Photography: They come back and act like they never left - A competition by @lightcaptured 📷
A competition founded by @lightcaptured. He does try to change the subject every new round, last round the subject was People in the city. I joined that round with a photo taken in Meknes, one of my first trips together with @dboontje. This round it will be Black & White 😎
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I joined @lightcaptured his great competition with a photo from Neist Point, the famous lighthouse at the Isle of Skye. As that was my winning country I decided to look back through my Scotland pictures.
The picture I choose to compete with, shows for me that you don't need expensive equipment to create a picture with a story.
Smoo Cave
We were on the road after visiting Smoo cave. You know that cave? Wait you don't know it? Let me tell you something about it because it is a cave with a story behind it. We got up early this day at the beach. Last night we had a BBQ session with the company of a seal and the sound of puffins far far away. Yes that spot was at John o'Groats. A part of Scotland where some of my Dutch roots can be found. The story tells that there was once a guy Jan de Groot who owned the ferry rights in the name of the king Jacobus IV between Scotland and the Orkney Islands. Jan his roots where in the Netherlands, how he got here I don't know. But why he stayed here I could imagine, the area is the way I would like it. Rough country, no trees in sight, rocks, water and emptiness around you everywhere. We ended the day with beautiful weather and a nice sunset. But there where already clouds forming at the horizon. So we set our alarm to ring somewhere around sunrise so we could pack our stuff early in the morning without rain we hoped. That morning we woke up and we just could pack our stuff and clean the spot before the rain started to fall down. We started the car and where on our way to Applecross, we did hear from @smalltall that we needed to camp here at least for one night.
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It was really raining cats and dogs from that moment on! You can't expect anything else in Scotland I assume? We called ourselves lucky with three days of sunshine during our three week trip through this beautiful country. Ok let's get back to my original story, maybe I should write down my Scotland adventures to? We followed the coastline during that day and came accross the Smoo cave while we just passed Durness.
The cave is really special because it is formed in two ways, the first one is because of erosion at the front caused by the ocean. In front of the cave you'll find a tidal gorge from at least 500m long I think. This was once part of the cave and the whole gorge had a roof but this is collapsed. The second part is created by a river coming from the inlands. The river is called Allt Smoo and it is dripping through the ground finding it's way to the ocean.
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Smoo cave has actually two rooms, the first one has a waterfall but we couldn't even get there because the water inside was too high. There is also a second room, and when the water is lower you can reach that part by boat. This cave has some nice stories and legends. There was a villain once called McMurdo, this guy throwed his victems from the entrance above, won't deepen this story, and a story about a wizard called Donald Mackay while he defeated the devil himself here twice by playing the devil his own card. He escaped by the use of deception, guess he was very lucky?
Ardvreck Castle
After visiting Smoo Cave we came after an approx 2 hour drive following the coastline south accross a ruin. The ruin was called Ardvreck Castle. It's a ruin nowadays, nothing more than a tower and a wall of defense that are still there. Built in 1490 the castle is owned by the MacLeod clan till 1672 when the MacKenzie clan attacked and captured the castle.
There is also a legend by this castle yeeeah! In 1650 James Graham was captured and held at the castle before transportation for its own execution in Edinburgh. One of the ghost stories nowadays is from a grey man wandering around the castle and he has company from a smaller girl. The story goes that James Graham got the order from the devil itself to build the castle. In exchange he would receive one of the daughters from de Macleod clan leader. In an act of desperation the girl throwed herself from one of the towers and died.
Fun fact, we have some Dutch history overhere again. The moment James Graham was on the run, a man called Karel Stuart was negotiating in Breda (a city in the Netherlands) about the fact he could become the King of Scotland. One of the conditions was that Graham would be relieved of his title, but as a compensation for that he would become a member of the Order of the Garter. The Order is regarded as the most prestigious British order of chivalry. This title would have saved James Graham from the dead penalty.
Well this day we noticed a lot of fog moving around the castle itself, and it makes you wonder...👻
The contest
Rules are simple:
- The topic for this edition is:
- Create a new post with one photo
- Use ONLY your own original work, plagiarism will be flagged and reported
- No NSFW images
- Use the hashtag #travelphotocontest
- Mention @lightcaptured in your post, for example: "This is my entry for the #TravelPhotoContest by @lightcaptured"
- Adding your personal touch, a short story, the location, EXIF data, etc. is not obligatory but will definitely make your entry much more appealing and increase its chances of success
- Reply at the original post from this contest
You see not the hardest rules to be part of the competition.
