An afternoon at Stronachie and Loch Leven

On Saturday afternoon, for no good reason and many, we jumped in the car with some snacks and went hunting for fresh air and ice cream. We went for a stroll down at Loch Leven. Walking out on the jetty, we saw the light was perfect and a heron was posing nicely along the shore. Of course, by the time we walked back to the car for our cameras, he was gone. The ice cream was easy, Giacopazzi’s in Kinross providing a very nice solution. Cookies and Cream for him, Peach Melba for her.

Loch Leven Fuji X-T2, 35mm f/2. Stitch of four images.

Onwards to a partly aimless drive to explore some favourite roads: through Milnathort, out by Tillyrie and Athron Hill where we had a look at a housing development seriously out of our range. Who needs a house that big anyway?

Stronachie Forest X-T2, Nikon 85mm f/1.4

On an easy walk at Stronachie, all of our senses were exercised. The air was rich in oxygen from the forest, perfumed with heather; the air crackled as the broom seed pods burst open in the warm late summer sun.

Broom seed pods

I changed the lens on the Fuji for the Stronachie walk, having started with the compact and versatile Fuji 35mm f/2, for my Nikon 85mm f/1.4. This is a difficult lens to focus wide open but it makes quite creamy bokeh washes from the background colours, even in low light.

Plenty of room in the forest f/1.4 at 1600 ISO

The Nikon lens is well known for its flare, too. This rainbow effect from shooting into the light is caused by internal flare in the lens.

Rainbow flare

The Fuji X equivalent lens, the 90mm f/2, doesn’t have the same flare or bokeh as the much older Nikon. It’s not reasonable to compare them, perhaps, because of their age difference. Both are designed as portrait lenses.

Stronachie Forest X-T2, Nikon 85mm f/1.4

How fortunate we are to live within reach of such wonders of nature.