The sun does shine in the north-west Highlands of Scotland

[Donald]

I've been posting up some of my stuff from my week spent in north-west of the country and they all seem to be about low clouds and gloomy moods (Hey Ho, that's just me having a good time). But the area can also be the most glorious when the sun shines (as it did in the area more than almost anywhere else in the UK this past summer).

So, to redress the balance and show that my 40D is capable of capturing colour data, here are a couple that show what it's like on a good day.

Any thoughts/suggestions that you have are always welcomed. I'm always particularly keen to get comment on my colour work, as it is not something that I'm particularly comfortable with.

Away to the far north






The 'Isle of Lewis' making her way into Loch Broom

This is the ferry that plies between Ullapool on the mainland and the Island of Lewis in the Western Isles. At this time of year she does 2 return journeys per day.

[Mike Buckley]

I applaud that you have a consistent style. Having said that, I would like to see more dynamic range and contrast in both images.

I'm surprised that you prefer the second one in color; it's ideal in black-and-white, which of course is your cup of tea.

[gcowan]

Hi Donald,
You paint a very soft view of the highlands. I like the images very much. You could extract more contrast but then it wouldn't be your vision of the reality of the place. I really like the soft light in your part of the world, I don't know about your concept of sunshine though.
I went out into the city the other day here in Sydney and had more than 5 stops of contrast do deal with.

Graham

[Karm Redland]

Donald, I want to suggest an alternative interpretation of your ferry photo. I would experiment cropping out the ferry by eliminating the bottom third of the picture. I think this photo with just a slice of of the water present (below both small land masses) would make the picture into a moody landscape. The ferry seems too present for me. Just a suggestion.

Karm

[CLK]

These remind me of the color I get in Oregon. I was going through some old pictures last night to see if any could be PP to save. Some of them I had to check and recheck to see if they were taken in black and white because they were similar to your second picture. I love the pictures you have posted of Scotland, it certainly shows the vastness, bleak and bareness of the Highlands?. I would very much like to be there on that hill in your first picture. Wouldn't mind seeing the goat you posted the other day either.

[Shadowman]

Very nice images. Soft yet energetic. I am a big fan of cloudy skies.

[Andrew1]

I'll go with Karm. Lose the ferry. And a touch of contrast wouldn't hurt. But just a touch.

[Donald]

Thank you all for those very constructive and helpful comments.

Interestingly, given Karm's and Andrew's comments, as I was waiting for the ferry to come into frame, I made another shot. On this one I moved the whole thing up a bit. No bits of land in the foreground and some more sky.

Based on the suggestions above I put a curve on this and then a bit of Local Contrast Enhancement.

Maybe this works better?

[Daisy Mae]

Well I have to say that the above edit is a 'nice' image but I MUCH prefer the one with the ferry. It is that gentle to and fro from island to mainland with the soft hazy hills and light on the water that conveys the very personality of the place and it's relationship with ( and isolation from) the larger geographical situation. I may be wrong Donald but I don't think you ever set out to create a shot that is aesthetically pleasing but without a context and a tale to tell...that's not you. The ferry must stay!

I can understand the cry for more dynamic range...but that is to miss the very essence of the Highlands and it's glorious subtlety of light.

Great shots.

[arith]

I like the top one Donald; I'm not into abstract blueness or anything like that. The top one is superb.

[Andrew1]

I do like the new one without the ferry Donald and would also crop down the sky by about half. The photo now has only one central theme and with just enough contrast, the steps through scene add depth. It would be a hanger at my place.

[gcowan]

The ferry must stay!

I can understand the cry for more dynamic range...but that is to miss the very essence of the Highlands and it's glorious subtlety of light.

I quite agree.
Graham

[Mike Buckley]

Well now...

I still like the ferry shot, especially if you convert it to black-and-white.

However, of all the versions so far, I really like the last one but with a very different crop. I would crop just a little off the bottom and I would crop to eliminate all the clouds. That might not allow enough space above the mountains, so I would add just a bit of cloudless sky to that part of the image, but not much. The resulting image for me would be such a gorgeous image of undulating layers. Unfortunately, that would probably not leave a file size that would be large enough to print, but it would still display wonderfully on the Internet, projected on a screen or shown on a large television.

[annie5154]

Beautiful images all of them as they are .... well done Donald.

Anne

[pnodrog]

I particularly like the vastness of the first shot and the scale of the boat in the second confirms my suspicion that Scotland is bigger then Monaco. However I am not sure that a few bright patches on the ground is forensic proof of the existence of sun shine in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. If so why would Mike be wanting to see a higher dynamic range? Under the circumstances I think it is a very good photograph. These are just my observations and I would hate to cause any offence or have an argument with anyone in the land of my ancestors.

[Donald]

However I am not sure that a few bright patches on the ground is forensic proof of the existence of sun shine in the north-west Highlands of Scotland.

That's the sort of glorious weather that prompts you to immediately get on your shorts and tee-shirts up in these parts. You mean other places in the world get more sunshine than this?

[pnodrog]

Yep I think the Aussies will be able to provide you with some evidence of bright sun. I can't they send us all the rain they often want but seldom use. Be quick with the shorts I think winter is just around the corner for you lot.