The Southern Highlands
Beinn Dorain · March 2023 · NN 325 376
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The Photograph
The Southern Highlands
Hasselblad X1D 45mm
Looking south from Beinn Dòrain, this view takes in a huge sweep of the Southern Highlands, with many of its Munros stretching away towards the horizon. A fresh fall of snow that morning had briefly returned the mountains to full winter conditions, despite this being the middle of March. Snow this late in the season can disappear remarkably quickly. The strengthening spring sun and milder temperatures strip it from the lower slopes first, and even at higher levels a complete covering can soon become broken and patchy. For panoramic photographs in particular, that changes everything. What looks clean and simple under an unbroken covering of snow can become visually cluttered once the darker ground begins to show through. Knowing that this probably wouldn't last, I headed up Beinn Dòrain that afternoon and reached the summit in time to photograph it before sunset.