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Photography Blog

Fabulous Trotternish

8/7/2018

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The Trotternish Ridge from Garafad, Staffin (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 17mm, 1/160 sec at f/11, ISO 100, Handheld Panorama of Four Shots)
This post consists of the best images from an short overnight break away to the Trotternish peninsula on Skye.  The weather started off pretty grood but deteriorated to more typical misty, low cloud, but as you can see that change produced some interesting light.
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The Back of the Storr from Garafad, Staffin (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 150-500mm f/5.6-6.3 IS Lens at 213mm, 1/320 sec at f/11, ISO 100, Handheld)
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Brogaig from Garafad, Staffin (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 150-500mm f/5.6-6.3 IS Lens at 213mm, 1/160 sec at f/11, ISO 100, Handheld)
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The Shiants from Kilmuir (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS Lens at 105mm, 1/200 sec at f/11, ISO 100, Handheld)
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Rubha Hunish (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS Lens at 50mm, 1/40 sec at f/11, ISO 100, Handheld)
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Borneskitaig Church (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS Lens at 105mm, 1/13 sec at f/9.0, ISO 100, Handheld)
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Loch Alsh from Carr Brae

8/7/2018

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Loch Alsh from Carr Brae (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 17mm, 1/40 sec at f/18, ISO 100, Tripod)
Carr Brae is the high point on the old road to Kyle, by-passed now by the modern trunk road.  The view is wonderful looking either east or west.  This shot is looking west, taken late one evening last week.
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Final Post from Last Weekend

7/7/2018

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Loch Laxford (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm, f/2.8L USM Lens at 17mm, 1/80 sec at f/16, ISO 250, CPL filter, Handheld)
This is the last post with images taken last weekend in the NW.  In this case these are all from north of Lochinver, up to Durness.
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Old Tractor at Skerricha (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm, f/4L IS USM Lens at 92mm, 1/100 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, Handheld)
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Kyle of Durness (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm, f/4L IS USM Lens at 24mm, 1/125 sec at f/11, ISO 200, CPL filter, Handheld)
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The Bridge over the River Dionard, Durness (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens at 24mm, 1/80 sec at f/8.0, ISO 200, CPL filter, Handheld)
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Balnakiel Beach (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm, f/2.8L USM Lens at 18mm, 1/200 sec at f/16, ISO 250, CPL filter, Handheld)
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The Church Yard, Balnakiel (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm, f/2.8L USM Lens at 17mm, 1/100 sec at f/16, ISO 250, CPL filter, Handheld)
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Quinaig from Drumbeg (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm, f/2.8L USM Lens at 35mm, 1/80 sec at f/16, ISO 400, CPL filter, Handheld)
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Hippies Use the Back Door (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm, f/2.8L USM Lens at 35mm, 1/80 sec at f/16, ISO 400, CPL filter, Handheld)
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Waterlilly Lochan (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm, f/2.8L USM Lens at 17mm, 1/125sec at f/16, ISO 250, CPL filter, Handheld)
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Waterlilly (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma 70-300mm DG f/4-5.6 Lens at 300mm, 1/500 sec at f/16, ISO 400, Handheld)
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The Next Installment from Last Weekend

