Bite-Size Blog Post #38 - Oke Tor - Dartmoor National Park

Those Perfect Summers Evenings on Dartmoor

In my video series Discovering Dartmoor you will often hear me talk about how nice it is during the summer months to go for an evening walk on Dartmoor.  If the wind is calm and the skies are clear it really can be one of life’s great pleasures.  However, Dartmoor being Dartmoor, the conditions can be just as unsettled as they are in the summer as they are in the winter.  So packing jackets and gloves is always recommend!

You might now be thinking that this is a story of being out in wintry conditions in the middle of summer.  Well for once, it's not! This is a story of one of those summer evenings where the conditions were perfect for a nice stroll around my favourite area of Dartmoor. 

As is often the case when the conditions are ideal for walking, I only go out with the intention of enjoying a walk and not to capture landscape photographs.  That doesn't mean I won't take my camera with me, it's just means that the primary reason for going out is to enjoy a walk.

I started my evening walk with no real plan other than I'll park near Row Tor, head south and see where I end up.  When I got parked the car, I could see East Mill Tor in the distance, so I thought that was a good a place as any to head to.  I had been discussing East Mill Tor with a fellow photographer a few days before, so I decided to head there to review some compositions at both the north and south end of the tor.

Oke Tor Sunset #1, Dartmoor National Park - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 15mm, f/13, 1/40th at ISO 200.

Expansive Views of Dartmoor

As I stood on the southern edge of East Mill Tor I took in some deep breaths and admired the landscape that stretched out in front of me.  It was glorious!  But where to go next?  Scanning the horizon I could see Oke Tor.  If I went there then I could make a nice little loop back to the car.

As I approached Oke Tor I could see the light dancing along the landscape and despite me not having the intention of capturing photographs that evening, I started to get excited about the possibility of getting the camera out.  It was getting late though, and I was worried that there might not be enough time to get up onto the tor and to make use of the nice light.

Sure enough, I got up onto the tor and the light had gone.  However, it was a beautiful evening, and I was in no hurry so I decided to be patient and waited to see what would happen.  It was so peaceful there and I just stood there looking at the view.  I could see patches of light illuminating the landscape but there were unfortunately not landing on the tor where I was.

Even as I stood there, I remember thinking that even if I don't get any photographs, I would return home having had a lovely walk and seen some spectacular views. 

As most landscape photographers will tell you, patience is something you need to have lots of in this field of photography.  It's not often you get rewarded for your patience, but on this evening, I was, and I captured a beautiful image of Oke Tor.

Oke Tor Sunset #2, Dartmoor National Park - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 14mm, f/13, 1/3 at ISO 64.

As I walked back to the car, I thought about how fortunate I am to be able to experience Dartmoor in the ways that I do.  I can freely walk all over Dartmoor and enjoy everything nature has to offer, and if I put myself in the right place at the right time, I can also use my camera to capture those unique moments in time.

A Little Bit of Glencoe

Back to the Homeland

I've returned to my homeland of Scotland a couple of times this year and each time I have, I made sure that I took my camera so that I could photograph of the beautiful Scottish landscape.  Despite my best intentions though, I never captured any photographs.  But how could I possibly go all the way to Scotland and not take any landscape photographs?

My primary reason for going to Scotland was to see family and friends, not to take photographs.  So, when I was there and I was spending time with the people that are close to me, my motivation for early alarm calls and staying out late to take pictures evaporated.  Dare I say, but there is more to life than photography!

However, I've just returned from another trip to Scotland, and despite this being another friends and family type visit, I was determined to get out and use my camera!  Add in the fact that it was the height of autumn, and the colours would be at their best in the landscape, there was no way I was returning home without capturing at least one landscape photograph!

