A Thaw in Assynt
On handling a thaw and feeling like I was home again
In January 2024 I once again headed up to Scotland - initially with Dave Tolcher for the traditional stopover at the Kingshouse Hotel where we saw exceptional snow and ice conditions and then on up to Assynt to meet up with Andrew Nadolski. By dawn the following morning after arriving at our house, a great thaw was on and conditions were changing rapidly. The house was the same one where we had spent a week with my father the previous November so it felt quite homely.
We all headed out for a banker location that Dave Tolcher and I knew well - a small lochan with Assynt mountains reflected behind. A lovely spot. I was feeling my usual grumpy dawn self but at least I had a new toy to play with. I was in the process of finally transitioning to Phase One - at this stage an IQ3 100 back - so I was excited to be out.
Arriving at the location in plenty of time I hunted for a composition but nothing was working - the ice was broken and melting quickly and vistas felt a bit betwixt and between, especially after my Rannoch Moor compositions a couple of days before with deep ice. I decided to change tack and go right onto the edge of the lochan and try my long lens - a 180mm. I noticed a wavy piece of grass stranded on the melting ice some way into the lochan, found a composition just as the ice started to catch the light from a coloured cloud and set up the alternative image. A very satisfying morning.
The thaw was full on that day and by the next day the snow and ice was all gone, the winds were up high and the rivers were full to overflowing with water. The morning was spent with Andrew and me hunkered down on one of the Assynt rivers trying to avoid the wind. In the afternoon I managed to make the main image using my recently acquired Rodenstock 70mm as we visited a location Dave and I had spotted on a previous trip.
The Phase IQ3, whilst having significant usability issues in terms of image execution (no preview histogram), had enabled me to reconnect with my Linhof Technikardan film days and processes. It just felt so natural. And the quality step in terms of Phase One image colour and Rodenstock lenses was remarkable compared to what I had been using. It didn’t feel like a change, it felt like coming home.
