After a day of exploring the island I had decided to capture some images from Duntulm beach which can be found on the Western coats of Skye just past the most northerly point. This location was pointed out to me by a other photographer who I had met the previous day so a big thank you to Dimitri Vasiliou.
My first sunrise on this trip was to be over the prehistoric landsacpe on the North East cost of Skye, this area is know as the Quiraing.
The Quiraing is a landslip on the eastern face of Meall na Suiramach, the northernmost summit of the Trotternish Ridge on the Isle of Skye. The whole of the Trotternish Ridge escarpment was formed by a great series of landslips; the Quiraing is the only part of the slip still moving, the road at its base near Flodigarry requires repairs each year.
Parts of the distinctive landscape have earned particular names. The Needle is a jagged 120-foot (37 m) high landmark pinnacle, a remnant of landslipping. Northwest of it is The Table, a flat grassy area slipped down from the summit plateau, with vistas of the Torridon Hills and the mountains of Wester Ross. Southwest is the Prison, a pyramidal rocky peak which can look like a medieval keep when viewed from the right angle.
Well I am just back from my annual trip to Skye where I get a few days of doing nothing but taking and thinking about taking pictures. Although I take tens of thousands of pictures a year very little of them are actually for myself so to get a weekend to indulge in my passion is always great. Although I was away for a total of 48 hours in true there are only about 6-8 hours where the light will be suitable for landscape photography. These hours of photography are called the ‘Golden’ hours and are the hours before and after both sunset and sunrise, during these hours assuming the weather conditions are suitable the light quality is at its best. One of the down side to landscape photography at this time of the year is the early sunrises (5:30am), which means ideally you want to be up and on location for about 45 minutes before the sun peeks over the horizon. My next couple of blog posts are going to detail the locations, condition and a few of the images captured at either the sunset or sunrise.
I have a free weekend coming up and I am planning another photographic trip to Skye. Just like last year it will involve some early rises to hopefully capture a colourful sunrise or two from good vantage points and then perhaps a sunset from the western side of the island. Here are some images I captured during my short visit last year.
All of these images are available to purchase as a limited addition print from my fine art gallery
What is the correct lens to use to take a portrait picture? There is no definitive answer to this question; however which ever lens you use could have a dramatic different to the final outcome. For me my personal favourite lens is my Canon 70-200 IS F2.8 and I know there are many photographers out there that would agree with this lens choice. But why this particular lens you may ask? For me being able to zoom in to 200mm means I can compress the foreground and background and in many instances crop any distraction there may have been in the background. Also being able to shoot at F2.8, give me a shallow depth of field, again reducing and background or foreground distractions in the image.
The image above shows a simple portrait shot of Suzanne taken during a recent engagement shoot at Burgh Hall in Glasgow. This is a good example of how I choice to use my Canon 70-200. Here are my camera setting for this shot: –
Camera: Canon 5D MKII
ISO – 200
Shutter Speed – 1/200 sec
F-Stop – 3.2
Focal Length – 200 mm
I positioned Suzanne so here back was against the wall and that the soft diffused daylight was illuminating her face plus getting the all important catch lights in her eyes. Now looking at the camera setting the aperture of F3.2 gives the image its shallow depth of field, very evident on the wall both foreground and background. I could have shot this image at a focal length of 70mm however I opted to zoom to 200mm and take some paces backwards to get the compression to the image and in doing so removed the distracting tree branches now out of shot. Setting the ISO to 200 meant that as I was hand holding the camera zoomed to 200mm I had a reasonable high shutter speed to reduce any camera movement. So there you go how I like to take simple portraits.
Stephen and Suzanne are getting married in a few weeks so we thought it would be a good idea to meet up at the venue to discus final details. Is was also a great opportunity for the two of them to spend some time in front of the camera. For many people getting their picture is a daunting thought and this leads to images where the model looks uncomfortable and stiff in the images. Having a chance to work with your photographer before your wedding day will help you feel more comfortable and relaxed for your pictures on your wedding day. Both Stephen and Suzanne were very relaxed and comfortable for most of their pictures resulting in some great images.
Quick Slideshow
Note best viewed full screen with scaling set to off.
At long last the sun came out to play. It was my nephews birthday party which evolved into a full fledge water fight amongst the children and a few of the adults. This is what the summer should be all about.
I am running another studio drop in session on the 18th Aug. I have once again booked the photography studio at Photomedia facilities based at Summerlee Heritage Park. Using the purpose built studio with flexible lighting system and choice of backgrounds, I can photograph most families, groups, couples and individuals in comfortable relaxed surroundings. You are welcome to bring a change of clothes for a different look, changing room and bathroom facilities are available.
To find out more or to book a photoshoot session please use the following link – Studio Drop In
Jacqueline and David have now taken receipt of their wedding day story book album. They are both delighted with the finished result and now have their album to treasure for many years to come. Once again congratulations to both Jacqueline and David, may you have many years of happiness together.
Please note that for best viewing pleasure select full screen and turn scaling to off: –