![A castle had stood on this spot since the 13th Century destroyed by the Royal Navy in 1719. Following the failure of the Jacobite rising of 1715, the Jacobites, supporters of the exiled James Stuart, the "Old Pretender", sought new support from Spain. An advance party of 300 Spanish soldiers arrived in Loch Duich in April 1719, and occupied Eilean Donan Castle. The expected uprising of Highlanders did not occur, and the main Spanish invasion force never arrived.At the beginning of May, the Royal Navy sent ships to the area. Early in the morning on Sunday 10 May, HMS Worcester, HMS Flamborough, and HMS Enterprise anchored off Eilean Donan and sent a boat ashore under a flag of truce to negotiate. When the Spanish soldiers in the castle fired at the boat, it was recalled and all three ships opened fire on the castle for an hour or more.[35] The next day the bombardment continued while a landing party was prepared. In the evening under the cover of an intense cannonade, the ships' boats went ashore and captured the castle against little resistance. According to Worcester's log, in the castle they found "an Irishman, a captain, a Spanish lieutenant, a serjeant, one Scotch rebel and 39 Spanish soldiers, 343 barrels of powder and 52 barrels of musquet shot."[36] The naval force spent the next two days demolishing the castle, which took 27 barrels of gunpowder.[37] The Spanish prisoners were put on board Flamborough and taken to Edinburgh.[38] The remaining Spanish troops were defeated on 10 June at the Battle of Glen Shiel. (Wikepedia)](http://skm1963.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/ed_edited-1.jpg?w=1000&h=607)
A castle had stood on this spot since the 13th Century. Following the failure of the Jacobite rising of 1715, the Jacobites, supporters of the exiled James Stuart, the “Old Pretender”, sought new support from Spain. An advance party of 300 Spanish soldiers arrived in Loch Duich in April 1719, and occupied Eilean Donan Castle. The expected uprising of Highlanders did not occur, and the main Spanish invasion force never arrived.
At the beginning of May, the Royal Navy sent ships to the area. Early in the morning on Sunday 10 May, HMS Worcester, HMS Flamborough, and HMS Enterprise anchored off Eilean Donan and sent a boat ashore under a flag of truce to negotiate. When the Spanish soldiers in the castle fired at the boat, it was recalled and all three ships opened fire on the castle for an hour or more. The next day the bombardment continued while a landing party was prepared. In the evening under the cover of an intense cannonade, the ships’ boats went ashore and captured the castle against little resistance. According to Worcester’s log, in the castle they found “an Irishman, a captain, a Spanish lieutenant, a sergeant one Scotch rebel and 39 Spanish soldiers, 343 barrels of powder and 52 barrels of musquet shot.”[36] The naval force spent the next two days demolishing the castle, which took 27 barrels of gunpowder.[37] The Spanish prisoners were put on board Flamborough and taken to Edinburgh.[38] The remaining Spanish troops were defeated on 10 June at the Battle of Glen Shiel. (Wikipedia) . What you see here is the reconstructed Castle between 1919 & 1932 – It has starred in many movies but it was the film Highlander in 1986 which brought it first to my attention. It is an impressive sight by any standard but is surrounded by development which pretty much limits the images you can get. Still I got to practice my night photography again. Enjoy
great use of light
I tried to keep it as natural as possible – removed the colour cast. I wonder if I need to sharpen the castle itself #neverhappy
Love this, Scott.
Sylvia many thanks – glad you enjoy my shots
A lovely shot of such an iconic castle.
It is iconic – for me as much the location and backdrop as the castle itself – although on this occasion I have chosen to concentrate on the castle versus the setting – next time snow covered Cuillins
Beautiful!
Aye, it is right dreamy but over photographed location – but you cant not hit the shutter (hence my title saccharin)
Magical.
Thank you – previously I had a mediocre day shot which was published on Our Scotland and Facebook a long while back but pleased to have gotten something with a bit more impact.
Fantastic image! The lighting is superb. I just got to try my first attempt at night shooting during the workshop. NOT the greatest success, but seeing how it’s done was a good learning experience.
Lots of trial and error 3rd time out now, started off on automatic and reduced the shutter speed until I was happy. Next time I will probably go straight to manual.
I’m about to tackle my very first attempt in my next post. Unlike you, I’m including the good, the bad and the ugly…..
My overriding problem was focusing in the dark.
To focus I used the auto focus on a sharp line then switch off to manual without adjusting the focus – it’s a bit of a cheat which helped me.
Amazingly lit! Very powerful image Scott!
Thanks Phil, I have had a couple of attempts at twilight/night photography and know now manual is the only way – modern DSLR’s think they need more light than they do
Such a barren looking geographical site, and yet, Scott, you’ve managed to make it appear soft and appealing…!
You are very limited Carolyn due to the modern buildings which are shore side apart from aerial there is only to variants plus the seasons.
This one is in the running for my favourite photo of yours which is no small feat!
Huge big grin Lyle – thanks
The lighting and the twilight give a really unusual touch. Beautiful pic!
Thing is it is so well photographed – what can you do – I have other which may be better but will take some editing.
Reblogged this on 2me4art and commented:
just because I never want to miss seeing this whenever I’d like.
Only my 2nd ever Re-Blog so especially pleased – thanks
an image I want to keep. Stunning & I can’t wait to see more of your work. -amy
Hi Scott…..don’t knock the ‘Saccharin’ – Eilean Donan or not it is what sells the pictures time and time again. Could do with a trip to Skye right now, weather could be interesting!
I recall your comments from a previous email regarding sales of these type of shots – I guess I just wanted to highlight how difficult it is to get a shot which hasn’t already been taken of these popular locations.
Nor was I being critical……and we all love a good shot that is different all the more so if we have fond memories of the location.
Not at all David – I see completely that these shots will pay the bills
Magical image, Scott.
Lovely shot and an intriguing story about the would-be Spanish invasion.
Really nice spot..amazing lightning..awsome picture..
Great shot Scott. One of my favourite castles of all time – I could actually imagine myself living there….it has a very homely feel.
The photo is outstanding, but I love that you tell the story to deepen the understanding and our appreciation of the piece.