NEW GALLERIES: SKYE'S IMPRESSIONS!

After my stop in Arran (see my ARRAN'S IMPRESSIONS gallery on VIERI BOTTAZZINI FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY for the images from this beautiful island), last July's trip to Scotland continued to the equally wondrous Isle of Skye. Skye, again situated on Scotland's west coast, is one of those places where I'd love to be just dropped with a camera and left there forever if I could; its coasts are amazingly inspiring, the Cuillins mountain range is imposing, rough and wildly beautiful; photographic opportunities present themselves at every corner, if you only are looking for them. Of course, the Isle is full of iconic landmarks like The Old Man of Storr, Neist Point, Elgol and more - these in particular are a source of great inspiration and are greatly stimulating if you want to step away from the usual "money shot" and try and offer them in new perspective.

Impression Nr. 60, Skye

You can see all the images from this portfolio on my SKYE'S IMPRESSIONS I: THE SEA and my SKYE'S IMPRESSIONS II: THE LAND galleries on VIERI BOTTAZZINI FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY if you are interested; as always, from my website you can order artworks with your favourite Skye images in your favourite size, paper and finish as well.

Impression Nr. 24, Skye

As I said in my previous post, for my one-month tour in Scotland I decided to leave my Nikons and Nikkors at home and travel with my Sigma SD1 Merrill (see HERE for my first impressions about it and HERE for a comparison with the Nikon D800E), with a few lenses that I was curious to try; the Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 HSM, Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 HSM, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM, Sigma 50mm f/1.4 HSM, Sigma 85mm f/1.4 HSM and the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 HSM. After Arran, sadly the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 HSM had a small accident and became nearly unusable, so I went and bought the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 HSM which proved an invaluable tool in the field; the ease of using filters with it made me prefer it against the Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 HSM most of the times.

Impression Nr. 16, Skye

How did the SD1 Merrill do on Skye? Despite the very misty, rainy and windy weather, the sand, stones, salty water spray, and all such pleasantry that Skye kindly throws at you when you work there, I have to say that it performed flawlessly in the field. No glitches, no problems, the SD1 Merrill took all that Skye threw at her; the only thing I really didn't like, and I have to say this again and again hoping that someone at Sigma will take notice, is the dinosaur-era file writing speed. Unacceptable 5 years ago, is laughable today.

Impression Nr. 40, Skye

Besides that, adding Live View and an electronic level would make the camera just about perfect for most photographic applications, not just Landscape / Fine Art. Again, I hope Sigma will someday take notice... Back to Skye: the lenses I used for this portfolio are the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 HSM, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM, Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 HSM and the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 HSM I got after Arran, which did the job surprisingly well as I mentioned above.

Impression Nr. 1, Skye

Optically, I was happy with all lenses' performance; since I tend to use my glass well stopped down to maximise depth of field, performance wide open was not of concern for me. Therefore, while I have been very happy with what I saw, if you need to use your gear differently, your mileage may vary - but if you shoot subjects similar to what you are seeing here and in my galleries, you'd certainly not be disappointed by what I have been using out of Sigma's current lineup.

Impression Nr. 38, Skye

For those interested, I will teach a Fine Art Photography Workshop on the Isle of Skye in 2014 - just SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER to get all the info as soon as I will have it up and running!

Impression Nr. 33, Skye

So, that's about it for today; don't forget to check the remaining images from the amazing Isle of Skye on my SKYE'S IMPRESSIONS I: THE SEA and my SKYE'S IMPRESSIONS II: THE LAND galleries on VIERI BOTTAZZINI FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY!

Impression Nr. 49, Skye

Plug: if you like beautiful, hand-signed Fine Art Prints, printed masterfully in-house on Hahnemuhle Fine Art paper, want the security of my unique 6-POINTS WARRANTY and of my CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY, then look no further: artworks featuring Fine Art prints of my Skye images are available for sale on my SKYE'S IMPRESSIONS I: THE SEA and my SKYE'S IMPRESSIONS II: THE LAND galleries on VIERI BOTTAZZINI FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY.

Impression Nr. 57, Skye

Now for the technical stuff: all images in my Skye gallery have been shot with Sigma SD1 Merrill equipped with the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 HSM, Sigma 35mm f/1.4 DG HSM, Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 HSM and the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 HSM. For support I used a Gitzo tripod equipped with an Acratech GP-s ballhead; last, but certainly not least, I used Singh-Ray filters, including a polarizer & various ND filters. Photos have been developed in Sigma Photo Pro 5.2.2 and finished in Adobe Photoshop CS6.

Thank you for reading this far, and stay tuned for more!

SUPPORT THE BLOG! USE THE BOXES BELOW TO START YOUR AMAZON SHOPPING!