Twice every day the tide rolls in and out of this bay in Plockton. It changes the landscape, and the scenery almost beyond recognition, between high and low tide. It also changes the angles at which the boats float or rest, giving us some lovely degrees of contemplation.
My favourite time is when the boats begin to come aground, as the tide slips away from under their keels. It leaves the masts pointing in some wild and dramatic directions, which in turn makes for some very artistic reflections. Combine this with some sweeping clouds and the results can be mouth watering.
You find all sorts of objects washed up and stranded on the shoreline as the water recedes. Most will be washed back into the sea as the tide rises again, but some are large and here to stay. Like some unexpected things which are washed into our lives, some of these surprise objects make accidental pleasant features. We might not have chosen the circumstances we find ourselves surrounded by, but the new angles and surprises sometimes combine to form a beautiful pattern which we would never have created deliberately.
It’s worth taking time to notice and wonder about the reflections in our lives, and the surprises which might just turn out to be beautiful. Not everything worthwhile comes by design. Sometimes the accidental is the best composition, but only if we are open enough to notice it.
breathofgreenair 
Thank you for sharing the amazing photos and description. It like taking a mini-vacation.
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These are breathtaking! Beautiful colors, and composition. You have a very keen eye!
This is all so familiar but in the best of lights – makes me restless, particularly as we are in the crush of London at the moment.
Oh, worlds apart….I would definitely be feeling restless in the crowded city. I love that you know this part of the world so well, and will be watching out for photos from your recent trip up to Rosshire 🙂
Simply breathtaking photos…
Too kind as always Anna Christine. Glad you enjoyed them, it’s so lovely to be able to share with so many lovely bloggers like yourself 🙂
🙂
I come to think of the movie Local Hero and the beautiful scenery combined with an enchanted atmosphere.
Great post and very interesting.
All the best,
Hanna
Thanks Hanna, it’s funny when pictures remind us of paces or things we have seen somewhere before, and Local Hero was shot in this area 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the enchanted atmosphere.
Another beautiful and inspiring post, Seonaid. Your photos are stunning, and your words, unforgettable. 🙂
That’s such a wonderful comment, thank you. I loved your happiness is a beach post this weekend, and couldn’t agree more!
i have never actually been anywhere where the tide is really noticeable. i’ve only read about it and imagined it.
and as always your words are lovely and encouraging. 🙂
Your comment intrigues me, and I may be about to show my ignorance, but does the tide not rise and fall to similar levels all around the world?
Thanks for the lovely compliment…..and you have me wondering now! Or perhaps it’s just that our beaches have very gradual inclines so you see the rise and all more dramatically 🙂
i’m not sure…i’ve never seen boats get stranded by it! but then, i’m more used to big lakes than i am to the sea. 🙂
Ah, that makes sense. I really love the way the whole scene is transformed by the waters presence or lack. You have to time going out boat or kayak according to the tide, which I like too. The sea dictates the rhythm 🙂
I like the anchor. Once I found a big rusty chain 🙂 Annie
Rusty objects and their slow salty decay are fascinating aren’t they? We see them at some mid point in their inevitable dissolution 🙂
Thought-provoking words, and really wonderful images. Great post!
Very kind, for me the shoreline is a very thought provoking place and beautiful space.
Wonderful images:) Greetings
Glad you enjoyed viewing 🙂
Such a thoughtful analogy between physical tides and our own emotional shifting tides (or… our potential for them). I particularly like the last photo, the curves/colour/texture of the rusty anchor in the foreground and the clean white angularity of the buildings in the background
I like that last photo too, it took me a little while to find the right angle to take the shot. If you look closely you can see the anchor and the beach are merging, with rusty particles melding into the hard stones….change but at a slower pace than the racing tides!
Thought provoking post and beautiful photos!
Glad you like the written and the visual reflections 🙂
These are great photos. 😀
Thanks 🙂
These are spectacular photographs…I especially love the first two images-
Thank you, it was a great evening for catching the colours and the reflections of an ebbing tide. And the scene was shifting in front of my eyes so I had to work quickly 🙂
Beautiful! Boats make such great subjects for photos.
I agree, and these traditional boats are very photogenic.
They have been featured in countless paintings by a multitude of artists over the years too 🙂
Wonderful light and with that boat’s vivid colours it would make a gorgeous paining. I wonder if there are still Flying Fifteen yachts there, as I noticed once? They would normally be up on the hard, though – the fin keels are not suitable for being left high and dry.
Your reflections on reflections are very apt.
Hi Colin, glad you like the boat shots 🙂
There are indeed still some Flying Fifteen yachts in Plockton, along with Mirrors, Lasers, Toppers and most other small sailing boats. There is a Sailing Club, and the local wooden klinkerbuilt boats I have shot here are the mainstay of the club, but they have lots of races for the smaller modern boats too. They use modified Flying Fifteen rigging in most of the old klinkerbuilt boats now. I’ll add a link to the Plockton Sailing Club when I’m back on a laptop.
Plockton is such a special place, and your images capture its essence so beautifully. The sun always seems to shine up there too! And I like how you’ve tied washed up, found items with unexpected things (…people, circumstances) that enter our lives. Perhaps for a reason, perhaps ‘just because.’ I am learning to appreciate the unexpected, but I do find it hard sometimes as I crave order and am sometimes thrown by surprises. Unless it is a washed up treasure chest!
Well washed up treasure chests are always very welcome. 🙂
I think most of us crave order, but sometimes it’s good to let go and enjoy what life sweeps into our lives. Easy to say, but hard to do!
And you are so right about Plockton…..I swear it has its own micro climate 🙂
Lovely and your shots are so often mouthwatering
What a delicious comment 🙂
hi Seonaid,
I like your metaphorical reflection:
“Most will be washed back
into the sea as the tide rises again,
but some are large and here to stay.
Like some unexpected things
which are washed into our lives…”
I’m delighted to read that you enjoy my metaphor. I hope you can enjoy the unexpected surprises washed into your life 🙂
You are right .. it IS beautiful.
Thanks Paula 🙂
Especially like the first photo ~ the colors, the sky. So beautiful!
What a lovely comment. That shot is one of my favourites too:-) the light was so beautiful and warm.
So true – life is full of unexpected surprises! Wonderful shots – that first one should be framed, it’s so lovely!
Fi that’s such an encouraging thing to say…you have me imagining it framed and hanging on one of my walls right now! I’m glad you enjoy life’s unexpected surprises too 🙂
Wise words, an important reminder, and beautiful photos. Thanks.
Melissa you make it sound as though I have everything covered in my post! Thanks for the lovely feedback 🙂
You DO! And you’re welcome. I love your photos and your words so often echo my own. Miss Scotland immensely. Thanks for bringing me “home” with each blog.
What a beautiful place to be. Interesting light and skies. And a lot of wisdom, as always.
Very kind Rosa, and you are right the light and the skies are really unique up here 🙂