Last week I took a photo trip to the east coast of Scotland staying at Portknockie, a coastal village near the Moray Firth that is about 30km east of Elgin. The village was founded in 1677 and the Gaelic name of Port Chnocaidh translates as the hilly port.
One of the main attractions of Portknockie is Bow Fiddle Rock, this 20 metre high quartzite rock formation that rises out of the sea. It has an impressive sea arch which along with spectacular views across the Moray Firth is readily visible from the coastal path walk from Portknockie to nearby Cullen.
Incorporating water in landscape photography is something I try I do whenever the opportunity arises. So I had Bow Fiddle Rock on my list of photos that I wanted to take during my stay and took the images above and below at about 9pm one evening. To capture the ‘blurred’ water I used an exposure of 20 seconds at f16, this was achieved with ISO 50 and a Lee Big Stopper filter that reduces the amount of light reaching the sensor by 10 stops thereby lengthening the shutter speed.
Bow Fiddle Rock and the nearby cliff faces will also be of interest to birdwatchers and there are good opportunities to view Rock Dove, Fulmar, Black-legged Kittiwake, Shag, Guillemot and Razorbill whilst along the shore there are Common Eider, Oystercatcher and Rock Pipit.
Nearby is the area known as Three Creeks Shore where there are more rocky sea outcrops, cliffs and caves; most notably Dungeon Cave which can be seen on the top right in the photo below.
During the nineteenth century Portknockie Harbour was a significant herring fishing port although nowadays there are only a handful of commercial boats operating from the harbour.
The image below is of the outer edge of the harbour and was taken on a stormy evening with tripod and slow shutter speed to blur the movement of the water.
For more information on the Portknockie area please visit their website.
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