IAIN TURNBULL PHOTOGRAPHY
  • Blog
  • Portfolio
  • NW Highlands
  • Sales
  • Contact
  • About
Iain Turnbull's Photography Blog

Views of Eilean Donan Castle this Morning

25/6/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
It was a relatively early start this morning on my way to Aberdeen to collect my daughter Caitlin from Uni and it was a beautiful sunny morning.  As I approached Eilean Donan I did a very touristy thing and inidctaed right at the last minute to pop into the car park for a few shots of the castle and its reflections in the calm sea.  The above shot was taken from the start of the footbridge to the castle, which is a relatively unusual angle for me.  I liked the way the castle was reflected in the pool between the mainland and the island.  The castle was wonderfully illuminated by the early sun and the sky had just enough cloud against the bright blue to make it interesting.

I really liked the colours in this shot but as always wanted to see what it looked like in black & white.  The following shot was converted using the Nik Collection's Silver Efex Pro software and I applied an orange filter to this one to darken down the sky (I was a bit stuck between a red or yellow filter so unusually went for a happy medium which worked well).  As usual this made the sky much more dramatic and the castle very bright against it.  I think on balance I prefer the B&W version but the colour is nice too.
Picture
Eilean Donan Castle (Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3; Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens at 15mm, ISO 160, 1/100 sec at f/14, Orange Filter, Handheld)
The following two shots are taken from a similar vantage point from a previous time.  Again I like the colour but the black & white is certainly more dramatc, I think.  Both had very similar treatment in terms of post processing.  I tried to do as little a spossible to the colur ones but the shaded areas did need lightened up a little as I had under-exposed the images a little to try and keep some of the detail in the sky and I did not want to use auto-bracketing and HDR merging.  The B&W one had a red filter applied this time.
Picture
Reflection on Eilean Donan Castle (Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3; Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens at 14mm, ISO 160, 1/100 sec at f/14, Handheld)
Picture
Reflection on Eilean Donan Castle (Panasonic Lumix DMC-G3; Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens at 14mm, ISO 160, 1/100 sec at f/14, Red Filter,Handheld)
0 Comments

Sunny Mid-Summer's Day

21/6/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Blue Dragonflies Mating (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro Lens at 300mm, ISO 2500, 1/1,600 sec at f/11, Handheld)
Today was Mid-Summer's Day and we had a power outage at the office.  So after trying to do as much as possible in the office I decided enough was enough and popped out to take advantage of the lovely sunshine to try and capture some shots of the species-rich meadows on the croft land at Drumbuie & Duirinish, and to see if I could get any decent macro shots of dragonflies at Loch Achaidh na h-Inich.

This first shot was taken in the woods at the edge of the loch and shows two dragonflies mating.  I like to soft background and the blue male dragonfly is pretty sharp.  You can actually see the hairs on his back and the tiny spines on his legs when you zoom in to full size.  This has been cropped a fair bit to remove a lot of the background distractions and to focus on the insects.

The next couple of shots are of the same two dragonflies from slightly different vantage points.  I am not sure which I prefer most as they all have bright distractions that take away a bit from the overall quality of the images.
Picture
Blue Dragonflies Mating II (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro Lens at 300mm, ISO 2500, 1/1,600 sec at f/11, Handheld)
Picture
Blue Dragonflies Mating III (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro Lens at 300mm, ISO 2500, 1/640 sec at f/11, Handheld)
I also got a half decent shot of a Green Veined White butterfly by the side of the loch.  This one is not entirely in focus because the flower was moving around a little in the breeze and I should have increased the ISO to get a faster shutterspeed, but it was the best one I managed to get.
Picture
Green Veined White Butterfly (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro Lens at 300mm, ISO 400, 1/125 sec at f/22, Handheld)
Picture
Yellow Flag Iris in Sunshine (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro Lens at 214mm, ISO 2500, 1/1,000 sec at f/20, Handheld)
While at the loch I captured this nice shot of Yellow Flag Iris in the sunshine and the following reflections of the reeds on the loch itself.  I really like the ripple effect and the colours in this last one, it almost looks like smoke.  The slow shutterspeed has smoothed out and blurred the reflections a little.
Picture
Ripples in Reflection (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Macro Lens at 70mm, ISO 500, 1/30 sec at f/22, Handheld)
Finally, I stopped off at Drumbuie for a few shots of the croft meadows.  There was a lot of motion going on in the grasslands due to the stiff NW breeze.  I like these two shots which capture the scale of the view quite well and also the brightness of the day.  There is no better place to spend time on a summer's day.
Picture
Drumbuie & Duirinish Croft Meadows (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 150-500mm f/5.6-6.3 Lens at 150mm, ISO 100, 1/320 sec at f/6.3, Tripod)
Picture
Species-rich Grassland at Drumbuie (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 17mm, ISO 400, 1/200 sec at f/22, Tripod)
0 Comments

Abstract Architectural Photography

13/6/2018

2 Comments

 
Picture
Stairwell (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 2000, 1/100 sec at f/2.8, Handheld)
Tonight's meeting of the South Skye Camera Club was meant to be an outdoor practical session looking at abstract and architectural photography.  However, due to the rather wet weather we mostly adjourned to the indoors at Sabhal Mor Ostaig (the Gaelic College on Skye).  This was definitely a challenge to my comfort zone, being asked to look for interesting and different patterns of colour, light, shade and tone within the buildings.  In the end, as usual, I took many more shots than was necessary but having worked through them I am quite pleased with some of the results.  These are the ones I think are best; a pretty mixed bag.
Picture
Leaf in a Vent (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 800, 1/160 sec at f/2.8, Handheld)
Picture
Dimples (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 800, 1/500 sec at f/1.8, Handheld)
Picture
Red Wall Panel (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 2000, 1/20 sec at f/8.0, Handheld)
Picture
Red Wall Panel - Desaturated (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 2000, 1/20 sec at f/8.0, Handheld)
Picture
Red Wall Panel (B&W) (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 2000, 1/20 sec at f/8.0, Handheld)
Picture
Photos (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 73mm, ISO 500, 1/40 sec at f/4.0, Handheld)
Picture
Brick Wall (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 800, 1/320 sec at f/2.8, Handheld)
Picture
Yellow Tread (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8 USM lens at 35mm, ISO 1000, 1/10 sec at f/7.1, Handheld)
Picture
Running Up The Stairs (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 100, 5 sec at f/22, Tripod)
Picture
Timber Detail (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 105mm, ISO 500, 1/25 sec at f/4.0, Handheld)
Picture
Drinks Machine (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM lens at 105mm, ISO 500, 1/15 sec at f/4.0, Handheld)
Picture
Chairs (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 2000, 1/100 sec at f/2.8, Handheld)
Picture
Wall Panels (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 2000, 1/100 sec at f/6.3, Handheld)
Picture
Yellow Light (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 50mm f/1.8 II lens, ISO 2000, 1/250 sec at f/4.0, Handheld)
2 Comments
    Picture

    Author

    I am an amateur photographer who is also a Chartered Geographer (GIS) with his own part-time consultancy business and I work as an estate manager for a national conservation charity in Scotland.  I am based in Lochalsh, Wester Ross, Scotland, just next to the Isle of Skye.

    Sales

    If you like my photos and are interested in purchasing prints, whether framed, mounted or otherwise please click here.

    Archives

    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Blog
  • Portfolio
  • NW Highlands
  • Sales
  • Contact
  • About