Skye

After a week of hardly any Sun I got lucky this afternoon, as it was beautiful weather, quite a rare sight on Skye. ;-) No wind and a lot of sun. Towards the sunset though, the sun got behind clouds and the light got boring. Fortunately, a few minutes before sunset, there was a small hole in the clouds and the cliffs became red for a minute or two. And, that was it, no more colors after that.

Going back to Scotland again, this time the fantastic Talisker Bay, Isle of Skye.

I was lucky to get this image as we had got here later than we would have liked due to Mike's car unfortunately getting 2 punctures from a massive pothole the previous day and the resulting need to be recovered from Portree to Broadford to the only place that had 2 tyres the right size.. Complete nightmare but at least there were 2 tyres on the Island that fitted or it could have been a whole lot worse....!

When we got here after a walk on a path that was more like 'ice rink' the sun was already really low and I had to work really quickly to try and get it 'bursting' against the cliff in the gap between the sea stack.

All fingers and thumbs I managed to drop my polariser several times, somehow it landing on sand (thankfully) each time instead of on the big rocks dotted all around the place.

But it all worked out and I'm pleased with this one, we managed quite a few shots from this location as even after the sun had dropped the light remained decent for quite a while, followed by a really stormy sky that rolled in after sunset, amazingly no kit broken at this location, which is getting increasingly rare for me !

Mike has done a great vlog of this trip to Skye in several parts, well worth a watch, they can be found here:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN25teBiXYA

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No fancy semi amusing titles for this one, just exactly what it is, one of the many Squalls that we saw passing by over the Cuillins, (and occasionally over us too giving us a soaking) .

Quite often when these blew over the light was drab and dark and the mountains often dissapeared, so when this one blew threw and it was hit with good light it was game on.... This is one of my faves I've done so far with the light breaking through hitting the mountains and also 'warming up' the storm.

I was like a kid in a sweet shop with all this weather going on !!

Lots more images from this shoot, and others, on my website here - updating regularly

Neist Point

This is one of those wiil-it-work / won't-it-work shots. A strong wind from the sea made it difficult to stand upright, along with never-ending groups of tourists clustering around which made it impossible to set up the tripod, left me with one option: drop the ISO as low as possible, set the f/stop as small as it would go, brace myself against the fence and hope for the best. For a hand-held Long Exposure in such adverse conditions, I'm quite pleased with the result.

Many thanks to SkyeBaggie and SkyeWeasel for all the hints and tips, and it was great to have the chance to meet you both.

...also known as the old bridge at Sligachan. As you can see, the height of the central span is not inconsiderable - and no Paul, I've checked, there is no Indianna Jones style invisible bridge stretching across from the new bridge to the old one. I can however see how one would be completely taken in with the spectacular view across the river to the iconic three Munros of Sgurr nan Gillean, Am Basteir and Bruach na Frith. God, I love this place!

SCOTLAND 2014 - Skye

Quiraing, Isle of Skye

The view from Elgol across Loch Scavaig towards the Black Cuillins, converted this shot to b&w as the sky was kind of featureless

SCOTLAND 2012 - Skye

This is the last one I'll post from here and probably my favourite one.

The lighting up here this day was nothing short of incredible with a passing storm front it was changing dramatically minute by minute from really dark to really light, dappled light, and pretty much everything inbetween including driving wind, rain, and hail.

Snow covered Blaven at the rear, and the snow covered peak to the fore would completely vanish for long periods before reappearing looking dramatic as ever.

This shot was a case of setting up the shot, waiting and watching for the best conditions to (maybe) appear where you could at least see everything. This was the resulting image with all the peaks illuminated, the house, and the foreground rocks underneath a really powerful sky, in a location like this it's very tempting to just snap away but waiting can often be far more productive.

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Bla Bheinn, Cuillin Hills Isle of Skye

There were some special moments on my recent trip to Scotland and this was one of them.
The weather had been on and off through the day but cleared into the evening providing great photo-opportunities as golden hour and sunset approached. As the sun got lower in the sky and the air grew cooler, clouds began to form over the tops of the nearby Red Cuillin. Glamaig in particular grew an almost lenticular cap, and the rest of the group started to grow more usual formations above them.
The hills seen here are (left to right) Glamaig, Beinn Dearg Mhor, Beinn Dearg Mheadhonach, Garbh Bheinn (in the distance) and Marsco. The downside of this spectacular evening and this rapidly forming cloud is that it usually means rain is coming - and it did....

