For the last couple of months, I haven’t been able to get out and do much in the way of photography. So I’ve been starting to get withdrawal symptoms; despite being keen to get out and about, the weather hasn’t been so obliging. It simply hasn’t stopped raining!
While looking at the Met Office forecast and radar predictions, it looked like it would be dry for a few hours on Friday. The tree at Milarrochy Bay should have its roots submerged by now, so I decided to head up and take some photographs; at least, it would get me out.
Alas, it was not to be. There was some flooding along the way, which I managed to navigate through, but by the time I got to the bridge at Drymen (no pun intended), the flooding was quite bad, and some cars were already stuck. So I decided not to test my luck and did the brave thing and performed a 180. Not to be deterred, I had passed the RSPB Loch Lomond centre on the way, and I had my telephoto lens in the back, so I could try my luck there.
I was only a few meters from the car park when I spotted a Treecreeper, a rather beautiful bird (even though it has an unpleasant name). I have yet to be successful in capturing this bird. This occasion proved to be no different. All the settings on the camera were completely wrong! By the time I had rectified this, said Treecreeper had scarpered. These birds don’t tend to hang around for long.
Even the absence of a few months has made me rusty to make such an error. Re-learn rule one, check all camera/lens settings before departing from the car side and take a few practice shots.
Never mind, with the correct settings now selected, I headed off again. Only to be caught in a torrential downpour and had to take temporary shelter by the pond. So much for my dry spell.
After the rain had passed, I carried on. The RSPB centre has a lovely boardwalk across the fields, but unfortunately, I didn’t even get that far as the small bridge prior was flooded in about a foot of water. Lesson two, get a set of wellies! Ah well, back to the woods again.
So photographically speaking, this trip could have been more successful. But lessons were learnt (or re-learnt), and I got a few pictures. I had a good day out, nevertheless.
I’m off to San Francisco in the new year. Hopefully, I’ll have better luck then.
Happy New Year folks!
Ollie Desforges Photography 