Scotland

There are a great many things about the Hebrides that make these islands rather unique and certainly very special.  The Hebrides are found off the west coast of Scotland and there are two distinct groups, the Inner Hebrides and the Outer Hebrides. The Inner Isles have always been a popular tourist destination, with the Isle of Skye being one of the most popular, but more and more folk are going the extra distance to visit the Outer Hebrides. The outer islands include the Isle of Lewis, Harris, North and South Uist, Barra and several more inhabited islands and many more uninhabited. Strangely, and rather confusingly, the Outer Hebrides are also known as the Western Isles.  Recent studies have shown that the vast majority of folk much prefer to use the name Outer Hebrides to Western Isles and most are not even aware that the correct postal address is Western Isles – confusing isn’t it!

Anyway, now I have all that out of the way I would like to talk about one of the things that I enjoy most about this part of the world. I have always wanted to be able to paint, maybe I will give it another attempt some time soon, but for now I settle for learning how to take reasonable photographs. There is something really special about the light in the Hebrides, I don’t know what it is, but sometimes there is an almost mystical mood to the place. While there are photo opportunities around virtually every corner I find the sunsets and sunrises the most exciting. Every dusk and dawn produces a whole new vista with different shades and hues. Now I have seen excellent sunsets elsewhere in the world but whenever I visited the Hebrides I was almost guaranteed to see at least two or three spectacular evenings and, if I was up early enough, one or two sunrises, far more than anywhere else I have visited.

Having moved to the Isle of Harris in 1991 I have seen so many spectacular sunsets that I rarely get my camera out. I really must get back into the habit again soon, it’s just simply lazy of me because it is so easy just to say I will catch the next one but every single one is unique so I could really be missing the best opportunities for getting that really special shot. About nine or ten months ago I bought a new camera and during the initial buzz of photographing everything I took to getting up early. Because of the islands being so far north sometimes I just had to stay up late to catch the sun rising because, in the middle of summer, there is often little or no true darkness. I managed to catch a few really nice shots of Hebridean sunrises but I did notice that they do not last as long as the sunsets. So, if you plan to take photographs of sunrises in the Hebrides you really will need to be prepared and ready to go. To be honest the safest bet is to catch the Hebrides sunsets, more often than not, you will get at least a few minutes worth of ‘WOW’ and every week or so, in the summer months, you get an amazing sunset that remains glorious for some time but continually changes until the sun has set completely.

So, in summary, I would say that the Hebrides sunsets easily beat the Hebrides sunrises for two very simple reasons;

1. Sunsets last far longer than sunrises, I don’t know why but they just do!

2. The frequency of spectacular sunsets is far greater than the frequency of spectacular sunrises.

However, there is something unique about catching the sun rising wherever you are. In a city you can enjoy the city coming to life but in the countryside you hear the place awakening. Furthermore everything seems to be crisper and clearer in the mornings whereas in the evenings there is an almost ’soft focus’ effect. Another point to remember is that it is sometimes more sociable to catch a sunset than a sunrise, especially in the summer when the sun rises really early when most people are asleep. If you are having a family vacation in the Hebrides then maybe you could plan for an early morning fishing trip so that other members of the family can enjoy that while you take pleasure in photographing them, the scenery, and, if early enough the sunrise.

If you are staying in self catering accommodation in the Hebrides then getting up extra early should not be a probblem but if you are in a small hotel or in a guest house staying bed and breakfast you may wish to bear in mind that others will be sleeping and may not share your enthusiasm for catching the sun rising.