Photo of the Week 2025-01-13

 

' Eilean Donan Castle '

Destroyed by the English in the early 1700's, rebuilt over 20 years in the early 1900's, it was restored to it's former glory by 1932 ... such a shame that we destroy so much of history through conflict and ignorance.

We arrived at this iconic and extensively photographed castle mid-morning on another another bright, sunny and clear Highland day. With the waters of the lochs so calm, I wish the timing had been at high tide and reflections would be better but ...

While trying to see as much as we could throughout this trip, we opted not to enter the castle or tour around other than from the shore and parking area so I could get some photos ... oh, we also used the facilities ;-)

As I work through my images from this trip, I find myself thinking of what I would do next time, where I would allow additional time, when I would plan to visit each location for more optimum lighting conditions for photography. At the same time I know that we had such unbelievably good weather while we were there and count myself fortunate.

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2025-01-06

WELCOME TO A NEW YEAR !

 

I'm glad to be here and have anyone following, continue to do so. While I'm in 2025, my photo posting hasn't made it out of September 2024 when I was in Scotland. I'm still working through the images that I made during that 12 day self drive tour. I still have images from the last few days to work on and share. The complete set can be see via this link to my flickr account Scotland 2024. I'm adding to the album as I finish processing more from the trip.

 

This week I bring you to the Isle of Sky ... wait ... we were they with last week's post. Well ... we're still there with this week's post. This time it's Neist Point and the iconic lighthouse. As with many locations I photograph, I make a number of different compositions, some horizontal orientation, others vertical as the subject may warrant. With it getting later in the day and my companion not wanting to be on the remote, narrow roads in the dark, I had to select a position to get some images. Fortunately I had scouted the location via Google Maps and with some delicate tramping over soggy ground found a suitable spot ... or maybe I should have just looked for the gaggle of photogs with tripods and long lenses ;-)

 

' Evening Light at Neist Point - H '

' Neist Point from the Clifftop Viewpoint - H '

' Evening Light at Neist Point -V '

' Neist Point from the Clifftop Viewpoint - V '

There is so much more to explore photographically with this location. Trails lead from the clifftop down to the lighthouse and the rock peak on the left is accessible for what I am certain is an exhilarating vantage point. An then there's night photography with starry skies and auroras ... the options go one.   

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-12-30

 

There were an overwhelming number of things to see for the amount of time we had on Skye during our September trip. Both The Quiraing and Old Man of Storr were at the top of the list, each hike would require a few hours but given logistics and the duration of our visit we had to choose just one ...

... and now you see which won out.

' The Old Man of Storr '

It was a two hour hike up, counting stops to rest, take in the views and of course make use of the camera. This was the ultimate goal, the scene from the lookout, back south to The Old Man and points beyond. It was clear, sunny, very very windy as we reached higher ... and a thrill I'll never forget.

 

The Storr is a prime example of the Trotternish landslip, the longest such feature in Great Britain. The area in front of the cliffs of the Storr is known as the Sanctuary. This has a number of oddly shaped rock pinnacles, remnants of ancient landslips. The most well known of these is 'The Old Man of Storr', a 55-metre-high pinnacle of basalt rock which is all that remains of a 2,800-million-year-old volcanic plug.

Every direction you could look on this hike offered sunning views and scenery. With more time I would have liked to continue the trail further north and perhaps around to the other side of the Old Man, but that may have been a little much for this old man ;-)

 

It will be the Quiraing next time we visit Skye, -with a tip of the cap to to The Old Man on the drive by ...

 

DJE

Merry Christmas 2024

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!

 

 

 

DJE

Photo of the Week 2024-12-23

 

After checking into our accommodations and grabbing a cafe lunch in Portree, we headed off to the Fairy Pools. What an adventure that turned out to be as the access road was rife with potholes and washed out badly in places. I managed to navigate one of the washouts in our low slung BMW sport sedan but gave up in the face of the second when I saw a legit 4x4 having difficulty.

Deflated at having plans scuttled to see our first iconic Skye location, we headed back towards Portree. On the way, Sligachan provided an opportunity for some photography of an old stone bridge, the river and the Glen area. Others must have been doing the same as parking was limited but I managed to squeeze in along the road.

The Old Sligachan Bridge was easily accessible and trails along the river provided some lovely vantage points to set up for some shots.

' Sligachan Old Bridge '

I first found a spot to photograph the old bridge using local vegetation in the foreground and mountain peaks in the background.

' Glamaig and the Sligachan New Bridge '

Battling the midges (my first ever exposure to the little bastards) while trying to patiently frame a shot proved interesting. With some images of the old bridge done, I turned around to see this view of the new bridge (the one that now carries the A87 over the river) with Glamaig in the background with it's summit shrouded in a cloud.

We spent some more time exploring the riverside trails for a bit while I found other interesting scenic compositions before the having enough of the midge bites to think the car would be welcome respite from the little carnivores.

 

Working my way chronologically through my images of Scotland, I was pleasantly surprised when I got to these. At the time of shooting, my disappointment at missing out on the Fairy Pools was overriding my ability to enjoy this location (or maybe it was the midges) fully. I must admit that I was not "feeling it" as much as I would have liked but I'm certainly glad we stopped and that I pushed through to make some images, I really like some of them.

 

DJE