A Scotland Return
Visiting Scotland and the Highlands many times as a child growing up, The Isle of Skye has been a location, whilst visiting as part of a Highland tour, has never been a place we fully explored. The Fairy Pools has been a location I have wanted to tick off, but for some reason never got across to visit. Dividing our holidays between playing golf on the east coast and hiking on the west side of the country. We always tried to keep a balance between the two. Last month I returned to the Highlands with a clear plan of where I wanted to visit. Having visited briefly the year previous whilst we were returning from the Outer Hebrides, time was limited and I didn't achieve quite what I was hoping for.
On the day we visited the Fairy Pools the time round, some snowfall had blessed the upper peaks of the surrounding hills, perfect for the images I was looking to capture. In between hail showers and a couple of miles hiking to the location, I was unsure whether the ideas I had in my head would come to fruition with the developing weather front above us. The walk from the Fairy Pools car park is a fairy steady, continuous incline that provides a variety of different elements from stepping stones through streams to a variety of different stopping points with great views along the way. All in all making the walk more than manageable for most.
Amongst using my camera bag waterproof cover as a makeshift shelter from a pretty hard hail shower, I waited it out for the light and thankfully it came shortly after. I have seen dozens of different angles and positions for images taken at the pools and after a small amount of time scouting the location, I felt I had got the spot I wanted. With what can only be described as performing some kind of yoga position and putting full trust in my tripod in the middle of the flowing water, I waited for the light. As further clouds rolled in, a few seconds of sun revealed itself on the waterfall in front of me. Fully focusing on making the most of the short window of light, I shot several frames, varying the orientation and focal length. The pools somewhat spoil us photographers when it comes to providing plenty of foreground options, combined with beautiful flowing lines from the falls.
The Fairy Pools is a spot, that if never visited before, should be on everyone's list of locations to visit as part of an Isle of Skye trip. We visited in mid February and whilst not only feeling like a great time weather wise, but was also much quieter in terms of others on the hike. Giving plenty of opportunities to stop and shoot the falls without feeling like I was hogging the spot.
Theres a certain level of excitement involved when you begin to see the ideas you have in your head, unfolding in front of you and this, combined with the hike to get to the location makes the shot I have longed for since childhood well worth the wait.
After visiting the Fairy Pools, the other location that I had always wanted to visit, but never had before was Neist Point Lighthouse. The most westerly point on the Isle of Skye. Being February, similarly to the Fairy Pools, the weather was very up and down, providing some of the most dramatic skies I've seen. On the afternoon we arrived at Neist Point, a storm was just off the coast and felt like it was fast approaching. Desperate to capture the storm on the horizon, providing a dramatic backdrop to an already special scene. I battled 30mph winds to get into position and after seeing dozens of images from this location over the years. I finally had the image I had hoped for. Being unable to predict the weather would develop in the way it had was just a bonus on top of being there in the first place.
After a couple of days on the Isle of Skye we travelled back across towards Fort William and Glencoe. Whilst being one of the most photographed mountains in Scotland and a bit of a highland icon. Buachaille Etive Mòr is a location I hold closest to my heart. On yearly family visits to the Highlands we would always head for this spot first and see what we could get. You would never get the same weather conditions or landscape twice.
Fondest memories being a time my dad and I camped out in the back of the car for a January sunrise. Only to be woken by the sight of a foot of snow! It's a spot I never get tired of photographing and this year, the combination of light and a dusting of February snow, created a scene that I was particularly pleased with. One that will live on in the memory. Its a special location that is really a playground for landscape photographers. Almost feeling like it was specifically crafted for photographs with its falls in the foreground and a peak that can only be described as somewhat pyramid shaped from one angle, but changes shape and size with every movement along the main road that runs close to the location.
A must for an landscape photographer in the area. Unmistakeable on the horizon as you approach from the east. Every day provided a different mood and feel to the landscape and every image I have from the spot seems to tell its own story.