An Ascent of Beinn a' Chrùlaiste

With Glencoe being only a 60 minute drive from my family home in Scotland, it became the obvious choice to go on a photography adventure.  One of my all-time favourite Glencoe viewpoints is looking towards Stob Dearg (Buachaille Etive Mòr) from up on Beinn a' Chrùlaiste.  You don't even need to get all the way to the summit to get a good viewpoint.  By reaching Stob Beinn a' Chrùlaiste you can get a perfect side on view of Stob Dearg.  It might be an all uphill walk in the dark, but to sit on that hill side and watch the sun come up over Glencoe is nothing short of magical.

As I said, it is one of my favourite viewpoints so I have photographed it before, but I've always felt I could get a better photograph, or at least a photograph with different weather conditions.  Maybe even a temperature inversion! 

Stob Dearg Sunrise, Glencoe, Scotland - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 29mm, f/11, 1.6 secs at ISO 64.

Alas, as you can see from my photograph I didn't get a cloud inversion.  In fact, I didn't get much in the way of cloud at all.  There was a blanket of very high level cloud that didn't add much to the scene and all it really did was stop the sky looking too blue.  Other than that, the light was beautiful and the way it catches the mountain, and the autumnal colour of the ground is a sight I will never bore off.  It's a composition I've captured before, but I'll happily keep going back and doing it again.

After spending a wonderful hour on the side of the hill, the light had become bright and harsh, so I felt there weren't many more opportunities to capture photographs.  I had the choice of going back the way I ascended and to the car or continuing my walk to the summit of Beinn a' Chrùlaiste.  As I'd never been to the summit, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to do so.  I'd get a nice walk, and I might find some compositions to come back to another morning.

After reaching the summit I descended down the eastern ridge, a route that I'd never done before.  The highlight of the descent was hearing the roaring sounds of the stags.  It was the height of the rutting season, and the noise of the stags could be heard everywhere.  I even managed to spot one close to the Kinghouse Hotel.

After 13km of walking, my circular route took me back to the car feeling happy and content with my morning adventure in Glencoe.

Glencoe Lochan

A few days later I met up with a friend and fellow photographer who has a lot more experience of photographing Glencoe than me.  She took me to a location I'd never been to before, Glencoe Lochan.  While the light wasn't amazing, the water was calm, and autumn colours were beautiful. 

Glencoe Lochan, Glencoe, Scotland - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S at 24mm, f/13, 1 secs at ISO 64.

This is by no means an amazing photograph, but I wanted to capture it so I could remind myself to return here next time I'm in the area. 

River Coe

The afternoon weather in Glencoe had turned cloudy and wet, but the great thing about Glencoe is that even in the stormiest of conditions, you will likely find something to shoot.  With the hope that there would be a gap in clouds rapidly fading, we decided to head down to the River Coe to see if we could make a composition featuring the river and the mountains.  Even with the absence of light, the autumn colours of the landscape were striking.

It was late in the day when we got down to the river, and with so much cloud in the sky, the light levels were low.  I admit that this did cause me to feel a little rushed and finding a balanced composition in a complex scene was tricky.  The river has many twists, turns, pools, and waterfalls, and trying to place these effectively in a composition along with the trees and mountains, is something that requires time and exploration.

River Coe Rapids #1, Glencoe, Scotland - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 14mm, f/13, 0.5 secs at ISO 500.

I'm not complaining though.  This is another part of Glencoe that I haven't explored before and just being there was exciting.  It's another Glencoe location that I will revisit when I have more time, and I'm wearing a pair of wellies.  I could easily spend a few hours (carefully) exploring this stretch of the River Coe.

River Coe Rapids #1, Glencoe, Scotland - Nikon Z8, Nikkor Z 14-30mm f/4 S at 14mm, f/13, 3 secs at ISO 400.

My time photographing Glencoe was short, but I loved it.  I'm so glad I made the effort to tear myself away from my family and to head out with the camera.  I photographed one of my favourite Glencoe locations and I found a couple of new ones.  I had clear, calm weather one day, and wind and rain the other.  But no matter the weather, Glencoe is still one of the most spectacular places in the country.  No matter if I'm just enjoying a walk or taking landscape photographs, I will never get bored of it.  I can't wait to go back.