Critique Skye last week

SFTPhotography

SFTPhotography

Ranger Smith
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So I've bought myself a new car and found myself in need of a much needed road trip. Forecast looked good for Skye so decided to make a night and morning of it.

The first stop naturally was Elgol. I shot a sunset here back in February but it was a rather different set of conditions to what it was like last Monday. When I say sunset I really mean the afterglow after sunset. I am not a huge fan of the sun in the frame and instead prefer to shoot around the time of sunrise and sunset either for golden light or twilight conditions. The Sky(e) did take on some wonderful colour and this has probably been my best trip to Elgol to date.

_DSC8851 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr

_DSC8858 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr

Skye is not a small Island so after sunset I had a fair drive to get up to the Trotternish ridge where I fancied taking in sunrise. Luckily now we are deep into the summer and drawing towards Autumn so I had a good four hour sleep in the new car. Straight away this is a comfortable car to sleep in. The seats are wide enough to lie on your side and I carry a quilt so I just pop the seat back and sleep like a baby.

And when I mean sunrise I don't mean the sun flaring into the shot but rather the light around the time of sunrise.

Normally in landscapes I would prefer a snow covered landscape for dawn but I couldn't help myself with the pinks and blues in the sky. I knew I had picked the right day to come.

_DSC8875 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr

Sure enough the light slowly came round

_DSC8894 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr

And about half an hour I got the shot I wanted. Timing was key as there were a few gusts of wind blowing the little tree so I timed the shots between the gusts as I hate blurred leaves in tree shots. I tend to hate wind as I am a lover of the reflective landscape.

_DSC8901 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr

I'm a bit sad I didn't get the chance to shoot any lakes/mountains with reflections. On the drive back there were plenty of oppertunties for that but the haziness and harsh light just wouldn't work.

However all was not lost as I did take a quick stop at the Eilean Donan Castle. Its obligatory as far as I am concerned. Particularly if there are reflections. It just screams Scotland and forget the snobs who says its over photographed, who cares.

_DSC8915 by Stephen Taylor, on Flickr
 
There's not a lot to critique (other than that bloody tree!! :p ) The light you captured over the Trotternish ridge, Cleat etc etc is lovely, it doesn't get much better other than a few more clouds in the sky (but you know me, a cloud chaser over a light chaser)

Disgusted you didn't clone that seaweed on of EDC though :D lol
 
Absolutely beautiful set, Steve.
I'm sure you're gutted about not getting your signature reflections, but honestly, these are very worthy of your collection.
 
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I like the opening two images, especially number 2. The next 3 with the tree in don't work for me sorry, the tree looks too high frequency against the background, they merge into 1 and there is too much going on. If that light had hit the tree illuminating it and giving better separation from the background then it'd be a winner ;)
 
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cardiff_gareth said:
I like the opening two images, especially number 2. The next 3 with the tree in don't work for me sorry, the tree looks too high frequency against the background, they merge into 1 and there is too much going on. If that light had hit the tree illuminating it and giving better separation from the background then it'd be a winner ;)
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An interesting thought re the tree. @Steelo and I had this chat on facebook. He hates the tree. I was a bit tired and bleary eyed. I don't know the area as nearly as well as Martin and took a short walk from the car to scope out the area and try find something in the near ground that was interesting. There were a few loan trees. In composing the image my concern was place the tree below the lines of the lake etc so it wouldn't cut it off but keep it off centre. It turns out its the most cliched shot of the place but having explored I can see its a great angle. There is a rock higher up that also works for foreground interest but it requires quite a short FL making the shot too wide and the ridge seem to distant. I think @MattyW has "the" image of here to perfection in the form of a pano further wide.
Steelo said:
There's not a lot to critique (other than that bloody tree!! :p ) The light you captured over the Trotternish ridge, Cleat etc etc is lovely, it doesn't get much better other than a few more clouds in the sky (but you know me, a cloud chaser over a light chaser)

Disgusted you didn't clone that seaweed on of EDC though :D lol
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You summed it up mate. I am a light and reflection chaser, you chase clouds. I would have liked a few more in the sky, particularly at dawn as I reckon some more pinks etc would have been lovely. Can't wait to get back :D
 
Hi Steve glad to hear about your wheel and hope they can manage a trip to Snowdonia without breaking the landspeed record this time round ? much prefer #1 against the longer exposure as you have captured the movement of the water spot on.
 
