The Isle of Skye Day 1
We left Eilean Donan right after sunset and headed directly across the bridge onto the Isle of Skye, arriving at our B&B after dark. We spent two full days and of course it wasn't enough. Skye is about as good as it gets for the most landscapes worth photographing in the smallest area. We put a good scratch on the surface but just barely. So we had to make the best of the time we had. On Thursday, September 15th, we rose at 4:00 AM to make the trek to the Old Man of Storr. I wanted to be up on the mountain at sunrise and that was to be at 6:50. The climb was to take 50 minutes and was rated as "moderate". Well, "moderate" maybe for someone who climbs Mt. Kilimanjaro over a weekend. We reached the actual "Old Man" rock formation at about 7 AM and we were puffing. Jeanne Marie declared victory at that point and decided to wait for me there. The wind was quite strong at this point but she was able to get sheltered from it. I had to go quite a ways higher.
Although the sun was up by this point and we were behind schedule we were not penalized because a heavy bank of clouds on the eastern horizon left the light quite flat. It was clear overhead though so I got this of The Old Man and the third quarter moon.
Below is the conventional iconic viewpoint for photographing the Old Man. You can see that the light is still a little flat.
I wasn't lingering here anyway. My scouts had told me to keep climbing. I had to scramble up the backside of a pretty big hill, out of view of the Old Man. Just as I reached the top and walked onto the flat, the sun burst out of the clouds and this was the scene below me.
And that, boys and girls, is what gets a landscape photographer out of bed at 4 in the morning. I didn't actually stay long. The wind was trying to blow me off the mountain and Jeanne Marie would be wondering. Besides, the spot I was on was quite small so there wasn't much to do with the composition except zoom in and out. I put a few more from this spot in the slide show.
Going back down I got a better shot of the "conventional" viewpoint.
Jeanne Marie was feeling triumphant, having made it up to the Old Man itself. Her knees aren't so bad after all! I think maybe she could carry a little more camera gear!
We headed back down to the village of Portree for breakfast.
After our early up and long climb we rested for awhile at the B&B. No more hiking but we would be driving across the island for sunset.
And we continued to see reminders of the Queen's passing. This was on the road back from Storr.
Neist Point Lighthouse was the next objective. Jeanne Marie scouted up a pub which was more or less on the way for some good fish & chips.
The scenery on Skye is so terrific that views we would stop and gawk at for an hour are passed without mention. I debated whether to stop and take the image below. It was just sooo routine.
Most of the road to the pub and the lighthouse was a single track, that is, one lane, so we allowed extra time. But we met very few cars so we arrived at Neist Point over an hour before sunset. The sky showed great promise but our great enemy was once again the wind. At least 30 knots. I couldn't let go of the tripod for a second. I thought the images were worth the trip though.
The above was the last usable light we got. I was not looking forward to driving the one track road in the dark but it actually was easier. The oncoming car's headlights could be seen further and around corners. And that was our first day on Skye. Slide show with more pictures below.
