Hebrides & other stories
This has certainly turned out to be a year of productivity for me. I started January in India then moved onto Nepal in February. March saw me return to Patagonia for my annual photo workshop and just before leaving South America, I managed a non-stop tour of the Bolivian altiplano.
But for years I’ve felt that I’ve neglected my own country too much. Scotland has a lot going for it and after all the traveling I’ve done, I have come to appreciate its beauty more so than I ever thought I could. We have such changeable weather here which has a direct impact on the quality of the light.
So in March I visited the north west of Scotland during a flurry of Snow and caught some rare shots of places in really wintry conditions.
Now this summer, I’ve managed to tick off a few islands that I’ve always wanted to visit : Orkney, Harris and Lewis. So this post is really about them. I now have a new collection of images from these islands as well as some shots from Knoydart – a remote peninsula on the north west of Scotland.
I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed making them.
What I love very much about photography is the surprises that are waiting for me. Sure I do a lot of planning and I’ll research maps to find places of interest, work out logistics such as travelling times between locations and I’ll often go to places middle of the day and make notes to return at 3am because the light is bland and I really think the place has potential later on. I seldom shoot middle of the day, but when the light is overcast, its softness is kind to the film I use. Harsh shadows are avoided and blown highlights don’t get a look in. I’m always studying the light and watching, waiting for the conditions I know my camera’s film can handle.
Shooting at 11pm in twilight and then back up at 3am to capture the light from the east does take its toll. It’s at times like these that I do question my motivations.
But there is something very contemplative and enjoyable about being on a deserted beach just listening to the waves and watching the colour temperature go from cold to warm. I think my private thoughts and lose myself in what I’m doing and I can’t really say there is any better way to disconnect from the pressures of life for a few hours.
I simply love it.
Hi Bruce,
Good to see you producing Scotland pictures. I particularly like the three lines picture, there is something about the relationship of the lines with the three peaks in the background that is most pleasing.
I also really like the moon shot of Callanish. Did you have to open up the tones around the grass in the foreground at all or was the ambient light pretty directionless (I haven’t taken pictures in summer twlight but winter in winter twighlight I would have expected the stones to be almost silhoutted against the light sky).
I look forward to returning to the Hebrides one day, especially Seilabost – in the meantime a few of us are off to Eigg in September and myself and my wife are spending ’summer holiday’ near Tayvallich in October.
Any plans for more Soctland outings?
Tim Parkin (http://www.timparkin.co.uk)
Comment by timparkin — 24 June, 2009 @ 5:30 pm
Hi Tim,
The Calanish shot that you like is pretty verbatim. If I could take a picture of the transparency, you’d see that the final image on the site is identical. There are issues with scanning – it’s like taking the shot again, and sometimes I have to adjust the scan to mirror the transparency. In this case, I just set the levels on the shot. Other times I may do something different. I think the reason why it works so well is that the light was very soft and I managed to place the grad a bit higher – I was aware of cutting the tips of the stones off and them becoming dark, so the grad was placed above the horizon, and I think that’s why I got those nice gradual tones to black at the top of the sky.
I’m hoping to go to the Uists this summer, but apart from that, I’m too busy concentrating on setting more and more photographic workshops up here in Scotland. See http://www.lightonscotland.com for more information.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 24 June, 2009 @ 6:15 pm
Bruce, I’ll keep it short but just had to comment on how much I enjoyed your new portfolio. The moon shots on Lewis are exceptional. Your choice of location and time really blend to make the photos worth looking at many times over. Surely you must have some sort of book lined up? Whilst I love Joe Cornish and his West Coast book, your photos are easily a match technically and to me have more ’soul’. Your work is a great wee inspiration to developing photographers like me, particularly your emphasis on personal vision, so thanks for sharing it.
Comment by mike — 24 June, 2009 @ 8:31 pm
Hi Mike,
Thanks for that. I’m pleased you like the new images.
I find I need to finish them and move on quickly, to keep them fresh. Yes, I’m big on ‘personal vision’. To me, photography is not ‘real’… it’s a way to convey what I felt and saw in my minds eye when I took the image.
Thanks for the encouragement Mike. Always appreciated.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 24 June, 2009 @ 9:06 pm