skye

Photographers within a landscape

By |2017-03-13T11:46:49+00:00September 22nd, 2014|Categories: The Test Strip Photoblog|Tags: , , , , |

photographers-sligachan-skye

If there is one place on Skye that is loaded with photographers (and Skye has its fair share!) it has to be Sligachan, located halfway between Broadford and Portree, where the Cullins mountains dominate the landscape.

The landscape just shouts to be photographed and on my visit there were these intrepid snappers shooting the landscape from the little hill. Every one of them had a tripod, while mine laid sleeping ย in the boot of the car.

Possibly they were a camera club, photography workshop or a bunch of photography enthusiasts on a trip, but regardless of who they were, it was fascinating to see ย how they carefully viewed the landscape and went about their photography of the black Cuillins. Then they packed their gear, picked up their tripods and went back to the car park, a large number of them taking notice of the film camera ย i was carrying as they went by.

Just a shame I’ll probably never get to see the photographs they shot that day.

Getting into Line

By |2017-03-13T11:46:50+00:00May 14th, 2014|Categories: News|Tags: , , , , , , |

family-line-staffin-skye

A family return to their car – Staffin, Skye

The last few weeks have seen some tough decisions taken with regard to the layout and designย of the Scotland book. Something just didn’t look right and for quite a while i couldn’t figure out quite whatย the problem was even though the April deadline for a release was looming.

Eventually it became clear that it was the narrative of the book that was wrong and so, with some trepidation, i decided to make some large changes toย the narrative, layout and order of the images which has resulted in a better looking book… but also a larger one. Originally i planned to have a maximum of 100 pages , however, the current book designย hasย 164 pages boosted by some newly added photography. In one afternoon i managed to advance further than i had in several weeks, such is the way that the creative process ebbs and flows.

The text for the book will be influenced from a number of reading sources. The landscape and history of the Scottish Highlands are firmly entwined and a wonderful book ย by the author J.J Bell called ‘The Glory of Scotland‘, has been especially influential.ย Published in 1932, the book remains anย entertaining, if slightly dated, guide to the land and people of Scotland, and yet much of J.J Bell’sย writing still holds true today. The outdated elements add a certain charm to the reading though. One beautifully written section dealing with the ferry over to Skye advises ‘if you have a car it is well to wire “stationmaster, Kyle of Lochalsh” ย in advance‘. I must remember to telegram ahead on my next visit.

So the book now has a provisional release date of late June.ย This has been a tough project so far but it needs to be 100% right and i would rather delay to get something right than rush and regret later. ย After all, the book will be on the shelf to act as a constant reminder.

An April Book Release

By |2017-03-13T11:46:50+00:00March 5th, 2014|Categories: News|Tags: , , , , |

commando memorial, Highlands of Scotland

The Commando Memorial, Spean Bridge, Highlands of Scotland

February saw the Scotland/Skye photography book really start to take shape as the final images came into place even though the month was full of distractions.

The book text has also come on in leaps and bounds over the last couple of weeks after a bad case of what could only be called writers block.

So the project has reached the final stages with just a few design issues to be dealt with. The book should be ready for release in late April and will feature photography taken during two visits over 2012/13 to the Highlands and Isle of Skye.

More details about the project and the photography can be found HERE

[UPDATE] The book, currently at 104 pages, will now be released in mid/late 2014 after an extended period of image and text editing has been completed.

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