seascape | alan frost photography

The Isles of Mull and Iona – Part two ….. Capturing the spirit of place

***White Strand of the Monks, Isle of Iona***

There are so many facets to these isles, to the point that trying to capture the spirit of the place with just a handful of images can’t possibly do it justice.

My wife and I have visited the Scottish Isles and in particular the Isle of Mull for over thirty years. However living on the South coast of England and travelling by car, means a minimum of two days on motorways, other stretches of tarmac and ferry crossings to reach our final destination. We take pleasure in the journey but we would probably visit more often if it wasn’t so far away. However being the distance it is does make it that much more special.

Admittedly accessibility is arguably the same for many people which does help to keep the number of visitors down. As a consequence places like Mull and Iona remain wild, beautiful and peaceful in equal measure.

In Part One of this short series I featured Iona Abbey. In this entry I will share a series of images captured during our week long stay back in the Spring. Apart from location they have little else in common but I hope they help to convey why and how much we love coming to this part of the world.

***A gate into the beach at Fionnphort with Iona in the far distance***

***Looking across the Sound of Iona, from Iona with Mull on the horizon***

***Redundant telephone box on the Ross of Mull***

***White Strand of the Monks, Iona ….. quite possibly my favourite and most magical place on the isle.***

***Please shut the gate, Near Kintra, Ross of Mull***

Be Ye Man or Ye Be Woman, Be Ye Going or Ye Be Coming

Be Ye Early or Be Ye Late, Aye Tak Time to Shut the Gate

***Ardalanish beach – looking out to the Paps of Jura, Isle of Mull***

***Petrol station – they are few and far between***

***The Paps of Jura on the skyline from Ardalanish beach***

***Highland cattle at Fionnphort – even they like a visit to the beach!***

I shall finish with a Gaelic saying which was on inscribed on a wall in the Abbey which read;

‘Am fear a thèid a dh’l, thèid e trì uairean an.’

It means –

Those who come to Iona will come, not once, but three times.

As this was our second visit to Iona I very much hope this saying will come true, and that we will return on another day.

(A note for fellow photographers – I wanted to travel light this holiday so all these images were captured with the Leica Q3)

Scotland – Part 2 ….. Ardnamurchan, sadly just passing through

**Before the rain – A lone house near Sanna Bay**

After a week’s stay on the Isle of Mull we took the CalMac ferry from Tobermory to Kilchoan on the Ardnamurchan peninsular. Arguably one of the most remote peninsulas on the west coast of Scotland. On leaving Kilchoan and before driving to Morar, we decided to head north west and take a relativelyshort detour along a single track road to visit the lovely beaches of Sanna Bay. An absolutely stunning location. The lighthouse at Ardnamurchan Point was our next port of call, as we had to say we had been to the most westerly point of the British mainland.

Sadly we were only passing through Ardnamurchan and we only scratched the surface of this rather special area of Scotland.

**The remote peninsular of Ardnamurchan, on the west coast of Scotland.**

**The view from the ferry looking east in the direction of Loch Sunart**

**The isolated and beautiful sands of Sanna Bay** **(above and below)**

**The most western telephone box on the British mainland near Sanna Bay**

In Part 3 of this short series on Scotland, I will be sharing some images taken during our stay at Morar, which lies to the south of Mallaig.

The highlight of this second week being the beautiful sands at Camusdarach, famous for being one of the principal locations used in the 1983 film ‘Local Hero’. To whet your appetite here is an image from that location.

**The beautiful sands at Camusdarach, near Morar**

In awe of the light and dark clouds at East Head

Never before have I witnessed such a dramatic scene – fortunately I was in the right place at the right time.

At the end of last month I visited East Head at West Wittering, a place I have photographed and written about many times before on this site. But this time the conditions were very different and they couldn’t have been more atmospheric, moody or in one word spectacular. It was early evening as the drama unfolded before my eyes.

As I walked on the sand I noticed a line of fence posts which roped off a section of the dunes. After all East Head is owned by the National Trust and they are keen to protect this important habitat for wildlife and in particular nesting birds. This was a minimalist image (above) but as I turned round to look in the opposite direction I saw dark clouds gathering fast.

Question – How simple can it be?

Answer – Not as simple as the title of this post would suggest.

When composing an image I have often read: ‘It’s not what you include, it’s what you choose to leave out’. Just think about that for a moment. It’s certainly worth having that thought in mind when you are framing your next shot.

