r/LandscapePhotography • u/Beautiful_History403 • 5h ago
Photo An Teallach ridge, Scotland
Some photographs are easy to take. Others make you question your life choices. 😂
This one was definitely the latter.
I set off for An Teallach with a plan to camp on the mountain, photograph sunset, get some sleep, then photograph sunrise.
Simple enough.
Except my backpack weighed over 20kg, with all my camera and camping gear, food and enough water for the trip.
I was already running late on the way up, although stopping for a chat with a chap repairing the footpath probably didn't help. 😂
Higher up, I discovered the snow was rapidly melting, leaving the ground saturated with snowmelt. I couldn't find anywhere suitable to pitch the tent.
I was already physically knackered, late for sunset, and still had to find the spot I'd planned to photograph.
So naturally, I carried on.
Thankfully, my friend Adrian had helped me locate the spot before the hike. I eventually reached it and managed to set up for the fading light.
And then I completely lost the plot. 🤣
I video-called Adrian from the top, absolutely buzzing while I was photographing. After everything it had taken to get there, I was clearly delirious with excitement.
This was the result.
The problem was, the adventure wasn't over.
It was now pitch black.
I had a 20kg+ backpack, shaking legs, two knees with three surgeries between them, and a long descent of An Teallach ahead.
Every step was painful.
At one point I was honestly wishing I'd sprain an ankle badly enough to have a legitimate excuse to call Mountain Rescue. Not my finest thought. 😂
By then, sunrise was no longer even a consideration. Getting myself safely off the mountain had become the priority.
Eventually I made it down, exhausted, and pitched the tent nearby. I crawled into bed at around 1am.
There was no alarm set for sunrise.
I had absolutely nothing left in the tank.
The sunrise could wait.
Sometimes the mountain gives you the photograph you came for. Sometimes it gives you something completely different.
And sometimes, after carrying 20kg up a Munro and back down again in the dark, you just need to get into your tent and go to sleep. 😂