#FS Print Monday

It’s been an incredible year for #fsprintmonday and it took our team days to whittle down to a winner but we managed it. After much deliberation we selected a true masterpiece in photographic form. @macsurg entered this stunning image back in October 2021 and it had been etched in our minds ever since. The morning light is sensational catching the trees and silhouetting the perched Cormorant to perfection.

@macsurg Winning Image 2022

This years winner......

 

Graham MacKay is a surgeon by day but always takes the opportunity to hone his skills with his professional hobby in photography.

We took the opportunity to ask Graham about his winning image and here is what he had to say.
“The ‘Sitting Pretty’ image was taken in October last year on the banks of Loch Ard in Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park. It was taken just after sunrise with the autumnal colours at their best.
Loch Ard is an incredibly beautiful place. It is the place I go to most often to take photographs and is just an hour’s drive from my house. Thankfully on an October morning that doesn’t mean getting up at too crazy an hour to catch the sunrise.

On this morning I was actually on my way home in the car driving back along the road which winds along the northern bank of the loch. The location where the image was taken is relatively well known although I’d never previously got a shot I was happy with. And I was looking for something a bit different. When I drove past and saw the bird sitting so still on the perch in the loch I couldn’t believe my luck. I pulled the car over as quickly as I could and grabbed the camera out of my bag. I thought sure it would be another of those prize winning shots that you see in your head but are gone by the time you turn on the camera. I shouldn’t have worried. The Cormorant was in absolutely no hurry. It was like it was waiting to have his portrait done.

I kneeled down in front of a dry stone wall which borders the loch and used the wall to steady my camera. I was firing off shots just to try to make sure I got something usable but in the end the bird sat beautifully still for about 20mins and I was able to just enjoy getting the composition that I was most happy with.
It was one of the few times that I knew straight away that I had taken one of my favourite images. I love the autumnal colours, the warm morning light, the mist adding to the atmosphere and the sense of calm with the bird just relaxing in the scene. The light rays dancing on the surface of the loch is just the icing on the cake.”

Graham is fortunate to live in such an area of natural beauty and he certainly makes the most out of it! (just look at the other images of his throughout this blog)
“I would think a majority of my favourite images are taken in about a 5 mile radius of Loch Ard, so whenever I’m looking to get out with the camera again I’m fairly confident of coming back with an image I’m happy with. Even if I don’t get a photo, it’s a wonderful place to spend time.
Autumn is by far my favourite time to visit and because of the topography the Loch tends to hold on to morning mist for long periods. When you combine the mist and the morning sun it just makes for a wealth of opportunities and different little scenes every time you visit.”

Equipment used.....

The image was taken with a Sony A7RIII camera, and it was one occasion that Graham was really grateful to have a camera with such great resolution. He only had a 70-200mm lens with him which was not really long enough but was able to crop in to get the framing he wanted, still with enough resolution to be able to make a nice print.
When Graham entered the image in to the #fsprintmonday weekly competition the reaction blew him away.
“It is so nice when an image that you love yourself has a similar connection for other people. It is not always that way. It is particularly nice to receive such supportive and positive comments and also from photographers whose work I really admire.

I think it is probably one of my most popular images on social media. While that may not be the most important thing, there is certainly a reassurance when it is also one of your own favourites.”
To now top it all off, being chosen as the Fotospeed Photographer of the Year is just amazing. It has come as a huge surprise and I’m not sure it has really sunk in yet. I’m very excited!”

There have been some incredible winners over the years and Graham’s is no exception but if you are still unsure about whether or not entering #fsprintmonday is for you, one of the previous winners Amy Bateman who has recently joined the Fotospeed team having become an Ambassador, has mentioned in her blog how entering weeklies gave her inspiration and helped her develop as a photographer. Take a look here.