Isle of Harris photography in March 2022

Two weeks photographing on the Isle of harris

I’ve enjoyed another fabulous two weeks photographing on the Isle of Harris, and I wanted to share with you all how wonderful it was to enjoy some unseasonably warm weather there this time.  The extraordinary, sunny conditions for photography were amazing for the workshop I ran in the first week. 

It was yet another chance to experience the islands in a different way, and this pleasure was as special to me as it was to my guests. My connection with, and deep love of the Isle of Harris just continues to grow every time I am here.

Isle of Harris photography

I have been coming over to the Isle of Harris for photography for over fifteen years now and have gotten to know the island really well in that time.  This helps me to feel my way round a photography workshop, leading photographers to places where I know intimately just where the best conditions will be on that day. 

The weather on the Outer Hebrides means that part of leading photography workshops on the isle of Harris means judging each day where it is best to place everyone, given the wind, wave and weather conditions at any given moment.  So mostly, I adapt to what the weather is doing to allow everyone the best chance of great photographs.

Isle of Harris photography locations

We had some incredible sunrise light on the beaches of the Isle of Harris. Beautiful walks through Northton and Hushinish that led to great locations for photography on the Isle of Harris, and then on to visit art shops such as Talla na Mara, Borrisdale Tweed and The Mission House Gallery.  

The why behind creativity

As well as all the photographic opportunities this offers, there opened up time for us all to really consider why and how we can become more creative.  We are all somewhere on that journey, me included, the space there to deepen those thoughts is so powerful. 

Just giving ourselves permission to spend time on creativity, allowing ourselves to enjoy, breath first and create after is so vital.  And when we do create images, the purpose, for me, is to be drawn toward releasing fear of them not being ‘masterpieces’ or technically ‘correct’, which in turn serves to ‘open us up’ and allow us to create more freely and authentically.  Working to this style of inspiration really connected the group and I’d like to think they left at the end of the week with their sense of purpose for photography more cherished and secure.

I stayed on the Isle of Harris after the workshop group left…to rest up a while somewhere I can feel totally at ease, away from domestic duties and business responsibilities, where I can spend some time on my own photography and look for new places to be explored. 

I photographed some exteriors for The Sheep Station, a luxury holiday cottage on Harris, and while waiting to shoot a wedding there a week later. I have an established and long running architectural and interior photography business  which you can view here.  And my wedding business is based round beach weddings on the Isle of Harris which you can see here.

I enjoyed time in my van and indulged a little in hiring out the Dun Borve Bothy – relaxing in that hot tub was indeed a welcome treat after a day out in the landscape!

The night the workshop guests left, I saw a forecast for the northern lights. I had been having dinner with three ladies who hired me for a sunrise shoot and it was one of them who told me the aurora was visible.

So I headed out – still in my dinner dress – and parked up at a viewpoint looking rather splendid in gown, wellies and Dryrobe for warmth! And started shooting. The night was still and clear and just perfect for astrophotography.  I even put myself in the frame for a couple of shots!  That fitted so well with my self-portrait work lately, and I loved it!  I was shooting with my Fujifilm GFX 50s and 23mm lens which makes a great combination for astrophotography (have added settings below the images for info).  I focus with the internal scale and have never had an issue with focusing at night with this lens.

The next day I saw a beautiful sunrise and it was a delight to teach some photography on the Isle of harris with the ladies I’d dined with the night before.  We had incredible conditions.  In fact, the good weather continued for a couple of days and it was just beautiful to travel around seeing sheep waiting for a bus, cows at the Northton marshes, and haar rolling in at the Seilebost viewpoint one night… 

As the weather turned, drastically, overnight, we woke up to snow on the hills to complete the week with all the seasons. You can read about my experiences with my underwater housing and Fujfilm XT3 in Harris this week in this blog post.

Isle of Harris photography workshop video below!