Just when you think it's safe to go back to the car....

This had been one of the best shoots for a long time, with hours of great light, and crazy conditions, the sun had dropped down below the horizon and I was just skirting along the coast looking for potential compositions for (possibly) dramatic black and white images, I never ever leave the scene until about 30 mins after the sun has dropped, today was no different but nothing much was happening in the sky until this epic scene just kicked off for about 5 minutes with breaks in the clouds, some absolutely beserk and very unusual colours came and went quickly, thankfull I'd already found this little spot and was pretty much set up to shoot so I just stayed until it was over and fined tuned the spot I was in a few times to get it exactly how I wanted it.

An absolutely fantastic end to a completely epic day.

Hopefully I'll be uploading quite a few more shots than usual due to being housebound most of the time, stay safe out there folks.

Lots more images from this shoot, and others, on my website here - updating regularly

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The view from Elgol across Loch Scavaig towards the Black Cuillins, although the sky is pretty featureless I kept this shot in colour due to the little bit of colour from the sunset creeping in on the left handside.

First time visit to Talisker Bay on Skye, sunset was a bit muted but I think it suits the mood well

Please View On Black Click Here Sligachan Bridge, February snow covering the Cuillin range, just over an hour later here it was sunshine and clear blue skies, rare at the best of times!

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Isle of Skye

Quiraing, Isle of Skye

Neist Point - the most westerly point of Skye.

Isle of Skye, Scotland

The Quiraing (in Gaelic: A' Chuith-Raing), Isle of Skye, Scotland.

Old man of Storr Isle of Skye

Quiraing, Isle of Skye

Another evening out on Skye, for once the weather on a trip was holding nicely for me, I never have much luck with it usually... With the promise of a possible decent sunset I decided to head for the opposite West side of the Island and a new location for me, Neist Point, it isn't the easiest of places to get to due to the narrow twisty roads but very rewarding when you reach the end, similar to Elgol in that respect.

Arrived a few hours before sunset to have a good wander around and find a decent spot, finally settling up on the cliffs looking over the cliff line down to the lighthouse, the light show didn't disappoint and was beautiful to watch, the Outer Hebrides can be seen in the far right of the frame, South Uist and Barra below it I'm guessing...

The journey back to my tent was made a lot quicker in the dark by the nice local girl from Portree I met who was also out taking pictures, I wasn't sure of the route back so I followed her back to Portree in the car, she drove like Lewis Hamilton so I was back in under an hour which shouldn't have been possible... if you're reading this thanks very much I would definitely have got lost otherwise.

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Couple of images from down by the lighthouse on Neist Point, Skye. Can't quite make up my mind which viewpoint or image I prefer.

SCOTLAND 2014 - Skye

As I was staying on the campsite at Sligachan, it would have been an utter waste if I hadn't joined a fair crowd of other Togs and taken advantage of the wonderful evening conditions. I know the views of the mountains over the old bridge are familiar, but it is popular because it is such an outstanding sight. As you can see the flow of water is very low, which is a shame, but it did make for much easier walking conditions earlier in the day. The mountains on show are Beinn Dearg Mheadhonach, Garbh Bheinn and Clach Glas (in the distance), Marsco and on the extreme right Sgurr na Stri.

Had a few days on the Isle of Skye with a group of photography friends. This was sunset at Elgol and instead of shooting towards the other side of the bay and the Cuillins I decided to go for the burst of colour from the setting sun. This isfirst time in 3 visits I've actually witnessed the sun at Elgol!

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A less well visited section of the famed Quiraing in the North of the Isle of Skye is this - Fingal's Pinnacles. They were formed in the same series of gigantic landslips that created this remarkable landscape. The Quiraing and the Storr are similar in many ways, but at the Storr there a great and majestic monumental monolith, here its more like a gaggle of little old men!