Kevin O'Brian said:
Hi Steve glad to hear about your wheel and hope they can manage a trip to Snowdonia without breaking the landspeed record this time round ? much prefer #1 against the longer exposure as you have captured the movement of the water spot on.
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Snowdonia is happening this Autumn. I'll drop you a line when down.

I prefer the colours of two but as you say the movement in one is far more appealing and less hyper real.

No speed records were broken in my new to me merc e350
 
Like all the Eigol and Trotternish shots with the light in the last being spot on.
Know you like your reflectiona and the water looks flat at Eilean Donan but the seaweed kills it for me.
 
Well I'd be well pleased to have them in my portfolio.

But I do have one issue with the last image and that all the stuff in the water. I find my eye being drawn to it and the bottom of the frame.
 
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I agree with @Steelo, really like No.1 / 2. Elgol is a great place especially when the colours are there. As for the tree, yup, be happy for someone to saw the thing down :exit:. I just think it gets lost in the scene. As you state with @MattyW, I haven't seen the picture, but I think there's better compositions further along the path. I hope you didn't get eaten by the midges :)
 
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I think the sky is too bright in all of them.
 
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All lovely as always Steve, the 2nd would be my pick, the LE works very well in isolating the lovely light on the rocks and has also given the sky more interest IMO.
 
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2 and 5 for me there Steve. I am doing a tour around Skye myself next week, I hope I get such good weather as you did! I went to Elgol a couple of years ago but didn't get chance to explore the rest of the island, need to scope out many more locations!

Dan
 
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1 and 2 are quite nice but the foregrounds rocks are a bit small in the frame for my tastes. Great view though, possibly a little more saturation needed. Two seems to be leaning slightly, I guess the camera was level and it's an effect but you may wish to 'level' in processing.

Enjoyed all of the Ridge pictures, hard to pick a favourite really, they work well as a set.

Not keen on the last one, sorry - the colour is off and the weed and lack of cloud kill any appeal
 
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Scirocco_09 said:
1 and 2 are quite nice but the foregrounds rocks are a bit small in the frame for my tastes. Great view though, possibly a little more saturation needed. Two seems to be leaning slightly, I guess the camera was level and it's an effect but you may wish to 'level' in processing.

Enjoyed all of the Ridge pictures, hard to pick a favourite really, they work well as a set.

Not keen on the last one, sorry - the colour is off and the weed and lack of cloud kill any appeal
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More saturation for 1,2. That must be a taste thing as 2 imho is screaming (for me anyway). I hear you on the foreground though. I cropped a lot out as it was dark and just no water hitting the rocks. It seemed messy. I hear you on the camera level. I'm straight in camera but the shore leads away on the other side a little so it appears squint. You would have to go quite far to the right to get it perpendicular

In what way is the colour off in the last. I'm sure I used a CPL in the shot but it shouldn't be too out. Too warm or too cold. It's more of a snap shot you'd take on a road trip not a serious image. The sort of thing you'd upload to Alamy and hopefully get £20 for a few months on

I'm not really a sunset or seascapes guy tbh. The ridge series was what I gained the most fun out of shooting and spending time doing.

I'd like to get back to the ridge and explore further
 
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ST4 said:
In what way is the colour off in the last. I'm sure I used a CPL in the shot but it shouldn't be too out. Too warm or too cold. It's more of a snap shot you'd take on a road trip not a serious image. The sort of thing you'd upload to Alamy and hopefully get £20 for a few months on
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The colour balance looks a bit off Steve, at least to me - feel values of +5 in Cyan/Red, -4 Magenta/Green and +13 Yellow/Blue on a Colour Balance layer could help, plus a little more vibrance too. I didn't realise it was for stock, good luck with the cash
 
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A lovely set as ever, number 2 works for me. The light in 5 is nice though!
 
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ST4 said:
I prefer the light they bring before and after bit the sun flaring into the image i find a distraction. This has been my second "sunset" this year and probably my last
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My reason is more straight forward, there is usually more photographers fighting for space at sunset!

(Except for Corfe Castle on a misty morning, or Durdle Door when the sun shines through the arch)
 
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