Image of the Week (March Week 1)

The weather across the UK has been appalling and Skye has been no exception. However, as is often the case, as I prepared to return south we had a crystal clear day. This followed a heavy snowfall the previous night.

I stopped at the Loch and the shapes and patterns were beautiful. It is amazing how these are always different – dependent upon the light, the movement on the surface of the water, the reflections, the conditions and seasonal changes in the reeds, and how I perceive the image in front of me. On this occasion, as I gazed at the scene, I felt a sense of Skye revealing itself to me through the reeds. The light glistened on the water catching the ripples on the surface. It was only noticeable to someone who was prepared to stop and stare. This image captures best the glimpse of Skye that I saw on that afternoon:

There were a couple of photographers on the Loch side who failed to see what I was seeing. I know this because they had chosen to set up their tripods at water level. I have learned, over many years of visiting the Loch that standing at a higher level reveals more of the pattern and movement I am seeking to capture.

This is another image from the shoot:

The snow on the Black Cuillin was more significant than I had seen it this winter and so I drove down to Loch Slapin to have another look at the Little House in the Cuillin. The house was in dark shadow but the sky was bright and interesting. I decided to show rather more of the Cuillin Ridge whilst giving a sense of the dominance of nature in the landscape:

And then my favourite which is my image of the week.  I liked the delicate fronds of the reeds dancing in the breeze on Loch Cill Chriosd and the patterns they were making.  This is the original image out of camera:

I decided to make some changes in post processing which is not something I ordinarily do.  Normally I do my work in camera.  Over the summer 2019 I worked on multiple exposure images and blended them in camera.  I went for the same effect by creating two additional layers in Photoshop.  I then merged them using subtracting blending: