This post is long overdue having taken these shots while on Uist visiting friends for a few days in the first week of July. The weather was pretty good but the light could have been better for photography. That being said I did get a few decent shots, like the above taken from the shore of Loch Sandary near Paible, looking to a croft in Paiblesgarry. The bright yellow is from flowers in the grasslands, yet to be cut. I used a 100-300mm zoom lens at 100mm on my mirrorless Panasonic Lumix G3 camera. This combination provides the equivalent of a 200mm zoom on my full frame DSLR, so the image is pretty fore-shortened. I also darkened the grey sky behind a little to add contrast and drama to the scene. On returning from the break I decided to try something I have never attempted before, to try paiinting in Photoshop using the above image as the background layer, aiming for a watercolour effect. I did a fair bit of online research and it is obvious that this kind of post-processing can result in some awful tacky images, but it was also clear that with practice and avoidance of the simple use of filters, that some very creative and attractive results can be achieved. So, based on some of the online examples, I set about converting this image to a digital 'watercolour'. The result is not bad (see below), although I need to experiment more and practice the brush strokes on the sky. Not bad for a first attempt I think. The following couple of shots were taken at Griminish pier. This is a pretty active little harbour with lots of fishing gear stored around the pier. The first shot is a close-up shot of a beautifully coiled rope which attracted our attention. Adjacent to this were numerous creels and buoys, which I am always attracted to as subjects for photography. In this case I was spoilt for choice, but I like this next image best. Overall, I was a little disappointed by the results, mainly due to the very bright sunshine causing a lot of highlights and blown out parts of the images. On another day we had the pleasure of visiting the island of Vallay which lies to the north of Solas in Norht Uist. The island can be reached on foot , or 4x4, when the tide is out and there is an old derelict mansion house and farm buildings. The following shots are a selection of my favourites. The following day the weather was not so lovely, but we took a quick trip south to Benbecula and South Uist. There were not many good opportunities for decent photos, with poor, flat, grey light. However, while we were at the cemetry at Rubh Aird-mhicheil near Stoneybridge there was a small rainy squall out to sea and I got this dramatic shot.
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AuthorI 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. SalesIf you like my photos and are interested in purchasing prints, whether framed, mounted or otherwise please click here.
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