Six Months in the Outer Hebrides
It’s been a while since my last blog update so i thought i would share some thoughts & news with you.
The 20th June saw us mark six months living on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. We spent the day visiting our local beach, Dalbeg and then headed up to Port of Ness for sunset. The cloud was quite heavy and the day had been pretty miserable from a weather point of view but we wanted to head out regardless and reflect on our time on the island so far. As we approached Port of Ness a small gap in the cloud revealed the silhouetted mountains of Assynt on the mainland, it was the first time that a break in the cloud had allowed us to see the view across. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of peace, maybe this was knowing that we are finally settled, enjoying a way of life that previously we had only spoken about, maybe it was memories of our travels to the North of Scotland and the calm time we always felt away from our busy lives. The evening turned out to be nothing special, the waves were relatively flat, drizzle filled the air & the light was all but gone except for a faint hint in the gap of cloud. I took my camera out of the bag and used the long lens looking across to the mainland to make a photograph just to mark the occasion and remember this moment in time.
Six month on since we boarded the ferry and made a permanent one way sailing from Ullapool and we can honestly say that it was & still is the best thing we’ve ever done. I know that for many the dream would be to live in a place that makes them happy, a place that fills the soul, energises creativity and enhances wellbeing. We know that we are extremely lucky and are grateful and thankful everyday. Waking up, opening the curtains and looking out every morning to the mountain and croft land with sheep grazing opposite, hearing the sound of the ocean roar from the garden really does fill the soul. I know that I have mentioned in a previous blog post that is wasn’t an easy decision to make, the risks felt huge, leaving family & friends even further away felt scary and the “what if’s” a constant thorn. The reality is that we experienced the worst in losing both parents in just over two & a half years, Dad in 2018 and mum in 2020 during the pandemic. We both went through redundancy shortly after and at the time fought hard to keep our positions within the corporate world. After being successful in the selection process, an opportunity for Max with work saw us relocate to Aberdeenshire where I suppose we had time to reflect on how the last couple of years had changed us, knowing even more so that you get one opportunity at life to live. Discovering the Outer Hebrides helped to heal, helped us to have an opportunity to experience and enjoy a new way of life. I hope that our family & friends and for anyone visiting the Island will also experience the same feelings.
We’re now into July, nothing much feels different weather wise, summer still hasn’t arrived although the garden is blooming which is nice to see. The bare trees that swayed in the winds over winter now boast abundant green leaves and home to many garden birds, the hedges are full & filled with glorious small flowers which adds colour & life. Just recently we haven’t seen much of the sun, white out skies and rainy days have dominated but warmer weather surely has to be on the way at some point? What does feel very different is us, the last six months have been very kind to us and were already looking forward to the next six.
News…..
We launched Coastal Creations earlier this year, offering 1-2-1 tuition and small group workshops also teaming up with Visit Outer Hebrides and Isle20 now Scottish Island Gifts. Since then we have also launched our own Podcast Coastal Creations where we chat with other photographers & creatives twice a month. We’ve really enjoyed getting to know people, learning about their journey, how they found photography and what benefits it provides them with, how the process of heading out with the camera has helped them to heal or find a focus in life. We’ve already spoken with some truly inspirational guests and look forward to hearing more.
We were also very kindly invited to chat with the incredibly talented Mali Davies Photography on his Podcast - Lets Talk Mali is someone we have admired for many years so it was an absolute honour to have the opportunity to chat with him.
Over the last few days we’ve taken the opportunity to revamp the website and add some recent work to the gallery & shop. We’re offering a variety of sizes and finishes to prints to provide more choice when ordering. The website will always be a work in progress with changes and tweaks here and there as we grow & develop.
Even more exciting is that we are extremely excited & proud to have produced & launched our first photography book, featuring images of the Isle of Harris & Lewis Coastline. Rugged, wild weather, big skies and of course beautiful beaches. We hope you enjoy the book as much as we have enjoyed the experience of being out with the camera creating. With huge thanks to Mali Davies for the inspiration & belief.
