Final Photography, North Uist (2013)

After a fine morning session at Clachan Sands (see my previous post) we moved on to a location that I believe is Traigh Ear (East Beach). It was an opportunity to repeat a few of the shots I had taken when we first arrived on North Uist in far better conditions, although the clear skies of morning had started to cloud over:

As this was the last day on North Uist we decided to make full use of the time and return to Clachan Sands and Traigh Hornais for the sunset. Unfortunately, it was not quite what we had hoped for but the cloud did lift enough to provide a pleasant afterglow and a fitting end to the visit:

Clachan Sands, North Uist (2013)

After two days of less than ideally photography conditions, the weather turned fine and sunny for our last day on North Uist. We chose a location we had briefly visited on the previous day and I am rather sticking my neck out by titling this post Clachan Sands as I had to piece together the location from the photographs and a search online. 

The main identifiers were two cemeteries and a quick search suggests that the cemetery shown in a panorama format below is Clachan Sands cemetery. This followed by a black and white of the older  Clachan Shannda Burial Ground:

On the basis of the cemetery locations I am fairly sure that the following set of images was taken at Traigh Hornais, Clachan Sands. On reflection, I wish that I had taken better notes on the different venues we visited, something that I have been much better at in recent years. 

With the location sorted, all I wanted to say is how different the island looked in fine weather, particularly when compared with the previous two days of overcast and gloomy conditions. In common with many places in the Outer Hebrides it is possible to believe that the photographs could have been taken somewhere far more topical than the far north of Britain!

These were some of the results, with a number of the compositions using a rocky outcrop as a foreground lead in to an island, which I believe is Boreray. With nobody on the beach the sand patterns remained undisturbed and these became the focus for a further series of photographs, as did the fluffy white clouds. I particularly like how one cloud mirrored a single rock on the beach:

  

North Uist & Berneray (Scotland 2013)

We were lucky with the weather for most of the Scotland trip in 2013. There was a nice tempo between the fine bright days and inevitable dull and rainy ones which added variety to the photography and the occasional moments of drama.

The longest run of the poorer weather was the travel day from Harris (see my previous post in the Scotland series) and the first two days on North Uist. Despite this, we persisted with the photography exploring the different beaches and making good use of the waterproofs!

Given the conditions, I didn’t have high expectations when I started the re-processing exercise for these two days - I even thought I might skip over them. To my surprise though, I found myself taking extra time to look at each image, reliving the sequence of photographs. I could see the rain gaps, the movements between locations, the subjects I tried to capture, the adjustments I made for the conditions, and the search for different points of view. 

Moreover, there were a few occasions when I was transported back to the location. I could feel the atmosphere, the sense of isolation from the deserted beaches and the gloomy half light...which I hope translates in the following selection of photographs, particularly the first image which I return most often. It was taken at Traigh Iar sands on North Uist:

The were some of the other images from the visit to Traigh Iar:

The flat light can sometimes be an advantage for some subjects, like these sand patterns: 

Earlier in the day we had visited the neighbouring island of Berneray (Berneray is connected to North Uist via a causeway). The fine white sandy beach made up for the lack of sunlight in the compositions and if my bearings are correct the island offshore is Pabbay with Chapaval, on the Isle of Harris, just about visible through the cloud in the distance:

Finally, I believe this is Traigh Hornais, Clachan Sands on North Uist. We made a quick stop here and returned the following day when the photography gods rewarded our persistence with a spell of fine sunny weather. I will say more about this in the next post: