Stills

The water here has an almost oily quality to it, black.

I think the composition is effective; it’s certainly interesting and leaves me wanting to see what lies around the corner that’s hinted at in the top left. It looks as if the lake continues around behind the mountains that dominate the top two thirds of the image from right to left but we can’t be sure that stretch exists because what’s really there is obscured somewhat by the outcrop in the water.

The rocky outcrop that comes from the bottom left looks sharp, and I don’t mean that in the context of image sharpening. Many a scraped childhood knee to be had if the kids are adventurous enough.

There’s a hint of bad weather to come, rain, perhaps wind and thunder.

Overall, chilly and somewhat foreboding. Something wicked lurks in the deep.
 

Looking at the forecasts these last five months or so, I'm surprised you found a gap in the rain (or snow) - as the saying goes, if you can see the hills then it is about to rain, when you can't see them... . I like this composition both for the tension introduced by the spit of rock and the space given to the water in the foreground, where there is a bit of shelter and the wind loses its grip allowing a smoother more reflective surface. The barnacles tell us that the tide is out.

I aso like the powdering of snow high up on the hills providing a bit of light to contrast with the blackness of the water. Is that Kylerhea nestling on the shore over on Skye?
 

I forgot to say that this monochrome facility in Raw Developer sounds very tempting.
 

This does convey the impression of a dull day and a quiet lonely place.

John's arm/finger comment was one of those things that I didn't notice but now see as a major feature in the image.

Nora and I are off to Harris and Skye in May, hopefully I'll end up with some good images too.
 

John L: I'd be interested to have you explain the 'more dynamic' comment. People have said similar things to me before, but I don't really understand.

John E: Raw Developer is Mac only. I thought you were a Windows user.

You are right, that is Kylerhea.

JohnJo: Definitely bad weather coming.....

To the left there is the Sound of Sleat, then open sea. To the right there are the narrow channels to Kyle and then open sea again. What looks like a single range of hills on the right is not, in fact, continuous land. The snow clad hills are on Skye, and the first slope on the right is on the mainland.

Rex: Skye and Harris in May. Hoping for the week in between the storms and the midges are you?
 

Well.............

I thought the midges didn't start until June?????????????

and nobody told me about storms in May......................

that'll make for some dramatic pics.............?
 

I must have missed the bit about it being Mac only - how disappointing.

Unless climate change has kicked in more viciously than I thought, Skye in May is hard to beat: I don't remember midges really being a nuisance until towards the end of June and storms/rain generally hold off in May and June, although they are not unknown! But I am talking early '80s.
 

By dynamic, I mean a stronger, more powerful composition that grabs the eye and holds ones attention.
 

We'll have midges by mid May if the last couple of years are anything to go by - although as everything is late this year, maybe they will be as well.......wishful thinking!
 

John L: Thanks for the explanation. I'm obviously too square for dynamic.... :-)

Seriously though, I rarely want my landscapes to grab the attention. They are more pictures to explore. The foreground area is particularly important in this regard. I want a viewer to "walk" into the picture (where walk = swim, or perhaps paddle/row, in this particular case).

The composition was entirely decided in-camera. I was washing sea water off the lens before the end of the session.