Glencoe is a place that fills me with total awe every time I visit.
Whether we’re heading towards the Isle of Skye or venturing further north towards Torridon and beyond, I always appreciate a “pit stop” around this epic place.
Glen Coe is an east-west valley of volcanic origin and is perhaps world famous for the Three Sisters of Glencoe. These are the three “peaks” that rise suddenly from the valley floor, like giant knuckly fists punching the sky.
In reality, the peaks are actually spurs jutting out from the main mountain range of the area, which is hidden by the Three Sisters: Bidean nam Bian (pronounced BIT-yan nam BEE-an, meaning “peak of the mountains”, 1,150 m/3,770 ft). The Three Sisters in question are, from east to west: Beinn Fhada (692 m/2,270 ft), Gearr Aonach (689 m/2,263 ft), and Aonach Dubh (892 m/2,926 ft).
There’s more to Glencoe than the Three Sisters though. There is, of course, one of Scotland’s most famous sights: the “Buachaille”, or Buachaille Etive Mòr (pronounced BOR-kaleh etiv MOO-or, meaning “The Great Herdsman of Etive”, 1,021 m/3,351 ft). From the east the mountain presents itself as an almost impossibly perfect pyramid and is an arresting sight on the way to Glencoe.
Glencoe and the surrounding area is a challenge to portray its mood and scale accurately. I hope I have achieved some semblance of my autumnal experience here.
All shots taken on my Fujifilm X-T2 using both my Samyang 35mm f/1.2 and Laowa 9mm f/2.8 lenses. Shot using a customised Pro Negative Standard film profile.
After leaving the car and clambering down the valley I found this interesting glacial erratic, which I tried to line up for a composition with two of the Three Sisters: Aonach Dubh (right) and Gearr Aonach (left).
A family play by the calm waters of the River Coe. The giant 10 km ridge in the distance is Aonach Eagach , which rises to 967 m/3,175 ft and borders the northern side of the valley.
It’s possible to clamber right down into the valley bottom of Glencoe, which near its eastern end forms a steep and deep gorge. With my ultra-wide 9mm lens I was able to get a more unusual perspective looking from the gorge towards the top of the Gearr Aonach .
A true autumnal scene of Glencoe, looking westwards with Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh on the left and Aonach Eagach on the right.
Trying to capture the mosaic of colours on the valley floor, looking centrally towards Gearr Aonach .
Previously in my photographic exploits I’ve always found it hard to capture all three of the sisters. With my ultrawide 9mm lens, I was astounded to be able to capture this composition.
Heading back out of Glencoe and towards Glen Etive, where the River Coupall joins the River Etive, there are a series of wonderful falls and cascades surrounded by seriously vibrant autumnal foliage. One can nab some particularly delicious compositions involving the Buachaille here.
A tighter composition of the giant pyramidal peak of the Buachaille, featuring some of the wonderful autumnal foliage around the Coupall/Etive river junction.
This peak is Stob a’ Ghlais Choire (995 m/3266ft), which marks the eastern end of Glen Etive.
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