Loch Assynt Rainbows

“The Eye in the Storm”

No amount heavy editing in Photoshop can make up for the excitement of a burst atmospherics. I’d been hanging around the edge of the loch since lunchtime, lining up compositions for when the light would hit, and while framing up something completely different, I got lucky, and a rainbow appeared off to the left. I didn’t have time to recompose for the rainbow, but I think the composition works well enough. In honesty, I’m not sure it really matters here: the lone tree subject and the rainbow do all the work for me. Even when editing, I only really need to think about technical things: focus stacking and colour temperature adjustments are all you need with conditions like this. I like that the window of light around the subject forms the almond shape of an eye and that the rocks complete Picasso-like trail of facial features in the foreground. In addition to strong leading lines, I often also look for human shapes, faces and gestures in the landscape.