A mountaineer has hailed an “incredible stroke of luck” after a photographer snapped a tiny picture of him hiking up a snow-covered Munro – then managed to track him down on Facebook.
Climber Ken Applegate said the image, in which he is barely bigger than a dot, was one of the most striking he had ever seen of the famous Glencoe range.
The picture came about when Sylvan Buckley, 44, made a trip to Glencoe, hoping to photograph a dramatic sunset on February 13.
As he waited, he turned his lens to neighbouring Buachaille Etive Mor
in Glen Etive and snapped a series of photos.
But it was not until Mr Buckley was back home in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, days later that he spotted a tiny figure dressed in a blue jacket against the snowy mountain.
Curious to find out who the climber might be, he turned to the internet and decided to try to track down them down by posting the picture on Facebook and asking others to share it.
Mountaineering instructor Mr Applegate, 38, spotted the picture in his own newsfeed and immediately recognised himself in the photo.
Mr Buckley said: “I was out scouting for photo locations following the River Coupall from Glen Etive up towards the Glencoe pass.
“I was hoping to find a nice location to set up and wait for sunset.
“I noticed some stags on the hills so sat to see if they would come down towards the river.
“While I waited I decided to take some close-up shots of the summit
of Buachaille Etive Mor.
“It wasn’t until I finally got the chance to sit down a week later and go through the shots that I happened to notice the person standing on the ridge. I zoomed in and saw the blue of the man’s coat against the snow.
“I thought I’d reach out and try to find the person that was in the shot.
“Thankfully, I did and sent him a copy of the shot in case he may want to print it for himself.”
Mr Applegate, who runs West Coast Mountain Guides, was taking a client up the mountain when he was caught on camera.
The mountaineer, from Fort William, said: “The second I saw the picture I knew it was me.
“I had been on the mountain with a client around the time Sylvan said he took the picture. I was wearing a blue jacket and red trousers so very distinctive.
“I have seen some amazing pictures of Buachaille Etive Mor over the years, I think it must be the most popular mountain in Scotland for photographers to picture.
“But I couldn’t believe Sylvan managed to get me in the picture and took the time to go over it in that much detail to find me – it’s amazing.
“It’s an incredible stroke of luck.”
Mr Buckley added: “All in all, it was a really good day up in the Glencoe hills and a nice result being able to put a story to one of the shots from the day.
“I always say the pictures I take of the area never do the scale of the mountain justice, but this one does.
“The pictures were taken with a 200mm zoom and really put it into perfect perspective.”
Last month, a stunning image of clouds swirling around the peak of Buachaille Etive Mor beat 1,500 other entries to be named Trail magazine’s UK Mountain Photo Of The Year.
It was taken by Ray Smith, who runs a YouTube channel documenting his wild camping adventures.
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