Tag: Shetland; Skies; Sunrise

One of the advantages of living on a Godforsaken rock in the middle of nowhere is the view you get.  As I may have mentioned before, it was the view from the lounge window that sold us the house in the first place, almost a decade ago.

With winter well and truly upon us now, the sun rarely rises very high for several months of the year but we’re graced with sunrises like this…

A few minutes later, all change as the sun makes it over the horizon and we get this…

Five minutes after that and the sky will probably be grey all over, the clouds thickening and the day digging in to be grey and miserable.  But for the duration of the dawn, it’s a truly magical sight.  And that’s what greets me every morning.

Sure, it’s cold, windy and dark through most of the winter.  Sure, the temperature doesn’t get much into the 20s during the summer – but it doesn’t drop much below freezing over the winter, the sea’s a great insulator.

Right now, I’m looking out of the office window over a steel-grey choppy bay, the snow-covered hills blending into the grey-white sky in across the water.  But tomorrow morning I’ll see that sunrise again.

Now.  Other people, far more talented and with better cameras, have all joined in with The Gallery.  So go take a look.

Thanks to my phone, I carry a camera around with me pretty much everywhere I go.  No excuses not to grab the shot when it appears, as long as I’ve got time to get the phone from my pocket, swipe to unlock it, swipe the next unlock pattern since my youngest figured out the straight top-to-bottom swipe, activate the camera app and go.

I’ve also got a decent digital camera – from which these photos were taken.

All year round we get some amazing skies in Shetland.  From my lounge window I can look out across the bay at some of the most awe-inspiring skyscapes in nature.  Doesn’t matter if it’s a howling storm and the sea is wall-to-wall white water like it is today or the most calm, tranquil, moonlit night.  A few seconds walk and I’ve got an uninterrupted view of this. No houses, no pylons, nothing.  Our house faces the rising sun, from work I get the sunset.  I reckon I’m pretty lucky there.

These are just a few of the photos I’ve taken in the last week.  The first one I’m particularly pleased with.

But my photography resolution for 2012?  Watch the skies.  The light changes so quickly you never know if you’re going to get that view again.  Snap it while it’s still there.