A couple of years ago, I organized a photo trip with friends to the beautiful Scottish Highlands. We spent one week in the Glencoe region and a second on the Isle of Skye. The Highlands are truly a photographer’s paradise. To plan the trip, I relied mainly on the Landscape Photographer’s Guide for both regions, having bought the eBooks on LPM’s website.
One day on the Isle of Skye, I decided to head for the famous Fairy Pools. This marvel offers a 2.4km walk along a series of natural pools and waterfalls with the gorgeous Cuillin Mountains in the background. This location is a visual paradise!
At this vantage point, I installed my camera and tripod in the pool. I had my water boots on!
I composed and framed the image using a 24mm focal length. I set the small natural waterfall in the middle of the frame since it is an interesting contrasting element in this gorgeous scenery.
One important technical element is the exposure time. If I had used an exposure time too long, the water flow would have been flat with no texture, like boring heavy cream! I used a 0.4 sec exposure time. Doing so, I softly amplified the water flow and kept the texture.
We found the Scottish Highlands wonderful to photograph. There are so many places containing all the important elements of composition: lines, curves, textures, patterns, shapes, colours, and frames, frequently under cloudy skies.
