A bit stuttering, a bit improvised, but I hope it gets the message across. My first attempt at New Year’s Greetings in video format. I think they call it a vlog (from video blog). I hope it’s not too embarrassing:
Happy New Year 2017!
Tag: video
Across Islay’s neighbour Colonsay with a drone
The first excursion to one of Islay’s neighbours since relaunching the blog and I think I’ve got a real treat for you. Jonas Igel takes us on a beautiful sightseeing tour around Colonsay with his drone, sharing some really amazing views from a two week stay:
Two old Islay videos (1973 and 1983)
They were filmed 10 years apart, but both are a bit older, showing Islay 33 and 43 years ago respectively. The first one seems to be some old TV footage filmed in 1983, showing Port Charlotte and a few other places on Islay in a short clip:
Going back a further decade to 1973 we can watch some fascinating old footage with some long gone history, starting with the MV Arran ferry (not to be confused with the MV Isle of Arran, which was much later) leaving from the old West Loch Tarbert pier:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeZ03caJMfw&ab_channel=DaveSpencer32
The rest of the film shows a variety of familiar places, some in a way now gone: The Oa with the American Monument I believe before it became an RSPB reserve (not sure which year that happened?). Port Askaig long before it was redeveloped to what it is today. Ardbeg distillery with smoking pagodas. A brief glimpse of what I think is Western Ferries’ MV Sound of Jura. An excursion to Jura with of course plenty of deer.
The filmer seems to have also had some interest in birdwatching. I think there were a number of Whooper Swans (the quality of the footage isn’t great, making it difficult to see) and there’s some footage of the Barnacle Geese as well.
New Islay video: A Whirlwind Tour of Islay
Announcing the relaunch of the blog this morning I hinted there might be a second ‘Christmas present’ coming up. Having only finished editing it late in the evening on Christmas Evening I still had to upload it this morning. But it all worked out and I can proudly present my latest Islay video. It’s a bit different from the videos I’ve made previously. To start with it has music. Then it’s monochrome. And it’s quite fast paced. A bit of an experiment, I’m very curious to see what people think. Here it is:
In 4.5 minutes I’m taking you on a quick journey around Islay, taking in as much as possible in such a short period. Admittedly some of the selections were influenced by the availability of footage, in other areas I had to make difficult choices what to show and what to omit. Here is a list of the places you can see in chronological order:
- Port Ellen buoy
- Port Ellen lighthouse
- Port Ellen warehouse
- Port Ellen houses with passing Islay Coaches
- Port Ellen Maltings
- Port Ellen pier/marina and village
- Laphroaig approach from loch
- Laphroaig smoking pagoda
- Laphroaig stills
- Dunyvaig castle and Lagavulin
- Lagavulin distillery
- Bowmore distillery approach from sea
- Bowmore Main Street
- Round Church
- Barnacle Geese in front of Port Charlotte
- Barnacle Geese at top of Loch Indaal with Paps of Jura
- Bruichladdich approach from sea
- Bruichladdich over distillery
- Bruichladdich spirit safe (making Port Charlotte spirit)
- Past Loch Indaal lighthouse to Port Charlotte
- Port Charlotte pier from above
- Port Charlotte Main Street towards Port Charlotte Hotel
- Loch Indaal lighthouse with breaking waves
- Waves breaking over Port Charlotte pier
- Saltire flying in Portnahaven
- Rhinns of Islay lighthouse and fishing boat
- Seal in Portnahaven
- Waves breaking near Port Wemyss
- Single track road towards Kilchoman
- Approaching Kilchoman Church
- Ruin of Kilchoman church from the air
- View of Machir Bay
- Beach view in Machir Bay
- Otter in Machir Bay
- At the wreck in Machir Bay
- Above the wreck in Machir Bay
- Breaking waves in Saligo Bay
- Waves blown back by wind in Saligo Bay
- View towards Sleeping Giant / Opera House Rocks in Saligo Bay
- Saligo Bay from the air
- Barnacle Geese feeding at Gruinart
- Barnacle Geese lifting off at Gruinart
- Barnacle Geese over the Gruinart marshes
- Barnacle Geese over grazing cows
- Approach to Finlaggan from the air
- View of the house ruin at Finlaggan from the air
- MV Hebridean Isles arriving in Port Askaig
- Passing McArthur’s Head lighthouse
I still think that’s quite impressive for 4.5 minutes, also a sign of how much Islay has to offer. It might be too fast and hectic for some, but then it might be exciting and fresh for others. I’m normally not a big fan of music for videos (certainly for my videos) and prefer more natural sounds, but here it felt appropriate so I used some. To avoid any rights issues (not to mention that the lyrics I feel often don’t really fit) I didn’t use any big hit(s) known to many but used some free music offered by Google. No lyrics, so no risk of conflict there either. The style of music will probably not be to everyone’s taste, I like the speed and energy in it.
Now it’s over to you, I hope you enjoy and like the whirlwind tour of Islay. Let me know what you think.