Western Isles Heaven
These images represent all that I love about photography. They have been taken on the Isle of Harris, Scotland. This small, remote island forms part of the Outer Hebrides – an area of outstanding natural beauty and storytelling history. The ever-changing landscape leaves you speechless as soon as you immerse yourself in. Mountains, beaches, moorland, cliffs and the endless ocean: all these subjects provide wonderful photographic opportunities. What makes these sceneries unique is the extraordinary and dynamic natural light. Ubiquitous winds and clouds bringing both shattered rain and bursts of sunlight provide an enormous energetic environment.
Remembering when I took these images; I stood in the ocean in some heavy wind, my camera on my robust tripod attempting to catch the waves as they hit the shore. To witness these moments, to be immersed in nature, to follow the movement of natural light, to literally feel your image, this is what landscape photography is all about. The moment when you and the landscape merge together, photography becomes an art. Photography thought me not only to see, but also to breathe, feel, smell and hear differently. Nature itself became a complete aesthetic experience for me thanks to being able to record life in the format of an image.
I believe that one of the critical aspects of landscape photography is to capture the essence or soul of a particular place. And this is always an emphasis of personal vision. These images exhibit what I witnessed at that particular moment in time. They are my interpretation of the landscape, my manifestation of the subjective construction of reality. Above all, they are meaningful to me not only because they reveal the spirit of place, but also my place within that place.
- Camera: Fujifilm X-T3
- Lens: Fujinon XF16mm f/1.4
- LEE Landscape Polariser
Borve Beach, Isle of Harris, Scotland, October 2019.
Featured in the monthly LEE Filters YourView gallery in November 2019; selected and commented by renowned Mike Prince.