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Yesnaby Cliffs, Orkney #1

Sandstone Yesnaby Cliffs on the Orkney Islands, Scotland

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The story behind this image

During our cruise to Iceland and back on board the P&O liner Azura, my wife Liz and I also had the opportunity to explore the Scottish Islands of the Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney.

The Orkney islands were our last stop, and during our day there we took a tour out to the Yesnaby Cliffs and other recommended viewpoints.

I was expecting a rugged, grey granite or limestone landscape, so I was quite taken aback to find the geology based on red sandstone instead.

My suprise was short lived however, as the sun lit up the rocks, causing the strata to glow red, and my thoughts rapidly turned to taking the best photo I possibly could in the short time we had available at the site.

Fortunately there were no health & safety barriers or warnings, so I was able to get as close to the edge as necessary to capture this composition of an outcrop of red sandstone set against the deep blue of the Atlantic Ocean, pounding away at the cliffs below.

All too soon our time here was up and it was back on the coach and onto our next stop - the Ring of Brodgar.

I could easily have spent the day here, exploring along the cliff edge, and with the cliffs being west facing I bet there's some spectacular sunset views to be enjoyed as well.

So I've added Orkney to the long list of places I want to return to, to spend some quality time there getting the best out of the beauty on offer.

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Image data

Filename - orkney yesnaby cliffs 01

Camera - Canon 6D

Lens - 24-105mm zoom @ 24mm

Exposure - 1/40 sec @ f16, ISO400

Filters - Polariser to enhance colours

Location - Yesnaby Cliffs, Orkney, Scotland

This image - 800x533px JPEG

Conversion - Adobe Lightroom and PhotoShop

Comments - -0.7ev exposure compensation used to preserve highlights. Shadows brightened in PhotoShop.