I had a webinar this morning to discuss my work on Loch Cill Chriosd. I had worked late last night to ‘rough process’ some images to show my tutor and peer group. I was pleased with the feedback and feel that my Work in Progress Portfolio is coming together. My tutor suggested that the challenge for me will be how I process my images, combine my images and words together and convey my experience of the Road to Elgol to my audience.
I did some research on Loch Cill Chriosd overnight and found out that the tall reeds growing over much of the loch are Common Club-Rush and Common Reed. The loch, which was created for fishing by damming the outflow at the turn of the century, is shallow and a rich vegetation has developed in the lime-rich waters. This provides good feeding for a variety of birds, including Heron, Little Grebe and Reed Warblers, as well as the tiny Dabchick. In the autumn, Whooper Swans, which have migrated from Iceland, arrive to overwinter on the loch.
So my shoot this morning is at a different time to previous days and will be my last before leaving Skye. I try a range of shots worried that I won’t have the variety of images I need to put my portfolio together. I take the rippling water moving around stones, mosses and grass, the washed-up reeds on the water’s edge and the rippling water between the reeds. I also return to photographing close up shots of the reeds and the reflections and movement of them.
Reed Journal 27
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Reed Journal 29
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I reflect on my time at Loch Cill Chriosd. I feel I have made significant progress in pulling my portfolio together and that my images for this module have departed significantly from my two previous submissions. I have enjoyed working in a confined space and being forced to be curious about my surroundings, finding new viewpoints, being creative in my work and getting closer to nature. I have enjoyed the solitude, become annoyed when my space has been invaded by others, reflected on my feelings and emotions (as far as I can) and related these to my early career as a police photographer and the images I hold in my head.
In the coming weeks I will work on my images and words and reflect further on how I can bring everything together in a compelling and evocative portfolio.
