Isle of Skye Workshop 2015.
Monday.
Monday morning saw us up at 6am again, getting ready for another fun filled day. Our destination for sunrise was Loch Fada, again on the North East coast. This loch sits below the famous Old Man Of Storr, a rocky outcrop formed by an ancient landslide. This area is as beautiful as it is dramatic, and very popular with walkers and photographers alike. We set up at the south end of Loch Fada as there’s a small island in the loch that makes a nice foreground. The Storr itself is around a mile as the crow flies from where we were so it makes up a small but important part of the image. When we first arrived it looked as if it was going to be a bleak morning with no colour but we stuck it out and sure enough once the sun had cleared the bank of cloud on the horizon and poked out from behind us, it cast an amazing warm light on the Storr and the low clouds surrounding it. We spent a couple of hours there then headed into Portree for a cooked breakfast, After breakfast (and some unrepeatable humour from Bob!) we headed straight off to Elgol as the weather was looking very promising. On the way to Elgol we stopped at Torrin and photographed the mountains over Loch Slapin, and we also stopped for half an hour to photograph a herd of Highland cattle. We got to Elgol with plenty of time to spare. Everybody set up in a different spot and shot both towards the Cuillins over Loch Scavaig and in another direction towards the Isle of Rum over the Cuillin Sound. The light was gorgeous and the crepuscular rays over Rum were a sight to behold. Once the sun got a bit too low for shooting directly to the west we turned back to the north and the Cuillin Ridge. By this time the sun was lighting up the top of the mountains and the fast moving clouds with a lovely golden rich light. In the space of about 5 minutes a huge stormy weather front came in from then North and we retreated back to the cars. Martin and Dave being mental, both hid behind a big rock and managed some tremendous shots of the incoming storm. Jake managed a nice one too! Once the storm passed the amazing light came back. Everyone get some really nice shots and we headed back to the car. Bob managed to fall over again! We stopped at the chippy on the way for some tea then settled back in at the cottage. Cups of tea and some more post processing took up the rest of the night, along with loads of jokes and laughs. We decided that seeing as the weather was to be dreadful on the Tuesday we should all have a lie in. A few of us went out to shoot the milky way when it get really dark, Dave managed to pick up a slight hint of Aurora before doing a brilliant superman impression over the picnic table and spraining his wrist. Luckily nurse Jim was on hand to kiss it better and wrap it up for him!
Enjoying the sun at Loch Fada
Loch Fada and the Old Man of Storr
Golden light at The Old man of Storr
Bob at Torrin looking over Loch Slapin
Dave braving the Highland Cattle
Highland Cattle en route to Elgol
The Black Cuillins over Loch Scavaig from Elgol
Crepuscular Rays over the Isle of Rum from Elgol Harbour
Elgol and the Cuillins.
