The Square, Portree, Isle of Skye, Scotland

Even a relatively inexperienced wielder of a compact can get respectable results on a first visit to somewhere. Without the additional know how added by experience, there is a spot of luck involved and that's how it was on my first ever visit to the Isle of Skye in 1999 (can't really hide that when it's imprinted on the photo, can I?). Yes, there are messy elements in the composition like road signs and parked vehicles, but it works better than it ought to do. Looking at it now, it seems that sticking with the war memorial on the right and the house on the left as the main anchors of the picture on a day blessed by sunshine, blue skies and green hills.

Having not yet made it into the world of work, money wasn't plentiful for the trip, so it was a case of staying in hostels and finding reasonably priced food somewhere. 35 mm film was another item that was used sparingly, but I still came away with efforts like the above photo of Portree's main square. This is where you come to find buses to destinations all over the island and on the mainland. With three banks around it, you can guess what other use it has too.