Afternoon Sunlight on Autumnal Wester Ross

Sunshine & Shadow, Plockton & The Applecross Hills (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lerns at 200mm, 1/160 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, handheld)

On Friday afternoon I found time to pop over to Plockton for a short walk down to the beach at Dubh-aird.  The above shot was taken from the parking area, looking across the crofts towards the Applecross Hills.  I used my 70-200mm lens at full zoom to foreshorten the perspective and emphasise the contrast between the sunny foreground and the shadow on the hills.  The desaturated style emphasises the textures in the landscape while retaining the essence of the autumnal colours which would have been lost in monochrome.

The following couple of shots were also taken from the parking area, looking out to sea, towards Raasay.  The stormy squalls were producing curtains of rain and patches of light across the landscape.  I found the contrast between the light and dark areas hard to expose correctly but, with a little post-processing and opting once again for the desaturated style, I feel these two images work well.

Rainy Squalls on Loch Kishorn & Raasay from Plockton (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lerns at 190mm, 1/200 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, handheld)

Rainy Squalls on Raasay from Plockton (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lerns at 195mm, 1/125 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, handheld)

On my way home I stopped at Drumbuie at one of my favourite views across the crofts, looking towards Duirinish and the Beinn Damh in the background.  The following image captures the view nicely, demonstrating the mix of habitats in this marvellous landscape and the variable light that is so common at this time of year.

Crofts and Woodland at Drumbuie & Duirinish (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lerns at 200mm, 1/100 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, handheld)