Solstice shadows in deep frost at Clava Cairns, Inverness. Circles within circles of universal time.
Tag: midwinter
Solstice Rainbow
Solstice Rainbow over Loch nan Carraigean Ring Cairn The late December weather has been tough with hardly any let-up from the squally storms, rain turning to sleet and back again and no break before the next bout. Come the midwinter solstice and I was determined to get out before total cabin fever set in. After […]
Christmas Trees
Cairngorms from Rothiemurchus forest This image was taken at this time of year two years ago when it was minus 14C, towards the end of a long ski through the forest, with the snow catching the afterglow colours from the sunset. This week, the recent snow and ice has stripped away and its been comparatively […]
Snow…
Snow and sun Taken shortly before the low sun dipped behind the hill of Craigellachie, I loved the golden sparkle as the sunlight came through the snow and birch branches. The air was so cold and dry that as snow fell from branches it created a cloud of shining diamonds. “A human being is a […]
Solstice tree
Sunset tree in a field of snow, near Drymen, Loch Lomond. Unlike the south, we have had hardly any more snow since the last load, but it is very frosty. By my calculations it is the solstice on Tuesday 21st where we mark the turning of the year. It seems to have absolutely raced by […]
Crescent moon and afterglow, midwinter
Crescent moon and sunset afterglow, midwinter. Taken while cross-country skiing out in the woods near Aviemore. Although it was long after sunset (about mid-afternoon…) the sky was bright and the snow reflecting the pinks and purples lit my way home. The Highlands have been in a Scandinavian weather system all week, with temperatures down to […]
Sunset on Ice
Sunset on Ice. Loch Insh, Strathspey. After several sub-zero days the ice had built up, with shoreline pressure-triangles created by the wind in the initial freeze. The swans ‘trumpeting’ from the nearby marshes added to the late afternoon atmosphere. Now? Thick snow falls and I’ve been out playing on my skis all morning! As we […]
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 – […]
Solstice Birch
Solstice Birch. There’s been precious little “sol” this week, rather more of the wind, rain and sleet. So here’s an image from last year’s solstice instead. Solstice Greetings! – It gets lighter from here on – “You darkness, that I come from, I love you more than all the fires that fence in the world, […]
Clava Solstice
21/12 Solstice sunset – Clava Cairns A few minutes before sunset at Balnuaran of Clava, near Inverness, after a beautiful week of temperatures down to minus 10 with clear skies. I resonated the inner chamber with some didgeridoo playing, as the setting sun shone down the passageway. (The cairns are perfectly aligned to the setting […]