The preparation for our holiday in Scotland basically only consisted of joining different Facebook groups. That already worked well in the past when we travelled to Cephalonia, a greek island with passionate fans that are eager to share their experiences and recommendations.
In of these groups, I repeatedly noticed the beautiful landscape photos of one specific person, .great, it doesn't have to be in the title, maybe where it reads 'In of these groups, I repeatedly noticed the beautiful landscape photos of one specific person, Tomasz Szatewicz/Land of Light Photography. Tomasz is a landscape photographer capturing the beauty of all of Scotland in a power- and colorful way. Check out his Facebook page and webpage!
Tomasz offers workshops and photo tours, where he shows other photographers around so they actually have a chance to stumble upon all the more or less secret places that are worth a visit. Like us.
We met with Tomasz south of the Moray Firth and he took us to three of his favorite places to photograph in the area.
Crashing Waves in Burghead
We started in Burghead where we could play with crashing waves and long exposure. Judith made use of the tripod that Tomasz was so kind to provide, while Jonathan as always preferred to be mobile and climb to the farest spots.
The fishing harbour of Burghead.
Jonathan being mobile.
Smooth Sea at The Covesea Skerries Lighthouse
Afterwards, we continued a little longer till we reached the Covesea Skerries Lighthouse near Lossiemouth. Here, there was an amazing long beach with the clearest water creating ripples in the sand. I almost wanted to go for a swim right away, however, it was September and no longer the hot summer that even Scotland experienced.
Covesea Skerries Lighthouse
On the beach, the cliffs tower above you and seem like a work of art or a gigantic beehive.
Talking Jonathan with long exposure.
Still Jonathan photographing some of the rock formations on the beach.
Rock Formations at Bow Fiddle Rock
After we left, we had do drive a little further to Portknockie. Here, Tomasz promised, we would find the highlight of the tour even though we couldn't even expect to experience a dramatic sunset because of the clouds.
Bow Fiddle Rock is a natural sea arch you need to know where is to be able to find it. We surely would have missed it without Tomasz' help.
It's located right in front of a cliff which is impressive in itself and claimed by sea birds.
We climbed the top and made our way down a rocky path that lead to a very diagonal cave.
There are a lot of great angles for long exposure photography when the tide comes in, because so much of the sea is covering the rocks,
but also plenty of contrast in the rocks you can look for.
For the last two shots, Judith borrowed Tomasz' gradient filter, which has a dramatic effect on photos. However, even though it's mich easier to get a more even exposure and control the brightness of the sky, it also creates a pretty clean, dark line over darker objects like the rock formation.
Thank you for the tour, tips, stories and snacks, Tomasz! It was a blast!