Onwards to North Uist (Scotland 2013)

There was just enough time for one final visit to Luskentyre before taking the ferry from the Isle of Harris to North Uist. The photography however was hampered by a change in the weather. Overcast skies and intermittent rain replaced the fine bright conditions of the previous day. In fact, I might have skipped over this day’s photography except for two standout images. 

The first shows the river at Luskentyre zigzagging its way down to the sea with the perspective exaggerated by a long lens. The usual Luskentyre pastel tones were present with the addition of peat stained water running off the surrounding hills: 

The more it rained more peaty water flowed into the river turning the normal gentle turquoise stream chocolate brown:

In addition to the two images described above are a few of the other photographs taken at Luskentrye before setting off for North Uist: 

 

Despite the dull weather conditions, the photography continued for the rest of the day on North Uist, near to Sollas. Although we were only short distance from the Isle of Harris the landscape was very different, more open and flat with large expanses of sand at low tide. I really enjoyed the sense of isolation and a certain moodiness from the conditions as I took the following set of images. On reflection though, I think it was one of those occasions where the photographic experience was more impactful than the results. 

Snowy Peaks (Scotland 2013)

The last full day on the Isle of Harris was a wonderfully bright blue sky day. A dusting of snow had fallen overnight on the North Harris Hills which became the natural focal point for many of the landscapes. These were the scenes at 6am in morning including two newly discovered panorama looking across to Luskentyre and then some long lens captures of the snowy peaks:

Later we moved to Rosamol Beach for a closer view of the hills. The first image below is the stand out image for me due to the lead in sand patterns and also I particularly enjoyed the second image with the snow covered peaks partially reflected in the wet sand:

Close up studies of the sand patterns at Rosamol:

  

Looking back, it was a fabulous final day on Harris with the photography continuing until after sunset. This included a visit to the Harris Tweed shop in Tarbert, a look at a peat cutting site, and more landscapes at Scarista....too much photography to comfortably fit into one post so I will divide up the day into the subject areas and post the results separately. 

Seilebost (Isle of Harris 2013)

The lockdown review of my trip Scotland in 2013 has delivered much pleasure at a time when  normal photographic activity has not been possible. As we start to get back to normal, I am still processing the images, finding scenes that I passed over first time around. I am also appreciating more the fabulous landscape of Luskentyre on the Isle of Harris.

The following selection starts with the first early morning photography of the visit, looking across from Seilebost to the Harris Hills, Taransay and dunes at Luskentyre. The first image is a surprise rediscovered panorama.

Similar to some of the photography at Scarista (see my previous post), I had taken multiple overlapping images in 2013 without completing the merged version when I return home. The light on houses at Luskentyre together with the reflection makes this one of my favourite ‘new’ images from trip. It is then followed by a single image of the same scene with a slightly different fall of the light:

This next image is one that I had identified and processed in 2013. I think this one stood out due the strong foreground and warming sunlight:

After the early start, the rest of the morning was spent on the beach at Seilebost. The light was more variable and I turned my attention mainly to the patterns and reflection in the sand:

Finally, an early evening shot looking across to the dunes at Luskentyre - another rediscovered scene: