TRAVEL scotland The renowned
photographer
Margaret
Soraya at
Sligachan,
Isle of Skye
my eyes
are open
P
Picture editor Julia Sidell learned hotography is my life. I’ve
worked as a picture editor
some valuable lessons when she for the past 16 years, and
have taken the odd photo
spent the day working alongside now and then. So when the
opportunity to spend the day
photographer Margaret Soraya by with photographer Margaret
Soraya arose, I couldn’ t
the shores of Loch Ness say no.
Margaret is known for her seascapes,
working with the amazing colours and shapes
produced by Mother Nature. She regularly
takes trips to the Scottish islands, in
particular the Western Isles, to capture the
amazing white beaches and stormy seas.
She is based near Drumnadrochit, so our
day wasn’t quite as dramatic as the wild lands
of the Hebrides, but a day beside Loch Ness
was nothing to be sniffed at.
My husband, Chris, and I checked in to
the Tiny House – a holiday pod in Margaret’s
garden. It was, as the name suggests, tiny, but
really comfortable and well designed. It was
light and airy, and with turquoise and cream-
coloured Harris Tweed cushions on the bed,
20 The Press and Journal | Saturday, December 21, 2019
and Margaret’s landscape art on the walls, it
really captured her style.
After a light lunch, we grabbed our cameras
and headed out in Margaret’s van towards the
loch. We traipsed through woodlands and over
streams to access a quiet spot. Looking at the
scene, I wasn’t too optimistic about the pictures
we would take. But Margaret put our minds
at ease and pointed out different elements
that we could focus on. I’d already men-
tioned that I quite fancied trying a different
style of photography, so she gave me a Nikon
60mm Macro lens to try. This means you can
photograph objects that are millimetres away
and still get them in focus with a very narrow
depth of field. I’d tried a Macro lens before but
she suggested that I work with the light – the
sun was a little diffused but bright enough to
back-light the leaves on the trees. I soon got
into it and found myself lying on the ground
aiming my camera towards the white sky,
silhouetting various weeds and plants.
Quite pleased with the result, I moved on to
focus on a dead tree sticking out into the loch.
Here she suggested using a longer lens and a
slow shutter speed to create a blurry effect
of the water. It took quite a few attempts
and a bit of shuffling around to get the right
composition and blur the water enough.
Fortunately a small boat passed, well timed
to create a few light waves on an otherwise
still loch.
a small boat passed,
well timed to create a
few light waves on an
otherwise still loch
Cliff Beach Study 3, Isle of Lewis, by Margaret Soraya, who is known for her seascapes
When you think of landscape photography,
normally a wide scene with water, rolling hills
and sky spring to mind. Margaret explained
that her photography can involve zooming
right in on an area, such as a rock or branch,
putting the focus on only that and the water
around it. With this in mind, she took us to a
fast-flowing stream that feeds into the loch.
The water cascaded over rocks, looking like
the ideal spot to create that blurred water
effect. Margaret worked with Chris on this
while I took a walk in search of something
different. I came across a still pool of water
with a weed growing in it. The rain started
and I noticed the ripples it created around the
weed’s reflection. I then took my final photo of
the day before the heavens opened.
We quickly gathered our gear together
and returned to the van before heading to
Margaret’s editing studio to sit down with a
cup of tea and look through our images. I was
very pleased with my results, my pictures are
really different to what I normally focus on
– she had pushed me to step away from the
norm and look at a scene differently. It was
also a great chance to quiz her on different
photography techniques and have a good look
at her amazing portfolio.
To end the evening we chose to eat out at
the Fiddler’s, a traditional Scottish restaurant
only a short drive from our Tiny House, before
settling in to our snug pod. Taking up most
of the pod, the bed was just as comfy as we’d
been promised. After a good night’s sleep we
discovered a variety of breakfast foods in our
fridge, so we enjoyed bacon sandwiches before
heading back home to Aberdeenshire.
With a renewed passion for photography,
I’m now scouting locations to practise some
of the skills Margaret taught me. I’ve been
encouraged to slow down and look properly at
a scene, taking in all of the little components,
and can now appreciate that even on a rainy
day, I can come away with a picture or two.
Julia’s home from home on her trip, above, and one of the pictures she took, above left
Another of the photographs taken by Julia during her day working with Margaret
TRAVEL facts
Next March and September
Margaret is running photog-
raphy workshops in Orkney,
Glencoe, Lewis and near Loch
Ness, teaching people of all
abilities. They last up to six
days/five nights and cost from
£1,550 per person including
accommodation and meals,
but excluding travel.
For more information see
quietlandscapes.co.uk, email
margaret@quietlandscapes.
co.uk or call 07709 364265.
Cow parsley in seed near Loch Ness, captured by Julia
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