Photographic Yield and a Report From Scotland

Back in action with my resuscitated 5DMkII and spare Gitzo Mountaineer tripod

I’m on the penultimate day of MHT’s tour of Scotland’s finest landscapes. Starting in Perthshire to photograph the autumn foliage, the trip also included the mountains of rainy Glencoe, the rounded peaks of the Cairngorms, the mysterious Isle of Sky and finally the pristine white sand beaches of Lewis and Harris. As I write this report, I’m nestled away in a corner of the Trossachs, on a one night stop after a long drive and ferry ride back from the Hebrides this morning. The weather throughout this little adventure has been typically Scottish, a lot of dreary conditions interspersed with bursts of glorious light. The only exception to this rule was the two days spent on the Isles of Lewis and Harris, where the weather was almost too good!

I am often asked what my yield of photographs is like each trip, a question that is difficult to answer as it is heavily dependent on how rigorous the editing process is. When going through my library of images in Adobe Bridge, I give them ratings. 5 stars go to the images that I am completely happy with – photos that from my point of view have virtually no compromises. If I can come home with two or three of these quality shots each trip, I am very satisfied. New Zealand was an unusually productive trip for me this year, with about ten photos that I ranked as 5 star shots. The next rating down, 4 stars are what I give to images that I still like very much but for some minor reason, fail to be hit out of the ballpark. Virtually all the 4 and 5 star images make it to the website galleries and on average my yield would be about two or three such shots a day. For a trip with a month dedicated to photography I would therefore expect a portfolio of 60 images. In addition to this will be several hundred photos that are rated 3 stars which are still useable for stock photography. Anything with technical imperfections will not see light of day. As a rough estimate, I produce about 10 useable images per day.

Once in a blue moon, I am fortunate to witness something really special, the landscape equivalent of the decisive moment in street photography. Even without a camera in hand, these occasions get the adrenaline pumping and get seared into the memory. My portfolio from New Zealand was pretty small but two photographs from the Moeraki Boulders were very successful for me and made the entire trip worthwhile. Keep in mind that I do not set myself a certain quota of images I ‘need’ to shoot each day. These figures are merely an average of what I have observed over the past couple of years. If there is a goal, it is to immerse myself in the environs, experience the culture and lifestyle and above all enjoy myself.

So how did I do this trip? I’ve reviewed pretty much all the images. Firstly it’s not going to be a really big portfolio like New Zealand or Cuba. As I mentioned previously, Scotland’s fickle weather makes a landscape photographer work extra hard for his or her shots. I’m guessing that you’ll eventually see about forty or so images on our web gallery. I think you’ll agree that even from the small sample of  photos already in the Scotland gallery, this set of landscapes is more lyrical and intimate than our previous work. I’m not sure if this is a result of the effect of the nature of Scotland or part of an effort to push our boundaries as artists.

Farewell to the Hebrides

I’ve uploaded a higher resolution image to better appreciate details like the textures in the rock and the moon.