Otherworldly Landscapes Around Every Corner by Dave Newton
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Dave Newton is an international award-winning professional photographer and filmmaker and represents EIZO as a ColorEdge Ambassador. For 2022 we will be following his journey on the road as he travels the world with his family, Jess, Isla, and of course Otis in his recently converted truck!
Otherworldly Landscapes Around Every Corner
Welcome to this month’s edition of my travelogue, which sees us exploring the highlands of Scotland and the spectacular Isle of Skye.
We started the month in glorious Glencoe, one of my favourite places. The first few days were spent receding familiar locations and finding some new ones in preparation for a landscape photography workshop I was running with Canon during the first week.
Landscape photography can often be about early starts and late finishes but early in the year it’s a little easier, with sunrise at a fairly respectable 6-7 am and sunset sometime between 5-6 pm. Of course, that’s not the only time of day to take landscape pictures, but it’s when the light is low in the sky, warm in tone, and casting interesting shadows across the land that landscapes really come to life.
I was lucky in Glencoe that despite some rain, we also had some incredible clear patches, and combined with the cold, it made for some frosty mornings, snow-capped peaks, and frozen streams – all things that are manna from heaven for a landscape photographer.
From Glencoe, we found our way heading North with the Isle of Skye as our destination. But instead of trying to make the drive in one hit, we took a few detours – most notably to the Silver Sands of Morar. Aptly named for the white (or even silver!) sandy beaches and azure waters that could make you think you were in the Caribbean, apart from the thick puffer jacket you need to stay warm!
I’d said early on that this would be warts and all, and this is where we encountered one of the challenges of travelling in a truck – parking. For the most part, it’s pretty easy to park in Scotland. There’s a lot of space and the right to roam means people are very accepting of wild camping, and as long as you’re sensible, that extends to parking up in a motorhome.
However, in a vehicle as big as Bebe, finding spots to park can sometimes be a bit of a challenge – so it was in Morar. It’s a tiny village on one road next to the sea, not exactly lots of spaces to stop. And there are many campsites along the stretch so understandably they would rather you stay there. That meant a couple of laps until we found a lay-by free that we could get ourselves into – the campsites at this time of year were closed so, despite us being willing to stay in one, it just wasn’t possible.
The biggest downside from my perspective was where we found to park was a bit of a walk to where I wanted to be for sunrise in the morning, so it was an extra early start. But the soft pastel tones rising across the sea and over the island of Mull more than made up for it.
From Morar, we crossed over to Skye and that’s where we’ve spent the last two weeks. For those that have never been to Skye, I urge you to go!
It is as incredible as you’ve heard. From otherworldly landscapes to hidden bays, the landscape is just exceptional around every corner. We visited most of the main photographic attractions but still feel like it’s only a superficial visit, so we must come back again. If for no other reason than some of the other Isles are screaming out to be visited too, and Skye makes a great jumping-off point for several of them.
Of particular highlights on Skye, the obvious candidates of the Old Man of Storr, Neist Point and the Quiraing are absolutely worth visiting, but so too are the less visited areas of the Sleat Peninsula and the coast from Storr to Staffin. In fact, everywhere is worth it, whether you want to take pictures or not!
Next month will see me hopping in and out of Ireland for some workshops while spending time in Southern England preparing for 6 weeks away working – an around the world trip including India, Nepal, Jordan, and Sicily, plus 2 weeks in the American West.
Happy Travels!
If you have questions, don’t be shy, feel free to reach out to me either through EIZO or through our social media channels:
@globaltraces on Instagram and Facebook, or www.globaltraces.co.uk for a website.
If you want to see more of my work specifically, then @photopositive (Insta and FB) or www.photopositive.co.uk will get you there.