I have always been drawn to simple compositions. A complicated image with many elements can be a challenge to appreciate, there can be just too much going on. The emotional reaction to a busy image can be one of excitement or tension, whereas an image with simplicity at its heart can be quite the reverse, being both quiet and restful. But even with a ‘simple’ image there are still choices to be made, so I thought it would be interesting to analyse the four photographs in this post. They all share the same viewpoint and were taken during the blue hour after the sun had set.

The composition of first image which is shown below is split into three broadly equal parts. The upper third being the sky, the middle third the sea, and the lower third the movement of the lapping tide where it meets the shingle shoreline. In essence a very starightforward composition.

In the second image I have stepped back from the shoreline so the bottom section has less detail. The horizon now intersects the midde of the frame revealing more of the sky. And lastly the exposure time was longer than the first image, which has resulted in less texture in the water. In my view this is now a simplified version of an already fairly simple image.

The third image shares much in common with the second. The horizon still splits the frame in two, the exposure time was about the same, but crucially the shoreline has been left out. Instead of three main elements there are now just two; the sky and the sea. A further simplification but as a consequnce you might now ask yourself the question whether this was taken from dry land or out at sea. Not only is this third image simpler than the previous two versions, it evokes a very different feeling.

In the third image you might have also noticed that I did adjust the colour balance, but what happens if all colour is removed and the photograph becomes monochrome? Again it’s a further simplification of the scene. There is little or no detail in the sky and the juxtaposition of warm and cool tones (above) has also been lost.

It is not for me to say which is best or which one I like best, they all have their merits in my opinion. However I hope they illustrate the point I wanted to make in this post. What might at first glance appear to be a simple scene, the photographer is still required to make a number of decisions. What to leave in and what to leave out. How fast or slow should the shutter speed be. Where does the horizon line sit in the frame. What colour balance should be used or should all colour be removed. Some of these choices can be made in post production, others must be made before the shutter is pressed. Undeniably though each of these choices will have an impact on the final image; how it feels and the emotional impact it has on the viewer.

As an aside the last photograph in the series was inspired by the work of the Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. It also just happens to be my most ‘liked’ photograph on my Instagram account.

Arguably it is the most simple composition I have ever posted – so is simple, simply the best?

A return to a favourite location – to find a feeling of calm and stillness.

Much has been written in recent times about how the combination of photography and mindfulness can be beneficial to your mental wellbeing. Simply being out in the open, experiencing nature and witnessing the marvel of the created world has to be good for the soul. Most people worry and are anxious from time to time without actually suffering from a mental illness, myself included.

As well as taking regular exercise for your physical fitness, I recognise that doing things which specifically help your mental wellbeing are just as important, perhaps even more so given the world in which we live right now. So whilst stress and anxiety are not really a big issue for me, we can all benefit from being creative in a beautiful location and in so doing capturing a few special moments with a camera.

A few weeks ago I returned to one of my favourite places. East Head at West Wittering on the West Sussex coast. Probably one of the finest stretches of sand along the south coast and often listed in ‘Britain’s Best Beaches’. More often than not I am there with my wife and our dog early in the morning. On this occasion I went there on my own for a couple of hours not to walk but to photograph. I chose one particular spot, and then observed the tide receding and captured the setting sun. Because of the fading light and a desire to smooth the water all of the images you see here were long exposures which of course required the use of a tripod. This in itself forced me to slow down.

With no pressure on my time I could relax and concentrate on what I was doing. Whilst waiting for the light to change I simply stopped and watched the sun work its magic in the sky. Any worrying thoughts I had were lifted; as there was no space in my mind for anything other than photography and the scenery around me. Just ‘being in the moment’ to coin a phrase. Photographing sunsets is something of a cliche, but does that matter? Not in my opinion when the benefits are so tangible.

It has been a while since I last updated this blog and I am pleased to have another three or four entries to compose and publish soon. All of which will feature colour photographs as this seems to be the path I am following for now. I am also aware that I need to spend some time updating this website generally to reflect this change of direction. There are also a number of camera and processing techniques which I have yet to try – for example, focus stacking and exposure blending. Nothing new or original, just something I have never done before, so when I do I will endeavour to write about my experiences and share some images.

For now though I will simply leave you with this summary. If you are a creative (it doesn’t have to be photography), then put aside some time in your diary, head out to a favourite location and turn off your phone. Try and relax and take a few deep breaths, whilst you experience and appreciate the beauty that surrounds you, And perhaps for the time you are there some of your worries will ease, as a feeling of calm and stillness prevails.