Selkie’s Photography

Bonnington Pavilion

So I haven’t journeyed far from my last blog post to bring you to Bonnington Pavilion or the Hall of Mirrors. It’s part of the historic Falls of Clyde area next door to New Lanark. I came across this by chance when I initially read this article shared by a Facebook page deadicated to abandoned buildings. The “first Camera Obscura in Scotland”? Well that got this camera nerd interested. We had just been talking about that at college so I knew a bit about them and, better still, I was headded out in the right direction with my own camera soon because of the Shining Lives event.

So let’s start with the history…. The Scottish Wildlife Trust, who care for the Falls of Clyde area, state in their historic walk leaflet that the Pavilion was built in 1708 as a hunting tower. Other sources usually state that it was always a viewing pavilion for the Corra Linn falls. Either way it has beautiful remaining stonework and would have been very suitable for visitors to enjoy the surroundings. What all the sources do seem to agree on that it was covered on the inside with mirrors to enhance the experience of the falls. Indeed people were invited to buy a ticket and enjoy the grounds of the Bonnington Estate so it was an early tourist attraction.

But was it a Camera Obscura? I have my doubts. I feel like there would be more sources stating it but I can only really find the note mentioned in the original article.

A Camera Obscura is essentially a dark box (or blacked out room) and a pinhole. The image is projected upside down on to the wall opposite. This is a similar principle to a pinhole camera where the light would hit film/light sensitive materal and the image would be captured.
Image credit – Wikipedia

Camera Obscura were used to entertain and by artists to copy landscapes and buildings. It could have been a simple parlour trick to entertain the tourists but I feel they would have written about that. In 1835 the famous Camera Obscura in Edinburgh opened and invited the public to enjoy images of the city.

What I can say about this slice of history is that it is likely to disappear eventually unless something is done. There is a large hydro electric plant very close to the side of the building and it’s part of the reason the building needs such an amount of fencing. Additionally it’s now very fragile as buildings go and is supported internally with scaffolding. With Bonnington Estate’s grand house, stables, gardens all now gone we should be trying to save this remaing piece

New Lanark

The beautiful village of New Lanark is one of my favourite haunts, even before I became attached to a camera. There’s something about its selfcontained nature and the history attached to the place that keeps dragging me back. Well that and the fact that I still feel like I haven’t seen every single corner yet.

I have photos hailing from every season and every incarnation of my kit. All of these are from 2018/2019. Even if you don’t leave the village for the Falls of Clyde then there is a wealth of history and places to discover. Pre-Covid the Spinning machine works Monday to Saturday so you get a sample of the noise and atmosphere of the mill when it was in operation. The wool that is spun here is on sale in the gift shop and the cafe is an essential stop on any trip. Additionally you can explore the houses of the mill workers, village shop, Robert Owen’s house and the school when you get a entrance ticket (worth it!).

The beautiful walk along the Falls of Clyde is a great way to spend the afternoon it too changes with the seasons as you can see from the gallery above. This land was part of the Bonnington Estate and there are still pieces of history dotted all over the hiking trails.

This land was part of the Bonnington Estate and there are still pieces of history dotted all over the hiking trails. Interestingly the archway at the start of the trail marks the land boundary and the workers of the mills were not permitted to pass through.

I’m lucky that I have been to a couple of events at New Lanark as well. Most notably I was able to attend a press launch of Shining Lives: Fortunes of Fate last October. It was an installation of light and images projected onto the buildings, telling the story of highlanders who were on their way to America only to find an opportunity and a home in New Lanark. This was a beautiful way to see the buildings and to learn about another part of the history.

It’s safe to say it’s well worth the journey at any time of the year. Although the virus has temporarily closed the exhibits, you can still hike the falls, appreciate the buildings, learn about the history and enjoy some time off in the cafe.

Lockdown

So unless you are very lucky, live in a limited number of places on Earth or are an alien you’ll have heard of COVID-19. Also known as the coronavirus it’s been causing utter havoc for everyone. It’s really no surprise as a photographer who loves museums and people filled locations that the amount of shots I have taken has dramatically reduced. The SQA higher I was studying for has also fallen on stony ground.

On the 20th March I effectively stopped going out and entered lockdown like most of the country. I’m not a key worker as I work as an office temp and it’s not really a job you can do from home so I’ve been twiddling my thumbs, or a better way of putting it, furloughed. The college I was going to closed. The Brownies and Guides I work with were told we couldn’t meet in person anymore. The course I was studying for had it’s exam cancelled and the project folio I was building was not to be submitted and is unfinished.

Roads went quiet, schools were closed, businesses shut and the world went into an eerie pause. In the early part of the lockdown I only really ventured out into Glasgow once, as I had to go to the bank. I did some shots in the main street near my home as people adjusted to this ‘new normal’ where we couldn’t go closer than 2m to people we hugged 2 weeks ago and had to line up outside the supermarket and pharmacy.

But then I put the camera down.

Now lockdown is unravelling. 10/11 weeks seems to be the breaking point for many and the less said about what those in charge did or didn’t do the better. Whether it is too soon remains to be seen. I imagine it might be.

Just 2 weeks before lockdown started I went to my interview for HNC Photography. The images I took to make up my portfolio have their own page. I was offered and accepted a place on the course. So I need to get back to work. It’s time to pick up the camera again.

Back To Work

So I’ve returned to what passes for normal life and obviously there’s work to go to and things to do.