Last but by no means least, we are both very proud to have been invited to join the Women Photographers UK team. A place where females in photography are supported, their work is shared and creatives spotlighted. We are looking forward to being involved, seeing & sharing, being inspired and motivated.
We hope everyone is well and taking good care, thank you for your continued support, it means the world to us both. Adele & Max x
Discovering the Outer Hebrides
17.06.2023
I thought I’d begin this update by sharing with you that this time last year we moved out of our home in Rossendale, North West UK to begin a whole new life and adventure in Scotland. It still actually blows me away that we are finally here after eight years of dithering but it was the best decision we’ve ever made. Over the last few months we have done quite a lot of travelling and have revisited Achmelvich Bay, we decided to head up April with the main reason for the trip being to try out the new awning for the campervan. After getting over the initial shock of assembling the drive away awning…what a difference it made to the amount space we had, not to mention additional comfort and somewhere to sit dry and warm outside of the van. As usual Achmelvich looked incredibly beautiful with its turquoise waters and golden sands. I decided not to take any images during this trip and instead we enjoyed some downtime, relaxing, enjoying the sights and sounds of the coast. We also spent some time with the family celebrating Max’s mums 80th Birthday, such a beautiful evening enjoying good food and wonderful company.
Into May saw us head over to the incredibly beautiful Isle of Harris & Lewis, somewhere we’ve dreamt of visiting for years. There genuinely are not enough superlatives that I can use to describe the immense natural beauty of the island. We headed over on the ferry from Ullapool , it’s around a two and a half hour crossing and thankfully we had calm seas, so much so that I fell asleep. The van again came into its own especially with the awning, the first night saw gale force winds, thank god we’d had a trial putting up of the awning session, luckily the awning remained in place overnight and the morning brought much calmer weather. Whenever we stay over in the van in any location we are always respectful of the area, the locals and the environment. Making sure we book campsites or stay in designated parking areas. The isle of Harris has many official camping spots in beautiful locations that allow you to stay over night for a five pound donation payable to West Harris Trust which we made use of.
The island has so many white sandy beaches with turquoise waters that literally blow you away & on several occasions we were reduced to tears by the outstanding beauty. We enjoyed hours of fun on the beaches and even in the water wearing our wetsuits…..how we wish we were back there now. We enjoyed our week in June so much that we decided to head back again for a short break. September will see us return again for around ten nights, we’re hoping to head across the the Uists and explore more of the Western Isles.
Photography plays a huge part in our every day lives, I’m still enjoying attending our local camera club weekly and have been asked recently to present a talk at Donside Camera Club which I’m very much looking forward to. Since returning from Harris we’ve visited Bullers of Buchan and were privileged to see puffins, coastal flowers during sunset at Portknockie and even attempted food photography for the camera club monthly assignment. Given that we enjoy and love photography to the level that we do it is always nice when other people enjoy your work, I was delighted recently to find out that I had been shortlisted in the Scottish Nature Photography Awards, Landscape Category and Commended in Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year, Seascape Category, I look forward to the exhibitions and year books from both.
I’ve was also recently asked to take part in a podcast with Kim Grant from Visualising Scotland. The podcast digs deeper to understand the journeys people have experienced with photography and how they connect to nature via the camera. The experience was great, so relaxed and informal chatting about all things photography related and how we use photography in nature to improve our wellbeing. It was an honor to be asked to get involved and I’ll hopefully take part in a few more this year. Kim has a deep love and connection to nature and hosts Photographic Connections alongside her YouTube Channel. I’ll pop some links below to the podcast and Kim’s YouTube Channel, there are some very interesting stories by other photographers that may inspire you.
@photographicconnections • Instagram photos and videos
We’ve also just released the first date for our photography workshop which will run on Saturday 7th October 2023 4pm until 7pm at Bowfiddle Rock. If you would like to get involved head over to the tuition section to book.
Enjoy the sunny weather whilst it lasts and take care
Until next time
Adele & Max