Timelines

December was a month of continuous grey with low cloud, mist and rain enveloping the landscape for much of the time. This encouraged me to stay close to home and limit my wanders with the camera to exploring the rocky shoreline of Loch Sunart within a mile or two of my home at Resipole. As you walk along the shoreline, the eye tends to get drawn to the expansive views of Loch Sunart as it curves through the hills of Sunart to its north and the hills of Morvern to its south. However, I found myself paying more attention to the rocks and boulders that were under my feet, capturing images of their curves and patterns, while contemplating on how they told me a story of how the landscape was formed and the immense timescales involved.
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​Walking along the shoreline westwards from Resipole, in the littoral zone between the sea and the ancient Atlantic oakwoods, means picking your way over the countless rounded boulders. It is slow going, with eyes pointed downwards as you carefully move your feet from one boulder to another. 

​However, as one footstep follows another, you begin to notice that what initially appeared to be a monochrome shoreline is actually full of colour. Blacks and greys gradually give way to the red and pink hues that are mixed in with them and you begin to realise that you are walking on multi-coloured parcels of geological time. 

​Look closer again and you begin to find boulders with waves of white running through them, causing you to stop and consider the magnitude of the forces that were at play when these lines were formed, lines that speak of the area's dynamic volcanic past.

​However, it is a mile or so further west along the Loch, at the entrance to Sàilean nan Cuileag, where evidence of the forces and processes that shaped the landscape is particularly evident. The bare rock that lies there, between the sea and a blanket of heather and bracken, is a maze of twisted lines and fissures that speaks loudly of the Peninsula’s creation.

​It is awe-inspiring to think that these folds and grooves are physical records of immense forces and processes that were at play millions of years ago, when the now long extinct volcanic ring complex that formed Ardnamurchan was at the peak of its activity.

​However, it is perhaps the immensity of geological time compared to the brevity of human time that is more awe-inspiring. Geological time spans the 4.54 billion years of the Earth’s existence and dwarfs the mere thousands of years of human history. To comprehend this, consider that if the 4.54-billion-year timeline was represented by a 24-hour clock, then the entirety of recorded human history would fit into a mere 1-second sliver of it.

Considering this, it is little wonder that while exploring these ancient formations, I felt a blend of curiosity, respect, and reverence for them. They are silent storytellers of Earth's geological past. Not only did they encourage me to photograph them, but they invited me to listen and reflect, capturing what I felt, rather than capturing what I saw.