# Skye



## B2ONGO (May 5, 2011)

We dumped the kids with their grandparents and spent a few days over in Skye a couple of weeks back. I took my camera and thought I would post up what are probably my fav 6 from shots from a really nice day break. Skye has to be one of the best locations for photography in Scotland.

We spent the night in a lovely wee cottage near Elgol and as treat had dinner at the 3 chimneys before a dram or two in front of a roaring coal fire.

Anyway, back to the shots lol - I've had my D3100 for about a year now and learning new things all the time (both out in the field and behind the computer screen when i get back).

I really struggled with the last shot of Neist Point. I know its hugely under exposed but it was the best I could do with the conditions. I wanted to get the lighthouse in as well as the sunset. Problem was the dynamic range of the scene meant I was either blowing the sun out or leaving lighthouse in a big shadowy block (even with the filters I had to hand).

I took some bracketed shots but my HDR processing isnt great and I'm not keen on the unavoidable "painterly" look I seem to always get with photomatix (even with my presets I've developed to avoid this look). I also tried some exposure blending but the result didnt look to clever either.

I suppose my question is, how would others have tackled the scene - either out at the location or PP wise? I have plenty shots of the lighthouse properly exposed but the sky was pretty bland and all the action was over where the sun was on the right.

Be nice to hear which of the 6 you prefer too.

1. 
Highland Cattle - Skye by Michael~Ashley, on Flickr

2. 
Dunvegan Castle - Skye by Michael~Ashley, on Flickr

3. 
Elements Elgol, Skye by Michael~Ashley, on Flickr

4. 
Elgol Sunrise - Skye by Michael~Ashley, on Flickr

5. 
Lobster Pot - Elgol Skye by Michael~Ashley, on Flickr

6. 
Neist Point Lighthouse - Skye by Michael~Ashley, on Flickr

Cheers :thumbs:


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## AshD (Apr 27, 2006)

Really cool shots, love 1 & 3!


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Number 3, a great weather shot

as for pic 6, two hard edged grads stacked up offering 5-6 stops of exposure differential should do it?


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## buckas (Jun 13, 2008)

#3 personally, classic Elgol shot and sums up Skye for me


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## Big D Cro (Feb 4, 2011)

#3 for me, I like them all, except #5, it's too "artificial" for me.


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

To add a general comment they all seem a little dark. Could just be the Skye weather though! What I have found useful recently is to see how an image prints out on paper and how it looks without the benefit of having light pumped through it on a monitor, a useful exercise imo.


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## B2ONGO (May 5, 2011)

I think you're right Brazo - I work from a laptop since my desktop packed in a few months back. I think the screen is brighter than it should be and thats causing me to process them a bit dark. 

I've got a new Dell ultra sharp monitor in mind from Santa so that should help address the problem. 

I do have a tendency to process my shots a bit dark anyway - thats probably a mixture of personal taste as a result of the moody weather we get up here in Inverness :thumb:


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## Kiashuma (May 4, 2011)

They are great. I was in Skye a few years back, stayed in a camping pod in the camping and caravan club site was great.

Numer 2 is my favourate pic, i tried to take the same but looked rubbish compared to yours.

You got better weather than i got in August, never stopped raining.


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## pooma (Apr 12, 2008)

I'm like that, I tend to process my shots to dark, then with the added brightness of working on a laptop I find when I print images they are tro dark.

Cracking set, 3 and 5 for me.


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## Aps-direct (Nov 19, 2012)

Really good work.


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

B2ONGO said:


> I think you're right Brazo - I work from a laptop since my desktop packed in a few months back. I think the screen is brighter than it should be and thats causing me to process them a bit dark.
> 
> I've got a new Dell ultra sharp monitor in mind from Santa so that should help address the problem.
> 
> I do have a tendency to process my shots a bit dark anyway - thats probably a mixture of personal taste as a result of the moody weather we get up here in Inverness :thumb:


really worth calibrating monitor too with a hardware and software calibration tool:thumb:


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## Dingabell (Apr 9, 2008)

Lovely shots.


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## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

Fantastic shots. I think the darkness of the photos adds to the mood of the shots and shows Skye off in typical fashion.


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## dandam (Apr 10, 2011)

I love 1 and 3, but they are all stunning pictures. :thumb:

My sister in law is married to a Skye native (a born and bred crofter) and they live about 7 miles from Portree so I have been there at least once per year. The road from Struan towards Sligachan where the landscape is flat but looking at the Cuillins is probably the one view that will always take my breath away.


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## Wout_RS (Jun 13, 2012)

damn! very nice pictures!
i want to go right away when seeing this pictures!


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## Bero (Mar 9, 2008)

As mentioned all a bit dark, but def' No 1 for me. I dislike longer exposure shots of water so 4 and 5 were out.


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Tweaked shadows, mid and highlights, and dropped saturation a wee hair.
Hope you don't mind.
This was done on a semi-calibrated iMac (last done a while ago, and somewhat limited, with an Eye One).


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## B2ONGO (May 5, 2011)

PJS said:


> Tweaked shadows, mid and highlights, and dropped saturation a wee hair.
> Hope you don't mind.
> This was done on a semi-calibrated iMac (last done a while ago, and somewhat limited, with an Eye One).


Cheers, here was my OTT HDR version lol


Neist Point HDR - Skye by Michael~Ashley, on Flickr


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## PJS (Aug 18, 2007)

Yeah, saw that on your Flickr photostream or whatever they call it.
Like anything artistic, it's always going to be case of 'the beholder's eye'.
Any one of the three are fine, depending on what you want to be extracted from the image.
I tend to prefer the balanced reality type - but some prefer the story image, with elements exaggerated or pushed to the forefront.


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## iPlod999 (Jun 23, 2012)

I have had my D3100 for just over a year too. 

I wish I had the time and attention span to move off of the Auto setting. 

What have you used to learn what you have done?


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## B2ONGO (May 5, 2011)

iPlod999 said:


> I have had my D3100 for just over a year too.
> 
> I wish I had the time and attention span to move off of the Auto setting.
> 
> What have you used to learn what you have done?


Hi mate, I made a conscious decision to ditch manual mode after a few weeks - its much more enjoyable and once you get the hang on of it, taking photos is much more satisfying than just pointing the camera at something and pressing a button.

I used the built in guide mode that the D3100 has to start off with. Instead of just taking for granted what the settings are changed to, have a look and try to understand why. Once you get your head round, aperture, shutter speed and ISO then it all clicks in.

Best advice I can give is just go out with your camera and try stuff - you'll soon get to know what settings produce results. If you have time then theres loads of stuff on youtube to help you out too.

I'm kinda lucky that I live in the Highlands and can be out in some of the most beautiful places in Britain in less than an hour. I met a guy in Skye a couple of weeks back who had driven through the night from Yorkshire just to spend a day out with his camera 

Anyway, stick with it. Once it clicked for me I kinda caught the bug. I'm still a relative beginner, learning new stuff all the time.


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## umi000 (Jan 14, 2011)

PJS said:


> Tweaked shadows, mid and highlights, and dropped saturation a wee hair.
> Hope you don't mind.
> This was done on a semi-calibrated iMac (last done a while ago, and somewhat limited, with an Eye One).


Was going to say that while underexposed, it didn't seem as if the shadow detail wasn't there, and that bumping up the shadows and mid-range should pull them out


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