600 - Old Man of Storr
Today I met the Old Man of Storr.
For those who don’t know, the Old Man of Storr is a wicked rock formation in Scotland, dotting along the Isle of Skye. Legend has it that giants used to roam the island, and that this rock formation was the remains of a giant’s thumb, sticking out of the ground.
That alone was a compelling enough reason for me to check it out. But the icing on the cake was that it’s also one of the most iconic landscapes in the world. It easily sits alongside other photography epics like Mesa Arch, the Dolomites, Yellowstone, and Patagonia, to name a few.
We chose to do the hike first thing in the morning. My hopes for soft lighting were high, because the entire week was forecasted for light rain. I couldn’t imagine anything worse than a sun-lit week in Scotland. I wanted pure, unadulterated, drab.
But when we showed up to the trailhead, it appeared our luck had run out. Because despite the forecast, it was brighter than the seven suns. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky, and the landscape was basking in the heat like a sweating lizard.
But nonetheless, we carried on.
And yada yada yada… we made it to the top. It was beautiful. We took selfies. We ate snacks. But I couldn’t help but wonder what the view could have looked like. You know, if the lighting was like it was supposed to be. Cough. RAIN. Cough.
I sighed. I’m aware that thought makes me sound like a proper dobber. Here I was, in an absolutely beautiful place, not enjoying it the way I should be. But I had a vision. And it wasn’t working out.
I sure as fuck wasn’t going to be coming back. I was four hours out of the biggest city in Scotland… I had the rest of the world to see for God’s sake.
So I mudged up a few shots I knew I wouldn’t even bother to edit, and we started our steep descent back down.
Hiking wise, it wasn’t too bad. The trail had around 900 feet of elevation gain/fall, over the course of a few miles. The crazy thing was that there were more old folks hiking than I’d ever seen in my life.
Either Scotland was a giant retirement home, or America was more obese than I remember. Probably the latter.
As I walked down the mountain, I studied the rocks, looking for any type of shape I could pull out of them. Maybe an abstract close-up shot would do... Then I nixed the idea. I didn’t have the heart to make a blog post about the Old Man of Storr and have a singular photo of a rock abstract.
Suddenly a movement on one of the distant rocks caught my eye. A lone couple had somehow made their way to the top of a spire, and looked unbelievable in the enveloping fog.
Wait… enveloping fog? Where did that come from?
I looked behind me and a storm was rolling in faster than I could say “Finrod Felagund.” A scene from Lord of the Rings began manufacturing itself right before my very eyes:
“Amongst the Fog”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sony 24-105mm f/4 G
[ISO 200 ~ 61mm ~ f/7.1 ~ 1/250s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
I didn’t understand it. How did this happen? Just moments ago I was cursing the blasted land like a sailor, and now I was being blessed by the all-seeing giants of Skye.
Perhaps my cunty dismay towards the weather had summoned them. A true Scottish tale of agony and despair.
Well, there was no time to waste. I was already halfway down the mountain, and if I wanted to get the classic shot from above, I’d have to go all the way back up to the top- fast. This storm was going to boil over soon, and a cloudy thumb is not what I wanted.
I hurled up the muddy pathway at a half a million miles an hour, my countless hours of cardio training finally having a moment to shine. This. This is why I run. Because sometimes in photography, you need it for moments like this.
As I approached the top, soggy and out of breath, I found a suitable foreground, and took the shot:
“Old Man of Storr”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Sony 24-105mm f/4 G
[ISO 200 ~ 24mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/640s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Moments later, it was completely immersed in the clouds. What a brilliant scene.
Alara was somewhere down in those clouds, awaiting my return. She opted not to run back up the hike we just did. I don’t blame her.
But the vision was complete, and I couldn’t be more stoked.
Happy 600th adventure.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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