CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Today we decided to take a hike up to the top of Traprain Law near East Linton to take in the views across East Lothian. Traprain is a significant area of natural grassland amidst an industrialised agricultural landscape. In consequence it contains specimens of wild flowers that would have once been more widespread across the area, but are no longer widespread today. The Law is also an important geological feature, the upstanding basalt having been exposed into its current form during the last ice age, when softer sediments around it would have been eroded away. The shape of the hill provided our ancestors with a significant vantage point and it is little wonder that the hill was settled during the Bronze and Iron Ages, being the central point for the local Votadini tribe. The herd of Exmoor Ponies are easy to spot on Traprain Law and are quite used to people. The ponies will come up to people but visitors are asked not to feed them as these animals ar...

Traprain Law From the beach at Winterfield looking west along the coast across Belhaven Bay there are three distinctive landmarks.  Two are the hills at Traprain and North Berwick, known as Laws.  The lowland Scot definition of a Law is a conical hill that rises out of the landscape. Both Traprain and North Berwick were sites of ancient forts due to their elevation above the landscapes and North Berwick Law was also used as a lookout post in the Napoleonic Wars and also as recently as World War II. Bass Rock needs no introduction to the regulars readers of this blog and if the Bass was on land then it too would probably be described as a Law.  The fact that Traprain Law, North Berwick Law and Bass Rock are in a rough line north to south is also an interesting fact and probably has much to do with the ancient geology of this region of Scotland. These images were taken from the edge of Belhaven Bay with the Fujifilm X-T2 and XF100-400mm lens. Bass Rock N...

The view to the west of Doon Hill One of the best spots in East Lothian to get a wide vista is the top of Doon Hill, which overlooks my home town of Dunbar.   The hill is just 177 metres above sea level with the top is marked by a concrete Tor.  Doon Hill is far from being the highest point in the area but the view from the top is worth the short climb. Yesterday evening I decided it was worth a visit to grab what was promising to be a good sunset. It was pretty windy which was pushing the clouds across the Lammermuir Hills to the south of where I was standing but the light over the Firth of Forth was looking promising. Dunbar and the Firth of Forth I set the X-Pro2 on the tripod fitted with either the 16-55mm f2.8 or 50-140mm f2.8, while I had the two X-T1s with either the 10-24mm f4 or 100-400mm f4.5/5.6 lenses. Shooting the sunset from the top of Doon Hill Here are some of the shots I took from the top of Doon Hill The Law, North Berwick ...

I love a good sunset as much as the next landscape photographer and given the opportunity I will grab my gear and head out to the beaches here in East Lothian and set the camera on the tripod to get the last golden glow of the setting sun. What amazes me is how many photographers pack up as soon as the sun has dropped below the horizon thinking that the photographic opportunities are done.  In fact the best light is often just before the dawn or just after the sun has set and a lot of photographers are missing a golden opportunity (pun intended!) The best way to capture the twilight you need to be set up in good time as the sun is dropping towards the horizon and you'll need to have your camera strapped to a sturdy tripod and to use a cable release as the shutter speeds start to get longer very quickly once the light has gone. Once the sun drops below the horizon you'll notice the colours shift from bright oranges and reds to purple to blue before turning black. ...

I arrived home from Bahrain on Sunday afternoon and have a few days in Scotland before I head off again for two weeks in Brazil, Qatar and London before the end of the FIA World Endurance Championship season finally comes to a close. Yesterday evening the promise of a nice sunset had me shutting down the computer for an hour, grabbing the camera bag and tripod and walking across the road to the headland over looking Belhaven Bay.  I wasn't disappointed as the sun dipped behind the Lammermuir hills and Traprain Law on the horizon. Once again the Fujifilm X-T1 was pressed into service with long exposures using the 14mm f2.8 and 56mm f1.2 lenses, while the X-Pro1 was fitted with the 55-200mm to take telephoto shots of the scene before me. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are h...

After a few days of grey skies and rain, the weather this evening here in East Lothian was sunny but far from warm.  I headed down to Belhaven Bay to get some shots of the sun setting behind Traprain Law on the horizon. For the shot at the top of the page the Fujifilm X-T1 was fitted with the XF35mm f1.4 lens with a Lee 0.9 Soft ND Grad filter. The second shot was taken on the X-Pro1 fitted with the XF10-24mm f4 lens set at 10mm. The final shot was taken on the X-T1 with the XF55-200mm lens. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITH...

On Saturday I climbed to the top of Traprain Law for the first time to see what the view was like.  I certainly wasn't disappointed and was also rewarded with some beautiful light. This imposing rock juts out of the East Lothian countryside near East Linton to a height of 221m and is a  Site of Specific Scientific Interest   and an ancient monument because of the prehistoric hill fort that was discovered on the summit and the 5th century treasure that was discovered in May 1919. Looking east towards Dunbar and the North Sea - Looking north towards Bass Rock and Tantallon Castle - And looking west towards the Firth of Forth and Edinburgh - For more information on Traprain Law visit the East Lothian Countryside Ranger Service website HERE . Here is a timelapse video taken from the summit looking towards Dunbar on the Nikon D800 Images taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon 35mm f1.4 or 55-200mm f3.5/4.8 lenses -------------------...

On Saturday evening I walked to the summit of Traprain Law for the first time since we moved to Dunbar last summer.  The hill might only be 221 metres high  but the views over East Lothian are spectacular - more on this on tomorrow's blog. Most of the hill is grass land and designated as a Site of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its botanical and geological interests as well as having Ancient Monument designation.   To maintain the botanical interest on the Law and minimise the risk of fire, grazing has taken place for a number of years. Initially sheep were used, but since 2012 13 Exmoor ponies have been grazing the hill. Images taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon 14mm f2.8 lens -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every ...