I mean how cool are these viewpoint signs in Tenerife? Medium format cameras make excellent silhouettes.

It’s also back to college and back to taking shots for class. Probably this time I’ll be carrying my camera on my commute and trying for some urban architecture and skylines. If I survive the commute since it’s up hill to the office through the city centre. Oddly enough it is also time to be looking at applying to college if I can get funding for HND photography. The hardest part is putting a portfolio together for it, I’m going to have to go digging through the archives to find a range of shots to put in it.

On the blog front, I have acquired a couple of odd photography accessories recently, partly thanks to the prize for the Capture Christmas competition. So I will probably do a couple of posts to talk about them. I’m not sponsored, so these are not in anyway paid for or supported by the manufacturer at this point, except where I earn money and pay it to companies for their products like everyone else. These are just my experiences from using them in my hobby/work. If later on I get any freebies I’ll be the first to let you know. But if it doesn’t work then I’m not going to be positive, that I can make a promise of. As my mother would point out just now – what would the point of lying be?

Teide

Well I’m home and this is the last of the main days of shooting in Tenerife. The beautiful volcanic mountain of Teide. It’s last eruption was in 1906 so the thousands of tourists that visit everyday are probably safe. It’s the highest point on the island and national park status makes it a massive draw for those who love climbing and hiking.

You can still see the lava flows on the surface of the mountain and the edge of the crater.

There’s a cable car that runs up to a considerable altitude. From previous experience I know I don’t do well at altitude (I did plenty of that in 2013 when I went to Switzerland, before I took any serious photo.) so my time at the top was short and peppered with the sight of me utilising my asthma inhaler. But as the cover image for this post shows it really is the top of the world…..

These stacks of rock from the volcano remain when the softer rock around them wears away.

If the whole thing looks a bit other worldly then you won’t be surprised to hear that it’s sometimes used as a replica for the surface of Mars as it has similar properties. I could quite easily imagine this as a backdrop for sci-fi B movies.

The National Park requests that people keep the the paths to reduce damage to the landscape. Which must be a mammoth job.

Santa Cruz

The capital of Tenerife and a city with so many different architecture styles thrown together.

Mostly taken from the city tour bus as it was only a short visit. I could have spent all day staring at the Auditorium. It’s designed to look like a wave crashing.

It fairly dominates the view in the area.

Capture Christmas Competition

Before Christmas Wex, that purveyor of fine camera equipment, taker of wages, and destroyer of credit cards, ran a competition. There were 3 categories; food, family, and festivities. Here’s all the winning photos.

Well I sent this in as an entry in the food category and it, somehow, magically, came first. I know I’m still slightly speechless. This is actually the first time a photo of mine has won anything. It was a slightly ridiculous set up in my bedroom to capture these tiny model railway road workers. What made me laugh was the number of models that were not actually doing any work. The dude with the clipboard is clearly the foreman though.

What it looked like from behind the camera

So with my camera on the tripod, which was more of an after thought actually. I spent 2 packs of chocolate coins getting the stacks right. They were meant to be for my nephews but I did replace them. These tiny model people don’t stand so well by themselves so they are often stuck to the ground with glue dots or parts of them.

As for camera settings, with a tripod you can get away with massively long shutter speeds. So ISO 100 and a tiny aperture to get a depth of field. I might have gotten slightly better results with a macro lens but the 24-105mm f4 lens does have a macro setting. Next time I’ll try focus stacking with Affinity photo. So there’s sharpness from the front all the way to the back. I settled the focus point on the face of the work foreman, in case you are wondering. No post processing either. It came out just the way I wanted it, with a bit of practice.

I did another set up but it wasn’t as effective. Although the guys are standing around not working very hard here.

A Little Early Summer Sun

I’m taking a break from the almost endless street photography in Glasgow rain for my higher to enjoy sun in Tenerife. The higher is going well I’m 4 shoots into the 7 I’m aiming for. I kicked myself for missing big things like the Independence March and the opening event for Celtic Connections. But I did a lot over Christmas in the markets and the Style Mile Carnival. I’m not really meant to share them till I’ve done the project submission and I’ve nearly hit burnout because everything was starting to look the same.

In fairness though I’m essentially doing the same but as my tutor was trying to encourage me to do at one point was to embrace the banality. However, its much easier to do in a different country where everything that would be boring, or everyday, is strange and unusual to me. Try doing it in your day to day life when you are in your third month of processing invoices.

Stick a palm tree beside a motorway and its something worth looking at.

I went to the market today and hoping to go back on Tuesday morning because it got very hot and was almost unbearable at the end as they were packing to go home. It was brilliant but the harsh midday sun was causing shadows that are hard to compensate for.

It’s an enjoyable way to spend a morning.

And finally…………

Glasgow University

So months ago now I went on a shoot to Glasgow Uni. Not the one I attended many years ago, that was Strathclyde, and while I say attended I mean dropped out of. Ah well. I was attempting to be a little different as there are plenty of shots of the famous cloisters.

So I dragged out the wide angle and my dusty fish eye since I almost never use it.

It’s not for everyone but I enjoy the change.

Edinburgh Night Street Photography

So last night I took part in an event run by Wex (where most of my wages go) to learn nighttime street photography from Edo Zollo. His work on the streets of London at night are great and figured it would be fun.

It was mostly about getting the lighting and camera settings right. If I can get past putting heads dead centre of shots then I might have a chance. It was quite different to what I usually get up to and I think I have really learned something.