Fujifilm x-Pro2 with a 35mm lens. 1/140 @ f7.1, ISO 800, exp. comp. -1.0. Processed in Adobe Lightroom CC (2015) and Nik Color Efex Pro.
It was my first night in Scotland for an assignment with the Navy. I had left Washington, D.C. the previous evening, arrived at Inverness via Heathrow around noon, and after another three hours of driving, I arrived in the Kyle of Lochalsh and the British Underwater Test & Evaluation Centre where I received an overview of the location where I would be shooting for the next week.
After finishing up and checking into my lodging, I began to explore the small town in search of dinner and a Pint and maybe a few photographs. The sun was already beginning to set and a nice color began to fill the sky.
Forgetting about dinner, and especially the Pint, for a moment, I made my way to an overlook and saw a really nice scene of the Skye Bridge with the sun setting in the distance. In the foreground was the Kyle of Loch Alsh Hotel. More on that later.
I made my way closer and immediately spotted some great rocks covered in green and yellow lichen located just beyond the hotel. I knew right away that those rocks would make a great foreground and a few minutes later I was happily shooting.
Why the title of this blog?
Well the next day several people who had already been in Scotland for a few days, and spotting a photographer now on site, approached to see if I had witnessed the previous night's sunset, eagerly sharing some very nice photos they had taken.
I told them that I too had taken a few photos and showed them one that I had transferred to my phone. They immediately began to complement me and wonder where I took that photo and how cool the colors were, especially in the foreground. They didn't believe me when I told them.
The first view of the setting sun I had before making my way past the hotel to the rocks.
You see, they were all staying at the Kyle of Lochalsh Hotel and photographed that same sunset just 50 yards from where I made my photograph. In fact, they had been there for several nights and never noticed those rocks.
The point of this post isn't to brag that I got a better photograph, that's subjective. In fact, throughout the week I found myself wondering the same thing about a British and Canadian photographer covering the same assignment as I was.
We all see things differently and this was another reminder to look around, not give up on a scene too early and that sharing your work is important to both show others what they might have missed and to show you what you missed.
And maybe those who saw my version of that sunset looked at something differently over the next couple days. I know I did.