Notes and Images from a Small Island (Practice 11 Day 4)

As the rest of the United Kingdom basks in sunshine and record temperatures, in the north-west of Scotland the poor weather continues.  I am particularly concerned to capture the lilies in sunshine, not because of a belief that the best shots come in good weather, nor because it is more pleasant to spend time outside when it is dry and bright but because the lilies do not open their flowers without sunshine.  I fear that their short season may finish before the weather literally shines on me and the lilies.

Added to that I have a herd of cows with a bull and calves that stubbornly refuse to pass by on their journey towards Loch Slapin.  They have now been lounging at the head of Loch Cill Chriosd for a week and threatening at any moment to move along the single track and inadvertently launch me from the narrow verge into the loch below!

And finally, the most intense period of the tourist season is upon us, and the selfish and inconsiderate nature of fellow human beings knows no bounds.  This morning I am nearly driven off the verge by speeding cars that do not even acknowledge my presence by paying lip service to the rules of the road and slowing down, and I meet a local who tells me that every time she walks, with a pushchair along the road, she picks up all the litter that our visitors choose to deposit through car windows or after camping overnight.  And then a couple who park their car on a sharp blind bend to wander off and take a few snaps!

The weather veers from a strong breeze to absolute calm, with the associated midges, and the light from dark storm clouds to occluded sunlight overhead.

I decide to use intentional camera movement to capture some of the more isolated reeds.  Although I have done this before to good effect, I want some images of the reeds in the summer with their green fronds, as most of my work to date occurs in autumn, winter and spring.

And then I wait, largely in vain, for the emergence of the sun.  A couple of glimpses but as is the nature of a glimpse it is short-lived, ephemeral and transitory!

So not the best conditions to attenuate my conscious awareness and enter a creative zone or “dwelling space” but nonetheless I think I did well under the circumstances!