Title: Illumination of Rattray Head
Artist: Manfredteh
Edition: 1/1
Camera: Sony ILCE-7RM3
Lens: Sigma 85mm F1.4 DG DN Art
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 85mm
Shutter Speed: 25s
Aperture: F1.8
Size: 5304 x 7952
Location: Rattray Head Lighthouse, Scotland
Story:
During the summer of 2021, my partner and I went on a road trip to Scotland. We rented a campervan and drove around 1400 miles all around Scotland. One of many spots we visited was the Rattray Head Lighthouse in the North-east coast of Scotland - Aberdeenshire.
Standing at 34m tall, the lighthouse was built in 1895 by two engineers. It sits proudly in the middle of the sea. However, it is possible to access the lighthouse by a causeway that is usually underwater and only visible on a retreating tides.
We visited Rattray Head lighthouse on the final day of our road trip. Prior to arriving at the location, we had drove almost none-stop for five and a half hours. We arrived at the location tired and exhausted from all the none-stop driving around Scotland. The road towards the lighthouse was very narrow and full of potholes, so it wasn't suitable for campervan to drive through it. Therefore, we parked the campervan as close as possible to the lighthouse on a side road which was still about 40 minutes walk away. We had some dinner to recharge before set foot on a 40 minutes of walking journey towards the lighthouse.
Majority of the walk was fairly straight forward up until the final 10 minutes of the walk, where it consists of walking through very soft sand dunes in the dark. We kept having to stop and turn around as we kept getting lost. It was a very easy place to get lost, since there was no clear footpath to get to the lighthouse. After a bit of struggle with the routes, we finally arrived at the beach and we could see the lighthouse beaming away twice every minute.
I then walked around the area to find the best framing, as my partner wanders around the beach. Once I have found the best framing, I proceeded to set up the camera, tripod and the drone. The tides at the time were quite high, so to be flying the drone 250m plus into the sea was quite risky. Nevertheless, it's risk that I was prepare to take. I had to be careful as flying around the lighthouse without being next to it to see how close the drone gets to the lighthouse can be catastrophe. However, after a bit of trial and error, in the end I managed to make it work, I was able to clear the lighthouse without any issue. After an hour or so photographing the lighthouse, I flew the drone back to safety and sit back and flick through the camera, I knew straight away this was going to be the final piece once I saw it. It is why I've risked the £1500 drone for.
We relaxed at the beach for another hour or so before walking back to the campervan. But, it was quite surreal and beautiful to be standing on a beach in the middle of the night where there were not a single soul there that night except for just the two of us and just hearing the sound of the gentle waves and nothing else, was just beautiful. It was one of those peaceful moment that made all the walks and the risk-takings worth the while.
The collector will have the option to receive a 40x60cm physical printed version for this piece.
