Noss Head, Caithness, Scotland
On a remote strip of road close to the Noss head lighthouse just north of Wick is castle Sinclair Girnigoe a building undergoing restoration but even so a very impressive ruined castle in a stunning cliff side location. Unfortunately its outline is marred by the presence of scaffolding when seen from the cliff top but it is much less apparent from below the cliffs on the impressive cleaved rock coated with sulphurous coloured lichens and dotted with nodding thrift. I visited on a murky misty evening where the haar had rolled in and visibility was sympathetically compromised to add to its somewhat desolate and spooky appearance.
Pentax 67 II ,55-100 zoom,Fujichrome Velvia
0.3ND soft grad, f/22 at 4 Seconds.
What an incredible scene. I wouldn’t have known there was a castle there if you hadn’t said so. It blends in with the stratigraphy so well. Really lovely.
What a fascinating foreground! The lichen colored rock and what I presume is algae in the water add some nice color while the terraced rock formations make this a unique location and give this an otherworldly feel. The background formations in combination with the fog lend a sense of mystery to the location and further enhance the otherworldly feel as if you had stumbled on a long forgotten part of middle earth.
I love the mood Ian. Very different mood and light than when I was there on one of your workshops back in 2012. I can believe it has been seven years!
Ian,
As impressive as I’m sure the castle is, I think this is one of those cases that being there made all the difference. As the viewer, the layers of geology are the most interesting yet I think the vision was to be more inclusive of the whole scene, which of course includes the castle above. But it’s just not coming through clearly enough for me. In fact, had it not been pointed out I wouldn’t know or recognize (although upon close inspection I can see squares and rectangles… clearly not nature made.
Great mood and atmosphere for sure.
Lon