5/7/2018

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Old House, Elphin (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 17mm, 1/60 sec at f/18, ISO 400, CPL filter, Tripod)
This small selection of shots was taken on my way north towards Durness on Saturday morning.  The first one is of an old house situated on top of a small knoll near the main road at the north edge of the village of Elphin in Sutherland.  I always fine these old buildings very interesting and this one has regularly attracted my attention in the past, being loctaed in a very prominent position.  As you can see from the second shot it has a splendid outlook to the west towards Suilven.
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Old House & Suilven, Elphin (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 26mm, 1/80 sec at f/16, ISO 250, CPL filter, Tripod)
There are always nice little architectural details on these buildings that provide excellent images as can be seen from the next two shots.  The first is a close up shot of part of the roof of the old house above, while the next is a window detail of an old tin house on the other side of the main road.
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Roof Detail, Old House, Elphin (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 35mm, 1/80 sec at f/18, ISO 400, CPL filter, Tripod)
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Window Detail, Old Tin House, Elphin (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 35mm, 1/100 sec at f/18, ISO 400, CPL filter, Tripod)
The final shot in this selection is a classic touristy shot of Ardvreck Castle on Loch Assynt with the lower slopes of Quinaig as a backdrop.  This was taken using my Sigma 70-300mm zoon lens from a fair distance.  Not one of my best shots but one to remind me that I ought to revisit this site for a longer duration, preferably during the quiet season.
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Ardvreck Castle, Loch Assynt (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Lens at 300mm, 1/640 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, Tripod)


Still more to come from this trip over the next day or two.....
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More Photos from Coigach & Assynt

4/7/2018

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Suilven from the Inverkirkaig Road (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens at 75mm, 1/640 sec at f/14, ISO 400, Handheld)
I have been slowly working my way through the many shots I took last weekend so here is the next installment.  This one is of Suilven gradually being revealed from the low lying cloud which was hanging in the glens early in the morning on Friday.  The cloud soon burned off to leave a very hot and sunny day.  Canisp is also showing to the rear and right of Suilven.

The coast road from Ullapool to Lochinver is one of the most spectacular in the north-west with tantalizing glimpses of the famous hills which stand out separately from each other, unlike the hills further south in Wester Ross.  This creates a dramatic landscape with lots of moorland interspersed with broadleaved woodland, plenty of small lochs and lochans and occasional views of the sea and beyond.  This next image is of a paricularly scenic section of that road where it hugs the rocky shoreline and presents the motorist with tight blind corners and sheer drops into the sea.  It is definitely one of my favourite bits of road, albeit relatively short.
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The Coastal Road (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 17mm, 1/80 sec at f/13, ISO 400, Handheld)
The next couple of shots illustrate the distinctive stand-alone peaks and small lochans that so characterise this wonderful area.  The first shows Stac Pollaidh while the second is of Suilven from Glencanisp.  I used a combination of my Zomei circular polarizing filter and ND8 full neutral density filter to emphasise the bright blue of the skye ad vibrant colours in the landscape, and to slow down the shutter speed to try and capture some movement in the foreground vegetation in the light breeze.  The first element worked well but the movement did not really work.  Still I like the shot.
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Stac Pollaidh from above Inverpollaidh (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 18mm, 0.4 sec at f/22, ISO 50, CPL and ND8 ND filter, Tripod)
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Suilven from Glencanisp (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 18mm, 1/320 sec at f/13, ISO 400, CPL filter, Handheld)
The next shot in this group was taken on my way to Achiltibuie from one of my favourite vantage points.  It shows the road to the Summer Isles in all its colourful glory with Beinn Mor Coigach on the left and Stac Pollaidh creeping in on the mid-right distance.  On a day like Friday at this early hour the landscape was illuminated perfectly by the sun and there is just enough cloud in the sky to add a little depth.
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The Road to the Summer Isles (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 17mm, 1/125 sec at f/13, ISO 200, CPL filter, Handheld Panorama of two shots)
The final shot in this group was taken back at Achnahaird beach, or just above it on the machair,  in the early evening with the landscape lit by the sun in the west, looking eastwards towards the hills with the colourful grassland swaying in the foreground.  This was also taken using the CPL to emphasise the bright colours.
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Coigach Hills and Machair Grassland at Achnahaird (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM Lens at 23mm, 1/30 sec at f/18, ISO 100, Tripod)
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My Yosemite

3/7/2018

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The Summer Isles from above Altandhu (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm F/4 L Lens at 105mm, 1/60 sec at f/18, ISO 250, Handheld Panorama of 4 shots)
Anyone who has any interest in photography has heard of Ansel Adams.  He was undoubtedly one on the greatest landscape photographers of all time and was particularly well known for his association with Yosemite National Park in the USA and was a strong advocate for the conservation of wild land and landscape in general.  For me, Adams was, and remains, a major influence and inspiration for my photography.  Also, the area of Assynt and Coigach in the North West of Scotland is the main reason I became involved in the world of conservation. 