The picture for the contest
The moment we were passing by I noticed this scene and I stopped the car and ran out of it. The fog was to beautiful around Ardvreck castle and moving pretty fast so no time to use my D700 instead I grabbed my Iphone 😍.
![They come back and act like they never left](https://steemitimages.com/640x0/https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7890/46258737134_4f1705c404_c.jpg)
I've created the whole post around it with pictures shot by my Iphone. In these bad lightning coniditions I think the images ain't perfect, but the quality is certainly good enough to tell a story. So my point of view won't change. YES gear does matter, but it doesn't have to mean that you can't take pictures with a phone.
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Ah! We didn't know each other yet when I posted all my Scotland stuff! I've been there too, and I too posted an iPhone shot of this gorgeous ruin with the great story behind it :D
Gosh, I love Scotland, I actually 'ran out of the car' so many times... Light changes quickly here :-)
Oh damn what will we do... will I read all your post about Scotland first before I post mine? 🤪
So cool you remember the ruins, but your photo has even a crowd on it. The whole place was abandoned while I got there. Didn't even know about this castle, but it was a beauty! That Iphone ain't that bad right? 😉
But Scotland is beautiful for photographers indeed! It almost equals Iceland, while the most northerns parts are even at the same level😍
Damn love your other ruin!
Lol!!! No, please go post your stuff first, I’d love to revisit Scotland through your eyes!
(And gosh, yes, that iPhone produced some of my fav shots! :D)
Posted using Partiko iOS
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This deserves more upvotes. Just saying.
Thank you @enforcer48. Happy to read you liked my post 👍
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Oh my god I've been to Smoo Cave!! At first I thought it was a wierd Dutch thing (cute name!) but then I saw the photo and recognised it! Classic. And of COURSE John O Groats is John 'from' Groots... that makes total sense now!
I loved the landscape in Scotland, but I was there when I was pretty broke, and me and Jamie had just started our relationship, so it was tricky at times. Still, some nice memories.
Hehe Scotland has been my cheapest adventure ever. With all the wildcamping options and great nature available for free so I hope you guys could have the same experience as I had in this beautiful country! Scotland is very romantic I think when you just started together? Wildcamping in a tent with plenty of raindrops and campfires to scare the midges, whiskey, stargaizing, actually now I look back at it, Scotland would be first-data walhalla 😍
You thought Smoo was a Dutch thing at first? 😉 Did you see the waterfall in all of its glory?
Where have you all been in Scotland? Damn you've seen so much of the world. I need a campfire night with you for the adventure stories you have so many of them 😎
Ha, it's just a co-incidence we've been to some of hte same places! And good co-incidences, as they aren't places people commonly go to!
Midges!! Gosh, we were totally invaded by them one night in Scotland so rushed to the pub. We had no money - enough for a pint and that's it, before we went back to the tent to cook dinner. The thing is, it was an award winning seafood restaurant in this gorgeous town called Applecross. We were drooling as we watched people's lobster and scallops arrive... anyway, it was J's birthday, so he went to the phone box to call his Mum - and lo and behold - a MIRACLE! His Nan had put a 1000 pounds in his bank account - a one off gift to all the grandchildren, that had NEVER been done before or since. We had the BIGGEST feast ever - you have to with magic money!!!! Such a great memory. Oh yeah, and the whiskey....
OMG you have been in Applecross too😮 Almost going to suspect we have eaten by the same pub...🤔Beautiful place for camping overthere 😍
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1000 pounds you guys must have eaten like madman 😈
No one I've ever known has been to Applecross!!! Did you go over that crazy pass??
Posted using Partiko Android
Hehe we left Applecross over that crazy pass indeed, we arrived by the north. We had a welcome omittee by multiple deers running along with the car. Yes Applecross has some magic out there😎
I must find the photo of J. swigging a cider as he drove over the highest mountain pass on Britain.. it's my fave. Applecross was magical. J. Had a dream the year before of spending his 30th bday in a place called Applecross... he didn't even know it was a real place.... and thats strangely where we ended up.
Posted using Partiko Android
There was only ONE pub in Applecross...!!! :')
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Beautiful shots as always Remy!
And uhhh...is it Loch ness in there??
(cool contest, I might have some pics for in there :D)
Thanks for the compliment @karinxxl 😊
No Loch Ness in here, but Loch Assynt. You can find Nessie a bit more to the southwest.
Just checked the contest, no pics there from you...😔Hope you will join!
I had a super cool color shot actually, but Im gonna save it for next week.
just dumped some snow trees in there :D