One of the things I admire about Monet’s Water Lilies is the depth and luminosity in his painting.   Of course, when painting it is possible to add layer upon layer to achieve such an effect.  In photography it is a little different.  In photographing the lilies and reeds at Loch Cill Chriosd I wanted somehow to capture the depth and luminosity but also its dream-like quality.  In an effort to do this photographically I turned to multiple exposures.

I have never done this before and was very keen to do all the work in camera.  My camera allows me to work with a large number of exposures but to start I decided to work with two images (47-50 below) and then 51 -53 with three.  Apart from the intent, I had no idea what to expect.  It was strange to see previous shots in the viewfinder as I took the second and third image.  I was keen to return home to see what, if anything I had captured, and whether I had managed to provide a sense of the ephemeral hiddenness of Skye – another worldliness, the mystery of the Island.  Although I have more work to do on learning about how to capture and process these images here are a few examples of my efforts:

The images below were taken with a 50mm lens which in some ways was simpler to work with.  I found it easier to see how the images were merging together as it was a duller morning and I didn’t use a tripod.

Using the multiple exposure capability allows me to use the camera as an aesthetic instrument to produce a unique image.  It allows me to reflect how I see the scene – not every detail needs to be sharp – it is about a feeling – my experience.

I think this approach has some potential and I need to work on the idea more.  I do not intend to produce a whole portfolio of multiple exposures but only to use them when they produce a real sense of how I experience the Loch, the reeds and the lilies.