Having been brought up in my early days in central Scotland our family visited Assynt most years on holiday, a tradition I kept up with my own young family.  The area is truly spectacular and was immensely influential in inspiring me to want to live and work in the NW Highlands and particulalry to protect and promote our wonderful Highland landscapes, the people who live there and their way of life.  I always try to get up there, only 100 miles form where we live, at least once a year for some photography, and this year I managed a weekend of camping at Altandhu, near Achilitibuie, at the end of June.  The weather was scorchingly hot with very few clouds in the sky so not truly ideal for photography, with the light often being  challenging in terms of getting the correct exposure. I did manage to take a huge number of shots, some good, many not so good, and over the next few days I will be processing them  to reflect the way I visualised them at the time, by way of a record of that trip.  This may take a little time so I will post them as I go and I hope you enjoy them as much as I did the trip.
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The Assynt & Coigach Hills from Achnahaird Brae (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm F/4L IS Lens at 24mm, 1/200 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, Handheld)
These first two shots were taken as I arrived late in the evening.  The day was still bright and sunny, being just after the longest day at this northerly latitude.  At this time of dfay the iconic hills are often illuminated by the low sun in the west.

The following shot was taken as the sun was setting behind Achnahiard and desp[ite there being almost no clouds in the sky there was just enough colour and cloud off to the north-west to provide this lovely subtle glow.  Looking at this shot I am drawn to the line of telegraph poles running away into the distance on the right of the shot.  As a child I used to constantly doodle little landscapes in the margins of my jotters at school, and they always had lines of poles running off into the distance.  Maybe this is where that habit came from?
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Sunset over Achnahaird fro Loch Vatachan (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-105mm F/4L IS Lens at 40mm, 0.4 sec at f/22, ISO 100, Tripod)
The following morning I had a work meeting at 10:30 but woke up really early and after breakfast was out and about with my cameras just after 5am.  The next few shots were captured during that early morning light and as you will see provided some fantastic opportunities.
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Morning Mist around Suilven from Achnahard (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma DG 70-300mm F/4-5.6 Macro Lens at 119mm, 1/3200 sec at f/10, ISO 100, Handheld)
This is one of my favourite shots from the trip, capturing the very bright but pale colours of early morning and the mist hanging around the base of Suilven.  The distant hills are wonderfully subtle shades of grey and the wispy clouds in the top left add interest that would soon burn off as the day warmed up.  The passing place in the foreground is one of my regular features as I am trying to capture a series of spectacular landscapes with passing places in them.  These iconic things are gradually disappearing in our landscape as roads are widened or when they are damaged and not replaced. 

The following couple of shots were taken in the boggy area in the foreground of the above shot where the bog cotton (Eriopherum) was if full flower producing a fantastic display of white.
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Suilven & Bog Cotton (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma 70-300mm DG F/4-5.6 Macro Lens at 119 mm, 1/60 sec at f/22, ISO 100, Tripod)
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Coigach Bog (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 17-35mm f/2.7L USM Lens at 17 mm, 1/320 sec at f/22, ISO 100, Tripod)
The following shot was taken from just above the beach at Achnahaird looking north towards Quniaig.  Again the early morning light produced beautiful suble shades of blue/grey
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Quinaig from Achnahaird Bay (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Sigma 70-300mm DG F/4-5.6 Macro Lens at 168 mm, 1/1600 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, Handheld)

More to follow shortly..........

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    I am an amateur photographer who is also a Chartered Geographer 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.

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