Last Photographic Trip of 2014 - Part 1

Yesterday morning I got up at 3:30am to drive north to The Trossachs National Park with the intention of climbing to the top of Ben A'an to photograph the sunrise.  I was joined on the trip by friend and fellow photographer Alistair Spence.

Ben A'an is a 454m high hill situated next to Loch Katrine and Loch Achray. On the south side Ben A’an is forested. Even though Ben A’an is not a high mountain the views are excellent. From the peak you can see Loch Katrine, Loch Achray, and Ben Venue which is just next to Ben A’an. The translation of “Ben A’an" means “Small Pointed Peak”.

When we arrived it was still two hours before dawn and, with the lack of light pollution, the stars were very bright in the night sky above the car park.  We packed our kit and then began the steep climb to the summit.  The track is well marked but very boggy due to the snow and ice melt.

The sun rose in the east over the hills beyond Loch Achray, bathing the landscape with early morning light. I set the X-T1 on the tripod with the 10-24mm facing west looking over Loch Katrine (see top picture) while I used the X-Pro1 with a variety of lenses to capture the scene as the light played across the land.

We stayed on the top of Ben A'an for a couple of hours taking shots as the sun rose and the light changed, before making the climb back through the forest that surrounds the base of the mountain.

The summit of Ben A'an

A self portrait on the top of Ben A'an before dawn looking out over Loch Katrine

CLICK HERE for more information on Ben A'an

The next stop was Loch Lubnaig before heading north to Glen Lyon.  Part 2 of the last photo trip of 2014 has been posted here.

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