Thanks everyone for the encourament and support. It is a very intense experience in many ways, and it was today, too, though a much less taxing one than yesterday. I'm getting used to things - like the roads and people driving all over them instead of holding their lane, but I have to take things as I find them anyway, so it's no use complaining anyway. For instance, if you go to the north-west of Scotland, you have to expect weather as it is now - so please, don't think I'm put off by what is happening; it limits what can be done, but by no means takes away from its value!
A little warning: This will be a lengthy one - bear with me or just look at the images. I have some time on my hands, arriving at my next stop (the little ferry port of Ullapool) rather early ...
I didn't mention my Google Pixel as a camera before, but since I've started using it with the Footej Camera app (no idea who came up with the name, the company's called Semaphore which is a lot more sensible in my view, but anyway) I really quite like shooting with it, and the images are usable more often than not. Footej offers full manual control (of a limited set of controls, ISO, shutter speed, and focus - but that's the Pixel's fault, not the app's), but since the aperture stays the same anyway, I mostly use AE and AF because I can get a measurement (which does AE and AF directly) with a tap on the screen and after that, I can reposition the two circles for AE and AF individually and independly! This works really well, so you'll get two Footej JPEGs as well (unfortunately, Polarr can't decode the RAW files - even though they're DNGs). For what it is, I'm quite pleased with the results.
But first, here's a glimpse at the single track B road - in one of its better repaired and wider parts, on the northern entry to Stoer.
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On my morning hike, I went to see the Old Man of Stoer, which, you may have guessed it, is another stone pillar along the very same lines as the Auld Man of Hoy I showed you in the previous post. The walk was not too difficult, but it's boggyl, waterlogged ground with lots of quagmires and muddy areas, plus it gets steep in some parts (never really dangerous, though, if you're careful and wear appropriate boots). It was treacherous enough for me to stow away the Leica after taking two half-hearted shots, though. (in the only two minutes of the sun breaking through, unfortunately). So, nothing to show from the headline camera ... The G1X III was a good camera for the occasion anyhow.
The parking lot is situated close to the old lighthouse (that you can now rent for special occasions - or even to live in!); you'll spot that in a couple of images later.
As a side note, sheep are everywhere, not only on the roads, but also *on* the cliffs, above sheer drops. I don't have a good image to show you that (I wasn't able to get anywhere close enough without putting myself into danger), but it's really astonishing.
Here's the pillar as I first saw it.
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From above. As you can see on the bottom, there's a rope for getting over to the pillar - in order to climb it!
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This was the closest I could bring myself to step to the cliff - the drop is absolutely precipitious, and the wind was buffeting me the whole time. In spite of the conditions, there was a middle-aged couple I had seen earlier preparing to climb the rock pillar - I had lost them from view at that time and don't know if they succeed (or even tried).
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On the way back, there was a sudden squall - not too bad, but I had to put the raincover on the backpack, meaning I didn't have any more access to the cameras; the smartphone had to be transferred from the back pocket of my trousers (which got very wet in a short period of time) to the jacket to keep it dry). So I had that ready. On returning to lighthouse, I took two shots.
The first one is interesting because what you see in the foreground are not flowers - they're tiny bits of sheep's wool directly deposited there; this means that the little depression in the image is a preferred sheltering spot for the animals.
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The second image shows a small ridge richly overgrown with what is probably Ling; before that, there's a chasm with a sharp edge, half-hidden in the grass in front of it.
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That's about it for the morning.
TO BE CONTINUED ...
M.