Some Wildflowers from Drumbuie & Barleyport

Wild Rose (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 185mm, 1/1,600 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, handheld)

I had a wonderful walk round the Duirinish-Drumbuie-Port an Eorna loop this afternoon and took all my DSLR kit.  In the end I only used the one lens, my Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens, which is possibly my favourite lens, apart from being a pretty heavy combination with the 5D Mark II. As a result most of my shots ended up being of wild flowers.  I might have been wiser to have swapped the lens for my Sigma 105mm macro but was just enjoying the walk and not particularly focused on my photography.

The above shot was taken in Port an Eorna (Barleyport).  I really like these wild roses and they make wonderful photgraphic subjects.  The rest were taken along the route and represent only a few of the wild flowers in these fantastic croft grasslands.  In another few weeks the meadows should be in full bloom, so another trip will be required then.

Hybridised Spotted Orchids (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 180mm, 1/320 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, handheld)

Northern Marsh Orchid (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 175mm, 1/1,60 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100, handheld)

Bird's Foot Trefoil (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 200mm, 1/640 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100, handheld)

Red Clover (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 175mm, 1/800 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100, handheld)

Oxeye Daisies (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 185mm, 1/1,000 sec at f/3.2, ISO 100, handheld)

Germander Speedwell (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 200mm, 1/640 sec at f/2.8, ISO 100, handheld)

Species-rich Grassland with Globeflower (top left) (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 190mm, 1/200 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, handheld)

Globeflower (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 200mm, 1/3,200 sec at f/4.0, ISO 100, handheld)

This final image is of an abandoned croft house in Port an Eorna.  I have taken quite a few shots of this old house, and today the light was quite good, although the gable was a little in the shade.  The result was quite a contrasty image and I opted to de-saturate some of the intense colours and leave the building almost monochrome, making the whole seem a little more gloomy and atmospheric.

Old Croft House, Port an Eorna (Canon EOS 5D Mark II, EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens at 135mm, 1/320 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100, handheld)