Muck and the Small Isles

Seven nights, single occupancy accommodation at Gallanach Lodge. The family run lodge offers the finest in local cuisine, the most comfortable rooms and an intimate and relaxing atmosphere. Eight individually styled bedrooms provide the ultimate sanctuary and comfort with tremendous views over Gallanach Bay. The bathrooms and shower rooms have all been fitted with powerful showers and deep baths, as well as under floor heating and heated towel rails. All bathrooms have been finished to a very high standard and come with complimentary toiletries. A total of 8 bedrooms share 4 bathrooms and shower rooms – there are no ensuite rooms.

Room Types

Single – A private room with one large bed. Available for an additional supplement. Limited availability; allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Double – A shared room with one large bed.

Twin – A shared room with two separate single beds.

Freshly prepared, locally sourced, meals with freshly caught seafood a particular speciality. Included dinners are two courses as standard. Special dietary requirements can be catered for.

• 7 nights accommodation in the purpose-built Gallanach Lodge by the shore. Each client will have their own single room unless a twin or double room is requested.
• Meals as stated in the itinerary.
• All boat transfers during the holiday, starting and finishing in Mallaig.
• The services of Colin Prior, who will work closely with each group member throughout the trip, helping you develop your photographic skills.

Green Graded 1-3

Our Green graded photography trips are suitable for people who enjoy outdoor photography and easy hiking and have a reasonable level of fitness. We will be accessing wild locations to photograph so you should be comfortable hiking for up to 3 hours at a time.

The terrain will be mostly good paths and hill trails but these can still be muddy and rough in places. Some hikes may involve an ascent up to a max of approx 1,500 feet / 450m. The days are fairly leisurely and we spend about 6-8 hours outdoors. Our timetable will be flexible, however, so we may head out early for a few hours before taking a break and going out again in the evening to take advantage of the best light.

Our photography trips are not graded by your degree of photography skill – a small group size means you will have lots of time for one-to-one tuition regardless of your starting level.

Arrival

Colin shall meet you at the Calmac Ferry Terminal in Mallaig at 9:30am on Day 1 to depart upon the 10:20am ferry to Muck.

Departure

On the final day, you shall depart Muck at approximately 12:40pm, arriving in Mallaig roughly 2 hours later where the journey shall end.

Colin Prior is one of the UK’s leading landscape photographers. His spectacular panoramic images capture the beauty and eternal quality of the world’s wild places, especially those of his own native Scotland.

He brings to his work a strong personal vision combined with supreme technical mastery of his chosen medium. Each photograph uniquely captures fleeting moments of nature that will never repeat themselves.

Colin is also a patient and skilled photography coach and enjoys helping clients improve their skills on these trips.

The information below is intended simply as a guide to help you achieve the most enjoyment from this tour.

Cameras: All brands of cameras and lenses do the same thing; they look outwardly into the world and record what they see on different-sized sensors. What differentiates what they see is not the camera but the person looking through the viewfinder. So, what will help you gain the most from this tour is familiarity with your own camera’s layout and menu structure. There is no shortage of tutorials on YouTube to aid you in this process, and it is essential that you take the time to understand how to control the most salient features of the camera.

Camera bags: Camera bags come in all shapes and sizes. It’s important that your bag comfortably holds the equipment you wish to carry over uneven terrain and that its design or lack of it does not affect your balance. Backpacks distribute weight evenly between your shoulders and hips and are normally supplied with a rain cover.

Lens: Lenses are a personal choice. Many landscape photographers will choose to shoot with a 16-35 mm, 24-70 mm, or 24-105 mm lens. Shooting with zoom lenses makes a great deal of sense as it reduces the equivalent number of prime lenses that would otherwise have to be carried. Many photographers complement their wide-angle zooms with either a 70-200 mm or 100-400 mm lens. If you enjoy working within the landscape, a 90 mm or 100 mm Macro lens opens myriad possibilities.

Filters: Under certain circumstances, filters are indispensable. Graduated neutral density filters control contrast locally and come in a range densities and graduations. The dynamic range of modern sensors has mitigated the need to use filters on many occasions and accordingly, I carry only two – a 0.6 (2 stop) filter with a soft graduation and a polarising filter which I used judicially.

Tripods: Despite image stabilisation allowing the hand-holding of cameras down to very low shutter speeds, there is still no substitute for a good tripod in landscape photography. The emphasis should be on a relatively lightweight model that is easy to carry, but with one caveat: that it is more vulnerable to strong winds. One important factor when considering a tripod is that you can work comfortably with your camera at eye level – many u2018travel tripods’ reach their maximum height well below this height and are stressful to use. Carbon fibre tripods are lighter and more expensive than those made from aluminium but do the same job.

Backup and storage: It’s always a good idea to have your images in more than one place. Ideally, you may wish to bring your laptop back up and select your best images for the critique session at the end of the tour.

Wet weather protection for your camera: This isn’t essential, however, most digital camera don’t like moisture that much and it makes sense if you have some sort of cover – if it was raining heavily, it is unlikely that we would be photographing for long, however, a random shower or constant light drizzle can sometimes be problematic. Whilst there are specialist solutions available, having a polythene bag to hand would do the job.

Lens cloth: A lens cloth is useful for removing rain or sea spray that has gotten onto a lens.

A remote release is crucial to ensure sharp images, whether cable, Bluetooth, or app.

Spare batteries: make sure that you don’t run out of juice.