Sunset Landscape Photography at Loch an Eilean
Show Notes
After my last sunrise shoot at Loch Insh and Loch Alvie, I kept an eye on the weather forecast hoping for a decent sunrise or sunset to photograph Loch an Eilean. One evening I saw that the Photographer’s Ephemeris Skyfire map showed that there should be some sunset colours over Loch an Eilean and without any hesitation, I got in my car and drove around there.
The only problem with Loch an Eilean is that it is extremely popular with tourists and locals alike. So, when I arrived the car park was almost full and there was a lot of people enjoying the evening on the Loch. There were families, dog walkers, cyclists and even wild swimmers!
As you know by now, I find it difficult talking to camera when surrounded by people that I don’t know. So, I focused on the photography and creating some B-Roll with the intention to add voiceover in post production. While I was editing this vlog together I found that I didn’t have a lot to say about the evening and I wanted the footage to speak for itself, so I kept my voiceover short and sweet.
My intention was to create an escape, a peaceful experience in the forests of Scotland. The landscape photography was spectacular and the colours of sunset was definitely worth the patience that it required!
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Onto the Images
When I came across this view there was a wild swimmer swimming straight across the whole scene, so I had to wait a few minutes before I could compose a shot. The island castle sits just off centre in the frame, it’s a little unbalanced in composition with the foreground interest sitting on the left hand side, but I think the clouds in the right help to balance it a bit.
This was quite a complicated scene as the sun was still quite bright creating a very contrast between the bright sky and almost black shadows. The only way I could bring everything into balance was to create an HDR image, I exposed 5 images range from -2 to +2 and blended them together in Lightroom to create an image that kept the highlights but also gave definition to the darker shadows.
Another complicated image to make in the field, but the golden light cast across the hill side was such a brilliant colour and sense to the image that I couldn’t help but create a panorama of the entire vista. The castle nestled in on the right hand side, makes it a little irrelevant to the scene but I see it as an essential part of the composition.
It was blended together from 8 individual exposures and to bring in the highlights of the far right hand side I had to use some brushes in Lightroom. A very hard image to create and maybe I should have concentrated the view on the Island castle, but that’s a shot for another day!
This was the shot that I set out to get that evening. I changed it up a bit. I was going to zoom in a bit further cutting out the foreground loch and balancing the castle with a single pine tree. But I wuite liked the colours that the reflections created, so I kept it a bit wider. The golden light was foreshadowing a colourful sunset, so I just had to wait . . . .
And I was not disappointed in the colours that evening! The composition from above wouldn’t work with the sunset because it cut out almost all of the sky and the sky’s colours were fantastic and formed an integral part of the composition! So I switched to portrait to capture more of the sky but zoomed in enough to almost mimic the composition of the image above.
I then tried a landscape orientation image, shooting wider to capture the sky and it’s reflection in the water. The island is tiny but by using a brush in Lightroom, I increased the exposure on it ever so slightly to draw the eye to it. Nothing outlandish, so it appears almost natural, it just helps to make it more prominent in the wide vista. The foreground trees on the banks either side offer a nice balance to the image as well.
As the sunset continued I decided to try some ultra long exposures and I was thoroughly rewarded! I used my cable release and phone to time the exposures for 2 images before the light was gone completely. This image was an exposure of 2 and a half minutes. It came it quite balanced and I love the way the clouds have brushed slightly across the sky and the loch. The blue was becoming more intense and I decided to do another exposure . . . .
The last image from the evening and you can see that the colours were fading while the exposure was being taken. This was an exposure over 3 minutes and the clouds from the image before were moving fast enough that they almost became non existent. But the rich deep blue colours of the sky after the pink colours is a dramatic contrast and it’s why I kept this image.
That was an epic evening of sunset photography. My patience was rewarded with some fantastic colours and I’m glad I got the images I did. That being said, I’m sure I’m not the only photographer that starts to wonder “what if”, what if I had been in another spot? Would I have got a better image? Or should I have created a different composition? Those doubts go hand in hand in photography. I’m happy with how things turned out but those feelings will always be a part of being a photographer.
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About the Film
Just a little information about the film and how I made it, as well as some links to equipment.
I edited the film using the Free Version of DaVinci Resolve. It’s an incredibly powerful piece of software that I am still trying to understand and will possibly write an article about in the future.
The tracks featured in today’s film were licensed via a subscription with Epidemic Sound. (By following that link, if you purchase a subscription then I will be gifted with a month free for referring you to their services)
At Last by Martin Landh
At Last Part II by Martin Landh
The Weight of Water by Alan Ellis
What Made Us Feel Human by Alan Ellis
Homeward by Trevor Kowalski
A short Kit List
These are affiliate links, which means if you follow them and make a purchase I will earn a small commission for referring you to Amazon UK. You can find out more about affiliate links here.
Main Vlog Camera is a simple Panasonic G80 with the kit lens, its a great little mirrorless camera that I got for the sole purpose of creating YouTube videos. It’s capable of filming in 4k and seems to do everything that I want it to.
Rode Mic, I got this little microphone to boost the audio quality from the inbuilt microphone.
Action Camera, I use this to film myself when walking. It’s a simple DJI Pocket Osmo camera that has a motorised 3 axis gimbal head, which means that I stay in focus and static while the landscape around me moves. It’s also capable of filming in 4k and the audio quality is quite good.
Voice Recorder, to boost the audio quality when it’s windy or I’m using the action camera I use this handy little voice recorder with a lapellier microphone to record audio.
For a complete Landscape Photography Kit List you can read through what equipment I take with me when I go out here.
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Written by Daniel Long
Daniel Long created DRL Photography as a place to showcase his work as a photographer. Daniel has learnt a lot about photography and wishes to impart this knowledge with you, although the world is an ever changing place and he always says “you can never learn everything.” So as he makes his way, he continues to learn knew techniques, skills and information about photography. He focuses on Landscape and Wildlife photography and Daniel has a special focus on Scotland, his home away from home. As well as writing about photography and taking pictures out in the field, Daniel offers guided photography days so he can share his knowledge and locations in an effort to give his clients the best opportunities possible. Have a browse around this website to see his images, guided experiences and articles about photography. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to get in contact.
