Not long back from a fabulous trip to the Isle of skye! I have now been to Skye 3 or 4 times over the past couple of years and it never ceases to impress. As a landscape photographer, you might wonder why I go back to the same location? there are two simple reasons for this! One, I am never truly happy with the images I capture and Skye and the western isles have such varied weather patterns. Two, it is simply the most gorgeous island, rich in history dating back to the jurassic period with some of the most outstanding scenery anywhere in the world!

Day one - Travelling from fife, I headed for a place I am very familiar with, Kilchurn castle! There is just something about it that attracts the photographer in me if the lighting is right. There is one drawback when it comes to shooting this castle, I always find it difficult to find an interesting foreground subject to make the complete picture, I generally rely (or hope) on flat calm conditions to get a reflection of the castle. In order to get that reflection, the sun must be over the horizon which in turn, loses the colour in the sky. Here are a couple of shots before and after sunrise! 

On my last visit to Kilchurn, I noticed a woodland area close by with some beautiful trees but the lighting was very flat. On this occasion, the lighting was perfect with no clouds and shooting directlyinto the sun made for a simple, yet pleasing image!

I made my way to the first stopping point which is about half way to Skye, Fort William. 

There is a boat at Caol that I have shot before but didn't really like the results of previous shots. It was time to try a alternative approach, a night shot with some stars looking on towards Ben Nevis. Unfortunately, there was far to much cloud cover but here is the result!

Onwards and upwards to the isle of Skye. 

I had booked a small cottage for the week near Glenbrittle and the fairy pools. It was a perfect base for exploring and the cottage itself was gorgeous, albeit a little tricky to get to with the winding roads. My wife and I set out on the first morning, of should I say middle of the night, head lamps and torches in hand to the fairy pools.The time was 3.45am and its about a 25 minute walk out along a winding and rocky path. You might find this to be a stupid statement as it’s night but it was so dark, unlike anywhere I've ever been to, you couldn't even see your feet. There was no ambient light at all! Ultimately though, these are perfect conditions for shooting the night sky. 

On arrival, I was extremely surprised to find a lack of water down the whole glen. The waterfalls where I had shot from on a previous visit were non existent. I searched to find some kind of composition but it was extremely difficult. I am always a bit over eager when searching for that one composition, and can get carried away thinking I can reach a point which is simply far too dangerous. This is where the wife comes in :) and brings me back to reality. I look to a spot where I think is reachable, glance at her “NO, don't even think about it”.

The next couple of shots were of a small spring which shows just how little rainfall there was! The first one I found really difficult to set up as my tripod was balancing so I slightly recomposed for the sunrise shot.

That evening we stayed outfor sunset at Sligachan Glen, In between Broadford and Portree. 

With the lack of rainfall, the river bed had almost dried up revealing dried rocks and boulders. We moved further and further up stream and finally came to a small waterfall. It really was the perfect scene with the Cuillin hills as a backdrop completing the composition. We sat there for a couple of hours in the most peaceful surroundings until sun slowly disappeared behind the remarkable Black Cuillins. A perfect Evening!

There are always at least two main locations I want to shoot on a photographic holiday and on this trip, my first priority was shooting the Old Man of Storr from Loch Fada. I think this photo typifies what the Isle of Skye is all about, an Island dating back to the jurassic period!

The first morning was all about finding the right location and focal length to shoot from. If it was a photograph to be had, then that would be a bonus but I never tend to get the shot Im after on a first visit to and location. All things being correct, I found the location very quickly. It was pretty straight forward composition but a distinct lack of light and colour. Never the less, I liked the clouds moving over the cliffs.

The next morning we went back to try again.We parked at the lay-by and headed down to the loch trying our best to avoid the little toads that were crawling through the long grass. Its amazing how darkness can exaggerate noise, you here every little sound and always think the worst even though it’s the wind :). My wife was calmly sitting on her waterproof rug as I was setting up, then suddenly jumped back saying “TOAD” I think its about the only animal I'm not scared of! I shone the torch over, nope not a toad but a mouse!!!! Well, my heart came out of my chest. I thought a cardiac arrest was on the cards. Toads I can deal with but hairy wee rodents are a massive no no. After catching my breath and setting up, we were granted a bit of luck, gorgeous light just touching The Old Man while clouds whispered over the top. Really pleased with the way this turned out.

The next stop is one of my favourite places in the world, Quiraing!. It is a massive landslip in the Trotternish peninsula with spectacular views in which ever direction you point the camera. 

I could genuinely shoot this location every day as there is so much to explore!

I had an idea in mind to shoot from roughly the same position as the majority of photographers as it is so scenic. Instead of the focal point being the sun, I predominantly wanted stars. 

Unlike the fairy pools there was some ambient light coming from the small village of Staffin close to the horizon line. From my position though, you couldn't see two feet in front of you. 

I set up as usual and exposed my first shot with an extremely high ISO just to get my composition right. I looked at the back of the camera to find a small sheep in the bottom of the frame, it was only a few feet away but I had no idea it was there. A stroke of luck! A bit of foreground interestand a welcome visitor to the scene. 

For anyone interested in camera settings, I shot this a 20mm at 1.8 as this lens lets in the most light. I had to manual focus to determine how to get maximum DOF shooting at 1.8. The shutter speed was 20 second to let in as much light into the sensor, any longer and the stars would move causing streaks in the sky. The ISO was at 1600 which I was happy with, a higher ISO would have but degraded the shot. I swapped camera’s back to the Nikon D750 as the ISO performance is far superior to the D810. I have tested this numerous times!

The next shot was a bit of fun shooting light trails showing how winding the road to Quiraing really is and the elevation of the climb. The final shot is at sunrise.

A change in the weather directed my attention towards unplanned visits whilst putting my final destination of Elgol on stand by, until there was an up-turn in the weather.

Off to Talisker Bay! Without doing a lot of research here and only seeing photos, I wasn't expecting the long walk out to the beach. It’s about 2k walk but a pleasant one.  As this was unplanned, I had no idea of tide times and really struggled with any kind of composition as the tide was fully out. I was actually just about to leave but decided to go right around the base of the cliff, across extremely slippery rocks to the pinnacles. I could feel the wife’s eyes staring at the back of my head “where on earth do you think your going”. When I got there, it was such an eerie feeling, just so desolate. Unsure of tide times with out any phone signal, I wasn't going to hang around long. I found a quick composition, a boulder covered with brightly covered moss and seaweed looking onwards to the pinnacles. A simple composition and might not be everyones cup of tea but I think it works well.

Then we ventured up to Fairy Glen, obviously there was no “magic light” to be seen but the site of Castle Ewen with the narrow path, I knew there was a photo to be had. The castle itself sits aloft on a ridge and a short climb will get you there.  It was extremely windy at the top and be honest, I wasn't a fan of sitting on that ledge with drops either side, just because of the wind. A straight forward shot with direct sunlight above the castle. I really like the way this turned out!

My final trip was to Elgol, a small village set on Loch Scavaig. It is generally occupied with many photographers with panoramic views towards the Black Cuillin mountains. On route to Elgol, you pass by Loch Stafin where there are spectacular views across the loch. This next shot is of a small house dwarfed by the mountain above. Taken just after sunrise where beautiful light from behind was catching the autumnal colours whilst leaving a dark moody mountain.

When visiting, best times are just when the tide is receding. I stayed here for a few hours as the light was changing every few minutes capturing a wide variety of shots. This one is a very long exposure of about 6 minutes, I wanted a surreal atmosphere. Again not to everyones taste but i think it works well.

We had a fantastic time on Skye and will be back again!

Any questions on the photos or locations, just use the contact form and I will be glad to help