The Black Mount Hills

Mild, still, overcast and “clammy”, it was absolute midge hell at Dalmally today.
I hate the thing but continued work at the theodolite was impossible without pulling the horrid mesh hood on. We got finished at a decent time and on the road home I stopped and took this from the road side.
I was told a long time ago by an expert that a tripod was probably the single most important accessory to improving your photography. You can scrutinise the intended image corner to corner, check the focus, check the horizon looks level if that is your intention and critically release the shutter by cable or timer without disturbing the instrument. If the exposure is tricky you can bracket a couple for some insurance too. Even at so called hand held shutter speeds I’d swear I can see a benefit.
I say I took this from the road side. I walked maybe 200 or 300 yards from the road edge to what I thought looked like a nice spot.
Anyway, I returned to the car and continued driving north on the A82. The remainder of Rannoch Moor passed and then we entered Glen Coe. On this stretch I passed two photographers stopped at separate laybys. Both had gone to considerable effort setting up their respective tripods; about 3 feet from the car door. An additional 20 paces would have afforded them infinitely better view points.
I take it all back about the tripod. The most important accessory is a pair of boots.