cy sunset silhouette on frozen Loch Vaa, cairngorms National Park

Icy Sunset Silhouette

The setting sun projecting onto the icy surface of Loch Vaa, before an atmospheric walk home in the growing dark, through a mysterious woodland…

Pine Tree, Loch Vaa, Ice freeze, Cairngorms National Park

Pine Freeze

The light was stunning on this day, with an intense quality, glowing in light. Loch Vaa was a frozen expanse, glinting in the sunshine.

Tree island, Loch Vaa, Strathspey, Scotland

Tree-Island

The Tree-Island, Loch Vaa It was a bright afternoon when I went to Loch Vaa – until I got there by which time the afternoon sun had disappeared behind a big cloud bank.  However, it was completely calm, and the muted colours and reflections were well worth the trip. Loch Vaa has no inflow or […]

Frozen Loch Vaa, Strathspey, january

Deep Freeze, Loch Vaa

Icy sunset, Loch Vaa Sunset rays sparkle across the frozen surface, and catch the far shore of frozen Loch Vaa.  It had been below freezing for many days, with all the local lochs starting to freeze hard.  I arrived at the Loch towards sunset, just as the sun managed to break through what had been […]

Spring day at Loch Vaa

Loch Vaa Spring

Spring Day, Loch Vaa A perfect April day – after a frosty start it turned bright and sparkly, the forest around the loch thick with fresh resinous pine scent in the warm sunshine.  Fish were jumping, ducks and geese busy making a clamour – everything seemed to be stretching out to enjoy the sun and […]

loch vaa sunset

Loch Vaa sunset

Sunset at Loch Vaa I’m loving this one – the glowing orange clouds reflected in Loch Vaa, on an evening stroll around the loch.  The walk started with heavy clouds and spitting rain, so this was a perfect end to the day.  I don’t think I have ever seen Loch Vaa so low – it […]

Loch Vaa Reflection

A moment of reflection at Loch Vaa, Strathspey Its been a very dull week – snow, sleet, rain, dark cloud… This weekend especially has been rather dreich with heavy rain down here, although snowing on the hills…  However, the walk around Loch Vaa was very peaceful, with a multitude of reflections.  I find the colours […]

Silence and Space

Loch Vaa and Ben Guilbin, Strathspey, September Here is Loch Vaa again from that perfect day a couple of weeks ago… rippling beautifully in the sunshine.  I always find that Ben Guilbin (the hill behind the loch) has a mysterious quality.  It certainly has a bit of an ‘atmosphere’ when walking there, a certain energetic […]

Perfect September Day, Loch Vaa

A perfect September day, Loch Vaa, Strathspey Blue sky, a cooling breeze, the warm resin scent from the pines, sun-sparkling water… good company to share it with… what more could you ask for?   At Loch Vaa yesterday I was full of appreciation for this beautiful country we live in, and for the friends I […]

Loch Vaa evening

Evening showers and ‘electric’ clouds, Loch Vaa, Strathspey An evening walk out at Loch Vaa, starting in perfect September late sunshine, turning into light rain showers and atmospheric mistiness around the tree-islands on the loch, with the clouds seemingly lit from within by the sunset somewhere above them.  This was the perfect antidote to a […]

Pine in the mist, Loch Vaa

Ice Pine, Loch Vaa This pine stands proud on  its wee island in frozen Loch Vaa.  The ice and mist combined to make quite an atmosphere. “Think of the darkness inside your eyes as invisible space.  As light travels from the outside into this darkness, it can demand us to change.  What we perceive as […]

Winter Sparkle

Deep Freeze Haze, Loch Vaa, Strathspey How beautiful its been for us this week – minus 8 or so, sunshine, mist, and no wind.   These gnarly old trees, in a deep frost-hollow, were sparkling with natural fairy lights as the sun refracted through millions of ice-drops. Light and dark, the raw ingredients of photography – […]