Steve Pellatt
it doesn't get better than this!
The Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye
There are times when I struggle to take photographs because of the scene unfolding grabbing my attention by the throat and saying "Don't you dare look away".
I got up early on the indication of some fog being around and I originally planned to go to The Quirang to check it out. Having hiked up to the Old Man Overview a few days earlier and suffering post-Covid cough and runny nose I was looking for excuses. However, as I drove north from Portree I decided to not be a wuss and go for The Old man. I set off from the car park and started walking & chatting with another Tog. After a while my frequent stops to blow my nose were too often and I was sort of relived when he said he'd press on as I was feeling embarrassed & guilty for slowing him down.
He said he wasn't going to the overlook spot and whilst I was very tempted I pressed on beyond the Old Man. My this time the fog was very heavy and it had started to rain (one of the rare times on my week on Skye!) so my new Rab waterproof jacket got a workout.
Huffing, puffing, coughing and honking (my nose) I eventually arrived at the overlook a little while before sunrise and could see very little due to a lack of light and the fog.
Sunrise came and went and The Old Man was still sucked in by the fog and I was starting to think I'd made the climb for nothing.
Then the sky started to brighten to my left and without warning the sun broke through the fog to briefly illuminate The Old Man. Unfortunately I'd chosen that moment to go move my camera bag from where I'd left it so as I got back to the camera and the fog rolled in again without me getting more than 1 shot I was swearing I can tell you!
There then followed about 20mins of cat & mouse between my camera and The Old Man as the sun and the fog battled for supremacy. After that the Sun seemed to have been KO'd as the fog rolled back in and although I waited another hour I never saw The Old Man again. I was really torn between wanting to just watch the scene and take the photos as it was so ethereal.
During the periods it was fleetingly visible I was hitting the shutter non-stop and this is one of the images I captured. If you look closely you can see the other Tog I mentioned just above the path to The Old Man about half way up the photo close to the right side of the frame.
I'm grateful for the extra MP on the R5 as this (or one of the others I shot in that 15mins is going to end up printed big and hanging on my wall.
Not only did I feel these shots made the hike up that morning worth the effort but it made the whole trip worthwhile. Mother nature likes to tease us Togs but she also rewards us. What as amazing to me was that I had the whole of the overlook to myself that whole time and mysekf and the other Tog had the whole experience to ourselves.
The title for the photo comes from the catchphrase of a certain landscape photographer/YouTuber who I'm sure many of you know. I think it summed up my feelings whilst I was at the overlook.
If you made it this far through my ramblings then 'Well Done' and thanks for your interest. Hope you all had a good Easter.
© All rights reserved Steve Pellatt. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.
it doesn't get better than this!
The Old Man of Storr, Isle of Skye
There are times when I struggle to take photographs because of the scene unfolding grabbing my attention by the throat and saying "Don't you dare look away".
I got up early on the indication of some fog being around and I originally planned to go to The Quirang to check it out. Having hiked up to the Old Man Overview a few days earlier and suffering post-Covid cough and runny nose I was looking for excuses. However, as I drove north from Portree I decided to not be a wuss and go for The Old man. I set off from the car park and started walking & chatting with another Tog. After a while my frequent stops to blow my nose were too often and I was sort of relived when he said he'd press on as I was feeling embarrassed & guilty for slowing him down.
He said he wasn't going to the overlook spot and whilst I was very tempted I pressed on beyond the Old Man. My this time the fog was very heavy and it had started to rain (one of the rare times on my week on Skye!) so my new Rab waterproof jacket got a workout.
Huffing, puffing, coughing and honking (my nose) I eventually arrived at the overlook a little while before sunrise and could see very little due to a lack of light and the fog.
Sunrise came and went and The Old Man was still sucked in by the fog and I was starting to think I'd made the climb for nothing.
Then the sky started to brighten to my left and without warning the sun broke through the fog to briefly illuminate The Old Man. Unfortunately I'd chosen that moment to go move my camera bag from where I'd left it so as I got back to the camera and the fog rolled in again without me getting more than 1 shot I was swearing I can tell you!
There then followed about 20mins of cat & mouse between my camera and The Old Man as the sun and the fog battled for supremacy. After that the Sun seemed to have been KO'd as the fog rolled back in and although I waited another hour I never saw The Old Man again. I was really torn between wanting to just watch the scene and take the photos as it was so ethereal.
During the periods it was fleetingly visible I was hitting the shutter non-stop and this is one of the images I captured. If you look closely you can see the other Tog I mentioned just above the path to The Old Man about half way up the photo close to the right side of the frame.
I'm grateful for the extra MP on the R5 as this (or one of the others I shot in that 15mins is going to end up printed big and hanging on my wall.
Not only did I feel these shots made the hike up that morning worth the effort but it made the whole trip worthwhile. Mother nature likes to tease us Togs but she also rewards us. What as amazing to me was that I had the whole of the overlook to myself that whole time and mysekf and the other Tog had the whole experience to ourselves.
The title for the photo comes from the catchphrase of a certain landscape photographer/YouTuber who I'm sure many of you know. I think it summed up my feelings whilst I was at the overlook.
If you made it this far through my ramblings then 'Well Done' and thanks for your interest. Hope you all had a good Easter.
© All rights reserved Steve Pellatt. Please do not use this image on websites, blogs or any other media without my explicit written permission.