Working in Skye – Day 2 (Week 10)

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.

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:

I moved on towards the lone tree but again was enticed by the Black Cuillin Ridge that looked spectacular in the emerging sunlight:

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!