Something for the Weekend - Part 230 - Northern Isles

[davescm]

Hi,

Thanks to all who took part in the previous 'Hippity Hop' challenge, and in particular to @jane-e for stepping in at very short notice and setting an excellent challenge image.

This week, we are off to the North Coast of Scotland looking out from John O'Groats harbour,  toward Pentland Firth and the island of Stroma. The weather is not as nice as in Jane's last challenge, but it was a summer's day! There is not much happening in the harbour or the firth, or is there...?

The “rules”:

• Use the starter image as at least part of your own image entry.
• Anything goes, as long as it meets the forum rules on decency, copyright, etc.
• Anyone, and everyone, is welcome to have a go, whether you are a complete beginner or a Photoshop expert. This is not just for our forum “regulars”.
• There are no prizes apart from the chance to practice, show off your skills, or bring a bit of humor and fun. Don't be shy, join in and have a go!
• The starter image is made available for you to use in this forum challenge only.

To download the starter image, hover over the image and click on the circle with the arrows at the top right. Then, when the image opens in its own window, right click and choose “Save Image As/Save Target As” (or similar depending on your browser).

When posting back your image — please use the blue reply button in this first post and use the 'Insert Photos' icon at the top of the reply box. If posting a comment on someone else’s entry, then please use the grey reply button next to their image post.

Have fun!

Dave

[@mj]

Oh so there's a safe escape route? I knew it!

[Oh.N8]

Santa's new sleigh...

[AlanGilbertson]

Slipping back to a grittier time, when battleships and Spitfires roamed these parts.

I needed genFill for the reflection of the harbor boat, which is composited from a photo that didn't include a (usable) reflection. The airplanes and warships are real.

 

[davescm]

They did indeed Alan, the Pentland Firth was not as quiet as it is now. I like the graininess which adds to the era.

Dave

[AlanGilbertson]

The image was crying out for a gritty look, and my formative years were in post-war Scotland. The high-contrast grainy look comes mostly from maxing out Clarity and Grain and reduced saturation in the ACR filter in the main image, but all the composited images got the same treatment. The big ship on the right is the King George V, which would have been seen in that area during war years. 

[Oh.N8]

love the lighting

[Christelle RD]

Blue mood & dolphins! 

[Trevor.Dennis]

Thhat's another nice sky, and I love that the colour of the sky is reflected in the foreground.

If I saw a sky like that for real, I'd be worried about waking up the next morning blind and being eaten by Triffids. That was based on a true story, in case you didn't know.

[davescm]

Very calming, Christelle, I like it.

Dave

[Oh.N8]

Flipper!!! 

[J E L]

Who knew?

[Trevor.Dennis]

I used to know the guy (from uk.rec.motorcycles before we had HTML and forums) who still holds the record for Lands End to John O'Groats on a motorcycle.  His name is Neal Champion, and he did it in 11 hours and 14 minutes on a Kawasaki GPZ750 Turbo.  This was in 1984, and he says the record is unlikely to be beaten because of the Average Speed cameras on the motorways nowadays.  Neal averaged 75mph but he would have needed a lot of fuel stops.  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land%27s_End_to_John_o%27_Groats

[davescm]

I like the image and the way you've put it into the newspaper.

In case anyone was wondering, Sean Conway actually did it! He swam 900 miles in 135 days, 90 of which were in the water and the rest out for rest and bad weather. Wow!

Dave

[Oh.N8]

very impressive... 

[War Unicorn]

"In Between"

[davescm]

Weird but intruiging, James.

Dave

[lambiloon]

[davescm]

'Just move it to the left a wee bit and we'll get a picture so we can watch the football...'

Dave

[Oh.N8]

Very cool.

[Oh.N8]

 Winter vacaction for Frosty

[Yss12345]