Out And About - Despite the Weather

Bla Bheinn from Torrin (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 120mm, 1/250 sec at f/8.0, ISO 200, handheld)

So this weekend, at last it was possible to get out and about with the camera, a little further than five miles at least.  The above photo of Bla Bheinn from the shore of Loch Slapin is my favourite from the two days, just managing to catch a brief bit of light on parts of the mountain and the moody dark sky adding to the sense of drama.

On Saturday I had to pop up to Kinlochewe, so took the opportunity to drive on towards Gairloch.  I had never been right along the road to Red Point, so decided to take a bit of reconnaisance trip, despite the light being a bit flat and the rain being a constant threat.  I took the chance of using my Intrepid 5x4" large format camera and will soon be in the darkroom to see how those exposures come out.  However, as always, I took along my trusty Canon EOS 5D Mark II and lenses producing this image, more-or-less the same composition as the large format exposures.  This is looking down the Inner Sound with the Skye hills on the right and in front.  It looked a bit flat in colour but the conversion to monochrome definately adds something to the sky.  The seat provides a bit of a leading line into the frame.

Looking Down the Inner Sound from Red Point (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II lens at 24mm, 1/50 sec at f/16, ISO 100, ND 0.6 Grad Filter, tripod)

On the way home I took the Shieldaig to Applecross road, while it was still not too busy with tourists, and shot these two images, the first looking back across Loch Torridon, which might make it into my collection of Passing Places.

Looking across Loch Torridon (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II lens at 24mm, 1/80 sec at f/16, ISO 400, handheld)

The second image is from the top of the Bealach na Ba, looking across one of the rockiest expanses of ground anywhere in the country.  I particularly liked the way the distant peak (Carn Dearg) was showing intermittently through the low cloud.  The colours of the stones in the foreground are amazingly red.

Stoney Ground (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II Lens at 70mm, 1/80 sec at f/16, ISO 400, handheld)

This afternoon, I crossed the bridge to Skye, although I had little hope of anything good with the camera, with heavy rainfall as I headed towards Kyle of Lochalsh.  However, as is so often the way with the west Highlands, the weather can change in a second, and so it was when I arrived at Torrin.  The first image, at the top of this post, is definately my favourite from the day, capturing that elusive moment with bright patches of sunlight through the clouds in an otherwise dark and brooding landscape.  I also took the chance to shoot some more with my Intrepid large format camera, and the next image is approximately the same composition I selected, I will post those images once I have developed the film along with the one from yesterday.  The film version will be in black and white, this one is desaturated colour.

Bla Bheinn and Stunted Trees (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM II lens at 35mm, 1/200 sec at f/16, ISO 800, ND 0.9 Grad filter, tripod)

The final shot was taken from just below the trees in the previous image, looking up towards Beinn Dearg Mhor.  The contrasting colours of the mountain from the tree and the grassy foreground, set against the grey cloudy sky appealed to me.

Stunted Tree and Beinn Dearg Mhor (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 70mm, 1/400 sec at f/8.0, ISO 200, handheld)