Just before dawn: Kilt Rock Falls - Isle Of Skye
The Isle of Skye is just gorgeous. However, during the colder months, it's not the most inviting of places. Rolling out of bed in the dark, driving on slip...
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The Isle of Skye is just gorgeous. However, during the colder months, it's not the most inviting of places. Rolling out of bed in the dark, driving on slippery frost-covered roads with a lack of adequate signage, and trudging in mud-ice while just hoping not to fall over, just to stand at a waterfall in high winds where the spray occasionally blew up into our faces... seems somewhat mad. Yet here we are.
Here's the pre-dawn shot of Kilt Rock Falls. However, I'd recommend a boat or a drone if you have one to get the angles you're looking for.
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Here's the pre-dawn shot of Kilt Rock Falls. However, I'd recommend a boat or a drone if you have one to get the angles you're looking for.
Read less
Feb, 2017Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This is Kilt-Rock Falls, on the north-eastern coastline of the Isle of Skye in Scotland. In short, don't expect to see signs on the road, and be VERY careful about getting here before sunrise as the roads during the colder months can be windy, narrow, and covered in slippery ice.Time
This is in the cool-blue part of the morning, before dawn, which in late Autumn there is about 7-7:30am. While that may sound quite late. Getting to a remote part of the island, given the lack of signs meant that we had to leave Portree at roughly 5am, to give us time to find our way, and set up. We found our way using the car GPS, and by using the landscape features (which can be very hard to see in the dark) to track this waterfall down. In Autumn, there will be far fewer people to deal with (It was VERY cold and windy) but I can assure you the other photography enthusiasts will turn up, and want the best vantage they can.Lighting
I shot this regularly from the first stages of light until sun made the waterfall go a pinkish hue. Once the sun actually crested the horizon, it went to the usual white. Shooting before sunrise meant that I could do the long exposure without needing additional filters, such as an ND, or polarizer. Many of my shots were 2-5 seconds long by merely using apertures of 8 to 16... which help the depth of field as well. Similarly, the amount of contrast in these earlier (and darker) times meant that the sensor could handle the entire dynamic range of the scene.Equipment
This was shot with a Canon 5D mk III, Canon 24-105 F4L IS (mark 1) lens, tripod with the central bar sticking sideways over the hand railing for a slightly better vantage. I really wanted to capture the rocks at the bottom.Inspiration
I really wanted to see the "Wilds" of Scotland, and the Isle of Skye is one of the best parts. After spending all week taking photos of castles, (or at least attempting to, since many close for the autumn and winter months) I wanted to see a Scottish sunrise with a natural feature. I researched "things to see on the Isle of Skye" online, and from those who had traveled there previously, I decided the falls would definitely be on our list. When I got there, the biting wind, semi frozen puddles of mud, and low light meant that it wasn't easy to find the best vantage. But I saw the potential to do the usual silky smooth long exposure for the waterfall, and believed that the long exposure would also work for the rocks & waves below.Editing
Since there isn't a "still pretty dark, way beyond cloudy" white balance option, I had to tweak the colours to bring it back to what I remember. I recall that this shot needed a bit of increased contrast and vibrance, the sky had a bit of noise reduction applied to it. Other than that, the shot came out as I intended (which was surprising to me too). However, because of the wind, the "dangling over configuration for the tripod" and the long exposures, there were quite a few which were rendered useless by camera shake.In my camera bag
Aside from my cameras, and associated batteries, memory cards, nibbles, and numerous cleaning cloths....The first piece of kit I have is my 24-105 lens. Ok, it's not the sharpest lens, or the fastest. However, whether it's on a full frame, or a crop factor camera, it's an incredibly versatile lens and only the pixel-peepers can notice the difference. I also have are the Canon 400mm F5.6L, for near instantaneous, tack sharp wildlife shots, and unlike other big lenses, it is light enough for me to carry handheld all day. I carry a couple of 50 and 85mm primes, and my old Canon 40D converted to an infrared only sensor since I love the ethereal effects and unlimited opportunity to tinker with the colours. I also carry my Mavic drone in it's own little bag since I'm having a lot of fun flying it and getting aerial/better vantages with it.Feedback
Depending on the waterfall, you may need a neutral density filter during the day to get those long exposure times, and the resulting silky smooth waterfalls. Because your shutter speed will be measured in whole seconds, you will NEED a tripod or other sturdy support to avoid camera shake. I'd also recommend using either the in-built timer on the shutter, or a cable release/remote to further stabilize the camera. You could also use the "mirror lockup" feature on most DSLRs to take this one step further. Since most waterfalls have that white churned water look. I'd also recommend that if the surrounding rock/hill/canyon area is very shady (and a lot are), shooting at times of the day when there ISN'T bright sunlight streaming on the white waterfall will reduce the dynamic range, and make the shot a lot more relaxing, and make your post processing far easier. In my humble opinion, waterfalls look best on rainy/cloudy days, or early in the morning. However, like everything in photography, the general rules work, until they need to be broken :~) Just make sure you break them by design, rather than just a "happy accident". Like anyone, pay attention to the weather and climate of your location. Scotland is cold, wet, and dark during the colder months. So prepare and choose clothing appropriately. Similarly, from a lighting perspective, you will only get 5 hours of daylight in late autumn, and less during the winter months. That means you need to consider travel times, and may not be able to get the shots you want if you have limited amounts of time. Conversely, summer will have very long hours though. Scotland is known for its lack of signposting, and because you'll often have stone walls on one side of the road, and perhaps a cliff face on the other, you won't be able to simply pull over wherever you feel like it. In fact, many roads are single lane, and have stretches of road where you can "pull over and let the oncoming traffic pass". So don't expect to simply hop from one pristine shot location to another, or be able to get those impromptu shots along the way unless you can shoot from a moving car. Some car parks are a LONG way from the associated attraction, so keep your kits mobile, and take what you need. Be patient, warm, safe, and above all, prepared to work for your shots in Scotland, and you won't be disappointed. But know that it's much slower going to get from one side of Scotland to the other than you might expect. The morning I took this shot, I got up very early, and then I drove halfway around the island, climbed up to the ruins of a castle, then later hiked to the Fairy Pools, then drove until late at night back to Perth (which is on the other side of Scotland). It ended up being a very long day to be dodging deer in snowing/foggy/frosty mountain roads in the dark. It may sound hypocritical to say "Don't do what I did", but I only did this out of ignorance, rather than by design. A heavier or sturdier tripod would be a significant advantage, given the wind in Scotland in general. Also, keep your spare batteries inside your jacket as the cold weather will degrade their performance. If you're touring around the castles, please note that many of the walkways, stairwells, and doorways were designed to keep attackers out. As such, note that a tripod may make it considerably more difficult to get past other people or even get through at all with larger camera bags. Especially if you've partaken of too much of the Scottish fare, which seems to partake of only three food groups, fats/oils, meat, and carbs. If you'd like to ask questions, send me a message, and I will try to respond to you as I am able. Otherwise, have fun with your photography, and I look forward to seeing your shots! All the best! Harmo.
