A first ever trip to the north of Scotland fell into my lap when I was asked if I wanted to join a group of photographers on a trip to the Isle of Skye. There were eleven of us in total and we stayed in a group of former crofts in the hamlet of Torrin.

Needless to say the scenery is breathtaking but to create memorable images we need the weather to be on our side too – and sometimes it was and sometimes it wasn’t. But, you have to drag yourself out of bed and see what the day brings – it wasn’t always what was forecast and sometimes we had sun, snow, rain and mist within the space of an hour. At least the midges weren’t out to get us!

The images below is one of the most photographed areas on Skye – the Quiraing. I had to try to make an image that was a little different to the others and I’ve done this by use of textures with some dodging and burning to try to bring out the mood. Of course I had to include the obligatory wind-battered tree in the foreground.

Part of my interest was to capture some old, decaying buildings and try to capture or create some mood around their presence and I did find a few, thanks to the locals on social media who pointed them out for me.

There were, of course, many a sunset that was worth trying to photograph with the mountains providing a shapely interest too.

I do have to say that I actually used a tripod on occasion too, it travels with me often but rarely escapes from the car boot. I love long exposures at waterfalls and there were many opportunities to practice, a bit cliched maybe but still…

More images from the trip can be seen by clicking on ‘Places‘ on the menu bar or by clicking here.