OVER SEA TO SKYE My primar y goal that squally morning, high on the hills above Lochcarron,
unthreatening as possible.
was to take a por trait of a big stag that would have a sense of place. It was impor tant therefore to work with a lens wide enough to offer enough
I f i r s t s a w t h i s i m a g e a s a b i g p r i n t i n o u r g a l l e r y i n Pa r i s a n d i t g r a b b e d
background detail that those familiar with the region could identify Skye
t h e e y e . T h e r e i s n o t m u c h I w o u l d r e a l l y c h a n g e . E v e n a f e w Pa r i s i a n s
in the background.
recognised Skye in the background.
That side of the quest was less of a challenge than getting close enough to a big stag. They are sk ittish at best, but they were familiar with my fixer – Colin Murdoch – and that was the break that I needed. W h e n t h e m o m e n t c a m e w i t h t h i s 1 2 p o i n t e r, i t w a s i m p e r a t i v e t o h a v e m y focus pin sharp on his head – without that, there would cer tainly be no picture. The other impor tant factor was that I wanted the stag to look regal and not ner vous. Whilst camera focus is under my control, the posture of t h e s t a g i s l a r g e l y d o w n t o “ t h e g o d s ”. I j u s t h a d t o m a k e m y s e l f a s s m a l l a n d
D A V I D
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Y A R R O W