Lewis and Harris Photography

Last year I travelled over to the Isle of Lewis to shoot a feature for the Loganair in-flight magazine TravelLOG.

Lewis is a photographers dream, no matter when you visit, or what the weather throws at you. I always remember a quote by Billy Connolly, which went along the lines of “there’s no such as thing as bad weather, only wrong clothes”. Well my version is “there is no such as thing as bad light, unless there is no light”. Basically even on a dull winter day, there are photo opportunities to be had. I want to share a few tips from my recent trip over the Lewis.

The most popular location to visit on the island, is undoubtably the Callanish Standing Stones, a spectacular spot, but even more popular following their appearance in the Outlander tv series. I decided to make a sunset visit the main priority of my trip, and plan everything else around it. It was always going to be a bit of a gamble, but I absolutely hit the jackpot. The ley to sunrise and sunset shots are planning. Knowing the time to be there, and deciding in advance or very quickly, what angle to shoot it at. There are many apps and websites which will tell you sunset times and exact position of them. I arrived about one minute before a busload of photographers from the USA, so had to have my elbows prepared, but I chose my spot and set up. The sunset was one of the best I have seen, and patience paid off as it really turned out great.

The beaches are famous on the West Coast of Scotland, and also on the islands. Harris always receives plaudits for its beaches, but a trip around the coast of Lewis will show you just as many beauty spots. Again planning is the key, and I knew Traigh Mor beach was definitely worth a visit, having shot wedding images there last year.

I was lucky and got a beautiful sunny day. The main thing to remember in autumn and winter, is that the days are shorter. Sunrise is later, sunset is earlier, and in between the sun is lower for the most part, which gives beautiful light and long shadows.

As expected, the sunny weather didn’t last too long, and was quickly replaced with grey skies and a totally different light. But going back to my earlier quote, the light isn’t bad, it is just different, and as such needs a different approach. It is now worth thinking in a moody, black and white mindset, to capture the feelings. I think it is often more authentic when I shoot Scottish scenes in moody conditions, rather than clear blue skies. It shows more atmosphere, and it is worth remembering this and trying to capture that. Obviously there are considerations to make in low light, and you may not be able to shoot small apertures, but don’t be scared to break the landscape rules and shoot at f2.8 and play around with the depth of field.

I only had a day, but managed to visit some great places. Garry Beach, Traigh Mor beach, Callanish, Seabost?, and a Norse Mill and Kiln near Carloway. I went to the old broch at Carloway as well, but it was too wet to get the camera out, with horizontal rain in my face.

The golden beaches are very beautiful, the water looks tropical on a good day, and I would recommend trying to capture some images from above, as that angle really shows the colour much better than being at ground level. Ground level is aslo good, but just gives a totally different perspective.

There are so many old croft houses, and scenes which could be 100 years old, amongst the modern buildings and settlements. On a dull day, these can look amazing, moody and dramatic.

Do you need expensive equipment to take great photos here? Well, obviously if you have professional equipment, the results are more predictable and you can be more creative, but with the right eye, and a bit of thought, you can still take good images on a compact camera, or even at a push, on your smartphone, although you will be very limited

This guide book is very handy!