Scotland 2008 Part XXI: A Skye Sunset with R_

Digital original, 3 frame stitch

Duntulm Castle, at the very northern tip of the isle of Skye, is on a majestic bluff, overlooking the ocean between Skye and the Outer Hebrides. As R_ and I approached it, we mistook the historical society plaque for a "go no further than this" warning (we didn't go close enough to actually read it), so we decided to head down to the shore instead.

Digital original, 6 image exposure blend

Once we arrived at the shoreline below the castle, R_ and I began photographing; the setting sun created a lovely, but high contrast situation; fortunately, through combining multiple exposures of the same scene, this can easily be addressed photographically, as we did in the above.

Digital original

All though this session, there was the constant noise of a small bird hassling us; the above Oyster Catcher was very angry at us for being in his space. I suspect there was a nest nearby, but neither R_ or I ever saw sign of one, though we kept an eye open for it. Eventually, I decided the little bird was so persistent that I should document it, as a record of how passionate it was about the headland we were on.

Digital original, 3 frame exposure blend, 1 frame resolution blend, 2 frame stitch

Made at the end the longest day of photography in my life, this image was produced well after sunset, with the last of the six exposures that went into making it being created at 10:45pm. All through the session I was thinking of the time difference between Scotland and Nova Scotia, and the reality that the sunset light that was slowly fading from the sky was coming from a 6:45pm sky in Nova Scotia.