I seem to spend a fair bit of time rambling over mundane moorland but I am always alert to instances where commonplace elements all seem to come together to elevate the moment of encounter. An example of such occurred at Point of Sleat with these two blackface sheep. juxtaposed with familiar heathery tussocks and a Rowan lush with berries.  Added value came in the form of a recent sale of this image to a Skye vet practice!

 

 

 

I kept hearing about magically sounding "Fairy Pools" so after a quick check on sun angle v aspect,  a mid afternoon visit looked promising.  After negotiating the now familiar parking mayhem I took a stroll up the burn to see what all the fuss was about. A classic Scottish mountain burn issuing from foot of the magnificent Cuillin massif, what's not to like?  I watched and waited while the hoards came and went, I figured dinner time would clear the decks and the late low sun would work its magic, which both did.  I love the ruggedness set off by the tasty colours in the foreground, I'll be back.

 

 

 

Same evening I head north from the Fairy Pools up the side of Loch Harport and happen upon a subject that's been in my head for decades, Gesto Farm. Truly iconic for sure, but what I find myself asking is, were the original creators of this farmstead aware of the pictorial power they were also generating?   Blessed be the rainbow that lands on things at just the right moment, a rare and wondrous kind of feeling.

 

 

 

The Quiraing of Trotternish gets heeps of attention, it's a geological masterpiece and strong images are on offer to all with a camera - all you need is the light. I was lucky with the August colouring enhanced by the dappled texture from scattered cloud cover. I took lunch in the balmy air with a sense of quiet satisfaction.

 

 

 

Turned a corner just out of Portree and had to do a second take as I clocked the ghostly mirage of a monster cruise ship sitting still in the shelter of the bay early one morning. Is it the incongruousness of the shape in situ or the promise of lucrative tourist spending that triggers the thoughts here?

 

 

During the trip I spent a fair few nights around Uig in the North, I have a fascination with ports and boats and found myself drawn back to this classic scene in various modes. Church-going maybe in serious decline these days but the perceived significance of these buildings in landscape imagery is no less important. There is a special point at dusk where the "ambient" fading daylight is equal in strength to artificial man made light, it only lasts minutes but that's a productive time to work.