It is my second day in Skye spending time making images for my Work in Progress Portfolio (WIPP). I woke early and left the house before sunrise. The sky was painted with dark grey clouds but I thought there was a chance I may get some interesting shots. Initially, I had decided to head for the lone tree. I was attracted by a tiny scattering of snow over the Red Cuillin but decided to move onto the tree. However, as I turned the corner towards the tree I noticed that there was the tiniest dusting of snow on the Black Cuillin Ridge along with a painterly cloud formation. I decided to go for it and head for the Ridge. I spent a very cold couple of hours working the Ridge and watching the threatening clouds swirl over it. I was so engrossed in my work that I didn't notice how cold I (and the weather) were becoming, nor that rain had started to fall and spatter on my lens. I lost all track of time and suddenly realised that I could no longer feel my fingers. I decided to head back but not before warming my hands sufficient to drive.
Here are a couple of images I captured on my early morning shoot. For me, these images work well as they focus down on the jagged and unforgiving ridge but also give a sense of the mystery and atmosphere surrounding it. The scattering of snow provides a clue as to the texture and surface of the gabbro rock.
Mountain Ridge 1 - Alison Price, April 2019
Mountain Ridge - Alison Price, April 2019
Later on in the day I decided to head for the lone tree. This time I did stop to take some images of the Red Cuillin Ridge. The tiniest amount of snow remained on top and light and clouds were making for a strong image:
Mountain Ridge 3 - Alison Price, April 2019
Mountain Ridge 4 - Alison Price, April 2019
I moved on towards the lone tree but again was enticed by the Black Cuillin Ridge that looked spectacular in the emerging sunlight:
Mountain Ridge 5 - Alison Price, April 2019
Mountain Ridge 6 - Alison Price, April 2019
I tend to pre-visualise and organise my photography but yet again chance had overtaken these plans and my sense of sniffing out the shot had prevailed. Again, I was rewarded for my choice to be creative rather than sticking to plan. A lesson for me here as I seek to unlock the spontaneous and creative photographer within!
Alison Price
My name is Alison Price and for the past ten years I have travelled the world photographing wildlife, including Alaska, Antarctica, Borneo, Botswana, the Canadian Arctic, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.