An Afternoon in Kintail and Letterfearn

Rainbow & The Five Sisters of Kintail (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 100, 1/100 sec at f/16, CPL Filter)

It was such a beautiful day today that by the afternoon I had to get out with the camera and try and get some decent shots.  I headed east to Kintail because for a long time I have been wanting to get a photo of the falls on the River Shiel at Kintail and since we have had a few wet days I thought there ought to be a decent amount of water, but not too much.  It was a bit difficult to get a good vantage point because I didn't take my wellies (lesson learned) but I was pretty happy with the one below.  It was good in colour but I feel the black & white really added something in terms of contrast and texture.  Maybe once the autumn colours are in full swing it might be worth going back, if the weather permits.  The image above was just too good an opportunity to miss.  I had just gone down to the shore to try and get a nice colorful image of the Five Sisters when the rainbow appeared.  It was a bit pale but worked well enough.  The sky was an amazing colour of blue too and there were lots of clouds to add interest and depth to the composition.

River Shiel (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 50, 2.5 sec at f/16, CPL Filter)

Loch Shiel (below) is another one of these places where you often get really nice reflections since the loch is pretty sheltered most of the time.  Today was no exception, but once again the lack of wellies was a problem.  It was difficult to get a good vantage point with the loch and the mountains in the background without paddling and I didn't fancy getting my feet that wet.  I will return to this location though, and perhaps take a walk along the far side of the loch and further up the glen where there is an old deserted settlement which might provide some good atmospheric shots if the light is right.

Loch Shiel, Kintail (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 400, 1/30 sec at f/16)

Boat at Ratagan & The Five Sisters of Kintail (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 100, 1/100 sec at f/11, CPL Filter)

I do like having boats in my compositions of west coast landscapes.  This one was full of character with peeling paint and lots of texture in the old wood planks.  The backdrop of the Five Sisters provided an excellent backdrop as well.

The image below was simply taken because the sky and the clouds today were excellent and I just took this on impulse but I really like the tones and textures.

Clouds (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, 24-105mm lens at 24mm, ISO 400, 1/400 sec at f/11)