Elgol, Isle of Skye, Autumn
There’s something truly magical about the Elgol coast on Skye.
Firstly there’s the frankly ridiculous view you’re treated to as you descend the narrow winding road to the shore, which arguably is what makes most people fall in love with Elgol. I know that’s what it did to me, back in 2013, when I first explored this tiny coastal village.
But there is so much more to Elgol than the obvious view of the Black Cuillins across the sea. As you explore the coastline northwest, the pebbles give way to smooth boulders the size of a rugby ball, so you need to watch your step. And then the coastline dramatically changes as you’re greeted with a cliff that looks like a giant has bitten a chunk from its base.
The smooth rugby-ball boulders slide off revealing platforms and shelves and fins and ridges of seemingly impossible rock formations. A veritable playground of photo compositions.
My abilities with words can only do so much. Enjoy these sunrise photos of Elgol. I hope they express at least a small modicum of what I experienced here.
All photos shot on a Fujifilm X-T2 with both a Samyang 35mm f/1.2 and a Laowa 9mm f/2.8 lens using a customised Pro Negative Standard film profile.
This is the view one is treated to as you arrive at the main car park near the shore of Elgol. It’s just ridiculously stunning. As the sun was rising behind us it cast slivers of golden light, which caressed the Black Cuillins in a dazzling display.
I immediately picked my way towards the northwestern shore, looking for compositions featuring some of Elgol’s weird and wonderful rock formations. I found this stack of rock shelves, perhaps an Uncomformity, which I used as a leading line towards the glowing Black Cuillins (the particular member of the Black Cuillins pictured is Gars-bheinn, pronounced GAR-vein, meaning “rough mountain”).
On this occasion the tide was low, which exposed more formations for us to explore. Near the sea I found a jumbled mass of blocks haphazardly stacked on top of each other, and covered in barnacles.
I found this particularly large rock formation, about the size of a small car, all jagged and seemingly resting on the raised platform. Thousands of years of action from the sea has cut grooves into the raised bed, which I took advantage of for a composition.
I carefully circumnavigated this massive boulder that fascinated me, looking for angles and views.
The light and atmosphere were so clear that I was actually able to make photos looking west right across the sea towards the mountains on the Isle of Rùm, 20 km away.
More light started to hit the Black Cuillins as I took this composition, with the sea intruding and cutting a channel into the raised platforms.
Our day wasn’t finished with this sunrise shoot at Elgol. Stay tuned for more photos of our hike from Kilmarie to the isolated beach of Camasunary Bay!