink/purple clouds.

The Five Sisters of Kintail from Balmacara (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma 105mm f/2.8 DG Macro lens, ISO 200, 1/40 sec at f/5.6, handheld)