Immersed in the Light

In January I was so very lucky to be able to travel around Scotland and some of its Islands.

I went with my boyfriend Terry who was no stranger to these parts. My previous Scottish adventures consisted of a weekend crammed of a night in Edinburgh, a night at Stirling University, an STUC conference during the day and a brief walk around Glasgow on the way home! Not enough time to see the reality! Unlike this time!

I flew Luton to Inverness on the 4th Jan and was met by Terry who had driven his campervan from London through the night on New Year's Eve. We drove to Ullapool where our adventure really started. The rest of the trip consisted of sleeping in the van next to amazing beaches, next to Lochs, mountains, a hotel here and there, catching ferries to Isle of Lewis/Harris and Skye, climbing mountains, walking lots and generally seeing amazing landscapes before driving home on the 15th. 11 days of pure bliss!

I will write about the trip in more detail. What we did, where we stayed, what we saw. Most importantly I will write about how 2 people can survive in such a small confined space. Especially 2 people who like their own space!

We saw amazing sights. Amazing light. As a photographer of everything, I notice and use light, but when you are surrounded by such awesome landscapes, the light becomes everything. You become immersed in it. You become part of the landscape.

This photograph was taken on Luskentyre beach. We had stayed a couple miles up the road ready for an early start. We were rained on, hailed on, blown around on this beach. It was also very cold. Just watching the weather was like watching a performance on stage. Our own private performance. No one but us were on that beach. I have never seen a stage show like it! I probably never will!  The clouds, like main characters, sashaying across the sky. The rain, like dancers pirouetting all around us. After the rain, came the light - a spotlight on the dunes allowing them to become centre stage!

All rights reserved - Tracy Howl 2014

And then came another rainbow. Another reminder that Scotland would continue to wow us without notice.