Author: Robb Towns

All weekend long the earth was hit with a huge solar storm which caused amazing Northern and Southern Lights (The Aurora Borealis or the Aurora Australis).

I was so excited to get out and photograph these, but it seemed as though it wasn’t meant to be. I went out shortly after dark and it was cloudy. I checked again at 11:45pm and it was still horizon to horizon clouds. This was really frustrating as amazing pictures were being posted all over my social media and on the news. So, I gave up, disappointed that I was going to miss yet another astro event due to clouds.

But wait.. at 3 am I got woken up by a noise. I looked out the window and it was totally clear and the Northern Light were dancing right above the house. So happy with my shots. There is even a selfie with me and the lights.

I shot all these photos with my Nikon D5300, a 10-22mm wide angle lens. Settings were F5, ISO1600, 5-10 second shutter speed. Manual focused to infinity.

Here is an explanation of the various colours in the northern lights

With our quick adventure coming to an end, we spent the day doing two of our favourite walks. A walk around the Brough of Birsay and a walk around the Cliffs of Yesnaby out to the Castle of Yesnaby (a Sea Stack). Later, We also had to return the Rental Car, so we had a little walk around Kirkwall. So there are few pictures from Kirkwall and out in Orphir before I packed up all the Camera gear for the trip back home.

Brough of Birsay

The Brough of Birsay is an uninhabited tidal island off the north-west coast of The Mainland of Orkney, Scotland, in the parish of Birsay. It is located around 13 miles north of Stromness and features the remains of Pictish and Norse settlements as well as a modern light house.

The island is accessible on foot at low tide via a largely natural causeway. It is separated from the mainland by a 240-metre (790-foot) stretch of water at high tide: the Sound of Birsay. You need to get back onto the mainland of Orkney or you risk being stranded for up to 12 hours while the tides rise and fall. The Orkney weather makes this not very appealing unless you are super prepared.

Yesnaby

Yesnaby is an area in Sandwick , on the west coast of Orkney Mainland, Scotland, south of Skara Brae. It is renowned for its spectacular Old Red Sandstone coastal cliff scenery which includes sea stacks, blowholes, geos and frequently boiling seas. A car park, coastal trail and interpretive panels serve visitors. The area is popular with climbers because of Yesnaby Castle, a two-legged sea stack just south of the Brough of Bigging. The stack is sometimes described as a smaller version of the Old Man of Hoy. Yesnaby is also one of the very few places where tine flower Primula scotica grows. Unfortunately, they only come out later in the year, so we missed them this time.

Kirkwall and Ophir last views

A few pictures from Kirkwall and out in Orphir before I packed up all the Camera gear for the trip back home.

One of the things we did on a previous trip to Orkney was take a boat trip around Scapa Flow. Our little group of friends was really interested in doing that as an Orkney Adventure. After trying to get in touch with a couple of companies, we were recommended to really nice guy with a great boat that took us not only around parts of Scapa Flow but also out into the Atlantic Ocean and up along the West Coast of the Mainland to see the Black Craigs.

After our wonderful boat trip, we had a little wander around the town of Stromness.

We travelled by ferry to the Island of Hoy with the specific intention to walk out to and photograph the Old Man of Hoy Sea Stack. This walk was almost 10kms long and we had to climb and descend the equivalent of 60 flights of stairs to get there. To be honest I wasn’t sure my legs were up to the task, but my walking partners were extremely supportive and patient and we did it. The walk and photography was spectacular but the best part was doing it with my Daughter, Dave and Alison and Karen.

After our walk out to the Old man of Hoy, we had lunch at the car and then we took a short walk down to the Bothy at Rackwick Bay Beach. We were treated to a visit with some Highland Cows (Coo’s). They were super friendly and posed for us for quite some time.

We took a short ferry ride from Kirkwall to the Island of Shapinsay. We haven’t been to the island since the summer of 1985. Not much has changed, but we did visit a couple of new places.

We first stopped at the Burroughston Broch. It was first excavated in 1862. The site overlooks the North Sea on the northeast part of Shapinsay. Burroughston Broch is still well-preserved. The drystone walls are up to four metres thick in some parts and there is a complete chamber intact off the entrance passage. Some remains of stone fittings are evident in the interior.

We then travelled to a beach at the very north end of Shapinsay that is well know for Otters. Unfortunately, they were very camera shy, but we sent some time enjoying the sunshine and hunting for sea shells on the beach.

We had to head back to the pier head to be on time for our ferry back to Kirkwall and I got some great pictures of Balfour Castle and the village.

Took a sort of surprise visit to the Orkney Islands in Scotland. The other half of the Imalaird Team flew over on April 1st to be with her Dad and see our daughter who lives in Kirkwall. Coincidently, our daughter took possession of her 1st home on the day my wife arrived in Kirkwall.

My wife’s best friend Karen had made plans to join her in Orkney a week or so after she arrived as a 60th birthday present to herself. She asked if I would like to travel with her and I agreed. I am still not sure I would want to travel that far (2 hour car ride, and 3 flights) on my own just yet due to my health concerns. But together we did it and arrived with no incidents.

You don’t come to Orkney for the weather, so I haven’t been able to get out every day, but I have gotten some rather nice Photos.

The Parish of Orphir and my favourite abandoned croft house.

The Ring of Brodgar

The Ring of Brodgar is large stone henge that is generally thought to have been erected between 2500 BC and 2000 BC. The very impressive stones have stood so long that people no longer remember what their purpose was for.

The Stones of Stenness and the Barnhouse Settlement

Just a little drive down the road from the Ring of Brodgar are the Standing Stones of Stenness. They may be the oldest Henges in all of the UK.

Something I have always wanted to do was visit the Vantage Point Viewing area at Pierre Elliot Trudeau Airport (YUL) in Montreal, Quebec. I have seen amazing photos taken from this viewing area just off one of the active runways. On Monday night I finally had the opportunity to stop by and capture a few photos. Unfortunately between my leaving for and arriving at the viewing area, they switched to the more northern runway, so while no real close up photos, I got a few interesting shot as the sunset was just amazing.

We went and did two locations today. We went to the Mer Bleu Boardwalk and to the Ottawa Airport to capture a couple of airplanes on approach.

The Mer Bleu Board walk is located in the east end of Ottawa. You can find it here using the what3word app/website (https://w3w.co/shattered.overwhelms.lotteries)

We also went over to the the Ottawa Airport and captured a couple of planes on approach into the airport. We took the picture from the following location: https://w3w.co/vitals.drones.records

The planes we were able to capture were:

• Air transat – TS889 – Airbus 321 from Santa Clara
• Air Canada – AC8866 – CRJ2 – from Washington DC

I recently bought a Cotton Carrier System for my cameras. I got the Dual Camera option as I now travel with two Nikon D5300 bodies to do my photos. I used to just switch lens on the fly, but wind, dust and sand are real issues in that scenario. I have been carrying both camera around my neck most of the winter, and what a pain in the neck/back that is. So this weekend I set up all the gear and we went down to the Ottawa River to take some shots and try it out.

I finally was able to capture a Robin in our backyard. I have seen them around the neighbourhood while I have been out on walks, but by the time I get my camera up, they are flying away.