A birthday wander on the 24th to a favourite spot on Craig Fonvuick above Killiekrankie, up from Tenandry. In part for the view but also to see if there were any Scotch Argus butterflies out and about. It was a glorious warm blue sky day, just perfect. In all I spotted 22 Scotch Argus and added three Speckled Wood as well, these I hadn't come across before.

The panorama is self explanatory. It's not 'dramatic' but that's not the point, more just showing a lovely and interesting landscape one hot summer's afternoon in 2016. 
Down towards Blair Atholl on the left you can see the preparations for the Horse Trials and over on the right Ben Vrackie.

The Zoomable Panorama can be found: HERE or click on the image.

This fold and accompanying shieling huts is on a south facing slope above Allt Coire Shith by Ben Gulabin and up from Gleann Taitneach. More details can be found: HERE

The fold is on quite a considerable slope that is difficult to portray at this angle. Like many folds it's half way up the hillside, a possibly more contemporary fold is located down by the stream that you can zoom into. Not mentioned in the Canmore records above is that on the slight track back towards Gleann Taitneach is a short wall section, approximately 20m. long going up the hillside with the path cutting mid way through. With the general layout I'm guessing it was both a gentle barrier preventing livestock from then dropping back down into Gleann Taitneach and also to help guide them through the gap down from or up to the shieling grounds, preventing them straying too far and wide.

The Zoomable Panorama can be found: HERE or click on the image

Following a walk last week along Glen Taitneach and then over behind Ben Gulabin to principally view a nice fold and shieling area, I later came around to this view of Gleann Beag, looking towards the hills with the Cairnwell and Glas Maol. It was a very hot and slightly hazy day so the distant clarity was not ideal but still ok. It's a grand viewpoint, showing the hills and also the archaeology on the slopes down to the river on its eastern (right hand) side. Below Creag Deargh there are also old field cultivation and just at its foot a very nice four poster stone 'circle', with one main stone still in situ. 
Can you spot the herd of Red Deer, mostly stags.

The inset image is of a lovely plant called Grass-of-Parnassus a great swath of which was nearby.

The zoomable panorama can be viewed: HERE or click on the image.

A few images while taking my camera for a walk.

The rain eased off, a walk was back on. To share the landscape, thoughts and ideas with two friends was a rare delight. A walk of poetry and of life.
A lovely walk around the Corbenic poetry trail. New poems and new trees planted, firs and pine, for the future to behold - perhaps three friends sharing.. .

With the much warmer weather over the past week I wondered if the Comma butterflies might appear earlier than last year, keeping an eye out, I saw one today, four days earlier than last year. Exactly the same location as previous years, by some mixed woodland. A few other butterflies around; red admiral and lots of orange tips.
Last week I came across something I hadn't seen before, a rather pretty Speckled Yellow day flying moth in a woodland near where I live. I'll try and register its sighting.

Techy note: these were shot on my Sigma DP2.

The American photographer Robert Adams said, 'light transforms', I think it can also inspire. A rare warm sunny day, cloudless and a wonderful setting light. The silhouettes are of some flowers that I've had for several years, four I think. Dried brown despite the water that never evaporated.
A fitting end.

An interesting open day organised by the Shieling Project up at a dig by AOC Archaeology of a shieling site above Struy near Glen Strathfarrar. Many more shieling huts were found than the three indicated on 1st edition OS map, three were excavated as well as the site surveyed. Main find being the base of a glazed pot, possibly a small jug. An interesting location that also has a nearby short lived 19th century lead mine.

Click on the above image for a new zoomable panorama.

A brief return to Winter gave the hills a bit of snow these past few days but up at Auchaven, at the head of Glen Isla there was little to be seen today. A few passing snow flurries but that was it. However back home and at a much lower level it started snowing fairly heavily come the evening. So I suspect Auchaven and Glen Isla will be a lot worse and now very white. The farmers will be frantic making sure the lambs are safe.
A couple of 'snaps' from today; I particularly like the tree one for its quiet quality and the pattern of the branches, the wrecked bridge with snow covered Monega Hill in the distance is definitely just a snap.

Along with an artist friend Chris Partridge we have started working on a collaborative project, a video along with our own ancillary related work painting, book making and photography. A basic element will be about seeing and eyes that was initiated from an idea and experience by Chris. It will be an interesting and I think very productive experience working collaboratively.
These images are just a couple of screen grabs from initial filming for the video, they might not be used but rather nice images anyway.

An artist friend had this found object, this fascinating piece of wood that I was keen to recontextualize. The text (Her ancient decks were worn and wrinkled, like the pilgrim-worshipped flag-stone in Canterbury Cathedral where Becket bled.) comes from Herman Melville's, 1851 book 'Moby Dick'. I thought of the square of wood coming perhaps from a boat of some sort. Having the weathering akin to being at sea and eventually finding itself ashore somewhere. Blood stained.

I wished to build around its possible history and its travels. After some consideration the thrust for me was being on death (memento mori) and religion, with the text coming from Moby Dick.
Death here not just of the thousands of whales killed for their oil and bone, or of Becket at Canterbury but also of the Piquot tribe. Melville calling the Nantucket whaling ship in Moby Dick Pequod referencing them. The native American Piquot tribe, in the 17th century fought the Puritan settlers after a dispute, hundreds were killed, decimating the tribe with many survivors subsequently enslaved. Death too of the crew that the text foretells. Many whaling ships and their crew's lost their lives in pursuit of the whale and also from the treacherous seas they encountered while months at sea.
Melville worked on a whaling ship (the Acushnet) and was an experienced sailor before turning to writing. Moby Dick in many respects recalls that life on a whaling ship.

Religion; the Catholicism of Becket, the Puritan settlers, the Quakers who owned many of the whaling fleets but also the Transcendentalist interpretation of Moby Dick itself. 

The image is made like an illustration from a textbook. Giving weight to the object, like some unique find, a relic, awaiting perhaps future academic forensic study and analysis. And more stories.

A new zoomable panorama: here or click on image

A rather unexpected wander up to Dùn Coillich to photograph Schiehallion. I had anticipated another viewpoint much further south but the road to that location was closed, partly expected. However I headed to the Dùn Coillich Community Woodland car park to walk up and get an alternative view of Schiehallion and get a look at Dùn Coillich itself. A good viewpoint but Dùn Coillich was rather disappointing, despite the name and that it has a flat top there is no evidence that the hill was a hill fort as the name implies.
The view into Gleann Mor is a walk I would like to do one day, there are many shielings and at the head there is a very difficult to find cave, Uamh Tom a’Mhor-fir, is known as the cave where fairies loved to dwell.

This is possibly the largest zoomable panorama I've done, as far as file size is concerned. Its not a 360° image either. I didn't think I was going to be able to use it as there were several mis alignments on the chairlift to the right, due to the movement and weight of peopled chairs stretching down. A degree of retouching was required but overall I'm pleased with the image as a whole. It was quite windy and cold also, otherwise I might have shot more images to cover myself and give myself options to work with. 

The updated interface is now complete, barring the occasional tweak if any arise. Its a completely new backend as well, making for a more adaptable way of interacting. I've set the a starting zoom level so that the individual pages present a consistent panel image size, prior to moving to full screen, that will also be at that set zoom level. You can of course zoom in and out in either mode. I felt this gives a more consistent presentation initially and the potential to discover the whole image as such for oneself.
It should be noted I don't ski nor have any particular interest, although cross country skiing quite appeals.

The new pano can be found; Here or click on the image.

I've added my Panorama section. The zoomable panoramas can be found HERE

More will be added as I update and create.