White and Shade

[Wiener]

A couple more from yesterday. These are taken in the Fairy Glen, a rare place in Scotland where soft the glacial sediments are almost vertical, protected only by caps of tree and grass, such that in places they stand as lofty pillars of bare soil. The ground here is quite unstable, resembling photographs of 'bad-lands' I have seen taken elsewhere in the World. It is a hard place to take good photographs as access is very limited, but winter is often the best whilst the leaves are still missing from the trees. There is a natural beauty and mystery about these woods though...
Andy

 

[Genster]

Great photos Andy, as always

 

[quester]

That second shot, to me, really shows how unstable the soil is..
Are these badlands green or brown in the summer?

 

[lensman]

Andy,

Great photo's, like quester, I'm curious to know what the landscape looks like without snow, do you have any other photo's?

David

 

[Wiener]

Hi Genster/quester/David,
thanks for your interest. Here is a photograph from Autum last year. I think it gives a good overall impression of how the 'bad lands' look without the snow?
It is a super place, just not easy to access! Unless you are a fairy...
Andy

 

[Genster]

All those different leaf colors, beautiful

 

[quester]

Here is a photograph from Autum last year. I think it gives a good overall impression of how the 'bad lands' look without the snow?
Andy

Well, as opposed to your regular verdant lushness, I suppose you could call them "badlands"...
They look pretty "good" from my perspective...although indeed it's strange to see that there are bare areas that copious amounts of rain have apparently not managed to green.

 

[thelps]

Andy, you never cease to surprise. I like #1, it has a desolate appearance, those poor trees just hanging on.
As usual the background story adds to the images

 

[Wiener]

Here is a photograph from Autum last year. I think it gives a good overall impression of how the 'bad lands' look without the snow?
Andy

Well, as opposed to your regular verdant lushness, I suppose you could call them "badlands"...
They look pretty "good" from my perspective...although indeed it's strange to see that there are bare areas that copious amounts of rain have apparently not managed to green.

I quester,
I think the main reason that these slopes have not managed to 'green over' is that they are still very young, at least in geological time! Not a day over 10,000 years... When the ice left back then it left very deep deposits of fine-grained material, well compacted and really quite stable unless they get wet. However, as the ice retreated the melt water cut down a long way into them, because the underlying bedrock was 20 or 30 meters below the surface: no reason to stop until they reached the bottom! The valleys cut by this meltwater only have little trickles of water at their bases now, so not much erosion there. So it is really only rain and snow that very gradually cuts into these soft cliffs, bringing down only very small amounts of soil each year. Perhaps in another 10,000 years they will have reached stable slope angles then all will be happy and green...until the ice returns of course!
Thanks for asking!
Andy

 

[Wiener]

Andy, you never cease to surprise. I like #1, it has a desolate appearance, those poor trees just hanging on.
As usual the background story adds to the images

Yes, they do look as though they are not long for this life...the way the light was picking out the contours of the eroding bank and the white sugar-icing snow covering...just could not resist trying to capture the moment...
All the best Tim,
Andy

 

[Gab]

Andy, wonderful pictures and the auto white balance is working great!

 

[Wiener]

Thank you Gab!