Category: Location

Weather

It never quite plays ball when you want it to…. I went to Glencoe last year. Hoped the weather would stay with the glorious sunshine I drove up in. It was warm and I genuinely considered ordering an ice cream when I stopped at Inveruglas. Not that I felt I needed to stop driving but there’s such a nice view down Loch Lomond.

Did it stay like that… Did it heck. The clouds rolled in when we got to the Clachaig Inn and then stayed stuck there. Went out to Glen Etive the next day and the mountains were hidden all day behind clouds. It was June so I don’t feel like I was asking for much getting to get some decent views. Glencoe and Glen Etive are home so some of the best views in Scotland. Even the big Hollywood movies turn up there from time to time. The now iconic image of Daniel Craig’s Bond standing next to his DB7 in Skyfall was shot in Glen Etive. Actually, now I think about it, the clouds were hanging about the mountains then too. I made an effort to try and not allow it to take away from the trip but it, eventually, did.

I know my current set up isn’t waterproof. Ok, the 24-105mm lens IS proofed as it belongs to Canon’s pro range but the body would suffer if I did it too much. The body has been pretty soaked before, I should really stop doing that. I once stood for an entire afternoon getting shots of a parade in Glasgow and never paid too much attention to the drizzle till I got home. Maybe one day I’ll win the lottery and upgrate to a full mirrorless setup, or be able to get a Canon 6D Mark 2. The 6D I see as the end of the line for me with DSLR bodies; going full frame and weatherproof at the same time. However, back to the subject, clouds don’t always mean rain. It’s living with the grey of winter that really gets me down photography wise, as it doesnt seem like there’s much colour out there.

I suppose the lesson here is to work with what you have, even if what you have doesn’t seem like much. Photoshop’s sky replacement is never going to fix those clouds. I’m sure I coud use it to change something, purple clouds maybe? I’ve been accused of messing with the sky before. The intense blue of the sky from Mount Tiede in Tenerife was no fake, I assure you. Just this real sky from high above the little fluffy clouds over an otherworldly terrain that has played the part of alien planets in film and TV. It’s a dark sky location for star gazing for a reason and just generally beautiful. BUT we can’t always be in the blue skies and warm temperatures of Tenerife.

“I can see the curve of the Earth from here!”

So where am I going with this little wander down memory lane? Two big takeaways – one…. Stop letting the weather stop the camera getting out. Take the grey with the summer colour and work with it. Second…. Never Photoshop a sky. Keep it real. I did this anyway but I’m not for changing. We don’t always have beautiful blue skies and fluffy white clouds here in Scotland so why lie about it?

Auditorio de Tenerife

A genuine architectural highlight of Santa Cruz is sitting right next to the harbour and it’s kinda hard to miss.

I mean how can you walk past this structural beauty. A few years back I was on a tour bus and was told that it was designed to look like a wave. Though when you stand where I was when I took that shot there was more of a ship’s bow look about this view. Never the less it is very much part of the expressionist movement. Such an unusual building, it was the star of a Dcotor Who episode. Series 12, episode 3, Orphan 55; in case anyone is interested. The unusual spa on a nuclear wasteland of planet earth. They also did some filming up around Mount Teide for that episode. The rocky volcanic landscape filling in for the wastelands.

Building took a very long time to come to fruition. The auditorium opened in 2003 but it was way back in 1970 when it was decided that one should be built. Going through a few architects too before Santiago Calatrava Valls had the final design and the budget had some issues, climbing from 30 million to 72 million Euros, but there’s many buildings around the world that have back stories like this (I’m looking at you, Scottish Parliament building….).

The sheen on the building is due to the fact that it is covered in tile fragments. It is smooth and cool to the touch, just in case you were wondering. It was lovely to get this close to it for a change. Rolling past on a tourist bus didn’t do it justice. I only managed to get a couple of shots from the bus the last time I was in Santa Cruz.

It does however give a sense of scale to this tidal wave of a building and it leaves it’s own mark on the skyline. Here’s a fun little thing if you do go up to the building. Walk around towards the back and look down to where the sea crashes against the rocks… Except those rocks aren’t just changed by the sea but by an artist who climbs out there and paints the portraits of famous musicians.

It’s not often you see Mozart, Sinatra and Britney Spiers so close together in a gallery. I do feel slightly sorry for “Fill” Collins though.

Japanese Garden

Outside of Dollar in Clackmannanshire there’s a Japanese garden that is over one hundred years old. It’s open to the public and is amazingly tranquil and beautiful.

Referred to as “the most important Japanese garden in the Western world” (Prof. Suzuki) She Raku En, or the place of pleasure and delight, was the original idea of Ella Christie back in 1908. She was an unusual woman for her time as she travelled extensively throughout Asia during her life. She brought in Taki Handa, another fabulous woman ahead of her time, to design the garden. It was a complicated history after that as it was destroyed in 1963 and the main home of the Christies was demolished, however the garden has been re-established since then. If you want to see more of the history and how the garden has developed I suggest you have a look at their website – https://cowden-garden.myshopify.com

Each of the elements in the garden have meaning and it’s a genuinely fascinating place to spend a day. They also have a lovely cafe onsite too (because we know that’s important after shooting).

Down the Coast

I’ve been wandering round the Ayrshite coast recently. Does help that I go on a weekly walk with a friend and we relocated the walk (previously it was the local park) to the beach at Troon. Which is somewhat the inspiration for this. We’ve ventured to other parts of this coast line before like Culzean Castle. Hard to believe that was 2 years ago when my camera body was still new and I was yeat to darken the doors of the college to study for my Higher or HNC.

There’s some beautiful sunsets there in Troon. Slightly further north there’s the tiny hamlet of Portencross. I heard about this place through the Sunday Shoot Group (it’s what I call them, there isn’t an official name). They went to Portencross long before I joined and it stuck in my head as an idea. So I set off before my walk on Sunday to get a few shots in.

I was slightly broken after all the walking. Turns out my new camera bag is great but does weigh in at about 17lbs (and that’s with my iPad not the full MacBook). It’s a bit of a stretch for me at the moment, going to have to work on my fitness levels for carrying it any length of time.

Return to the Murals

So ages ago, OK it was 2 years ago, I went out and found some of the Glasgow murals. I’ll admit that they can be hard to shoot to be honest. One of my lecturers recently pointed out that you are taking a photo of art and it’s not always successful, because art is beautiful in its own right. However it’s always a good day out when I go shooting with the Sunday crowd.

I try to take something a little different but it’s tricky. These murals have probably been snapped by 50% of those walking by and plenty go looking for them and there’s even a guide website now. None of this will stop me going after a full set and they do keep adding to them. The Billy Connolly ones are pretty recent additions to the collection.

These are from the larger mural of Scottish wildlife that I had a previous go at on the Bank Holiday Hunt. This time I was quite taken with the arch in the stonework that underlies the mural and has been worked into the design.

Autumn 🍂 🍁

I’m missing the gold and orange tones of autumn already, as we start the downhill slide into winter and the festive season.

Meanwhile college continues on both in and outside. The studio is fun and I wish I could spend more time there but we’re out here dodging a virus….

I don’t normally get to play with flash but there’s actually a whole world out there waiting to be manipulated with light. But back to why we are actually here……

Some natural light. Autumnal colour and life is out there. It’s been a kind season for my photos. I miss going roung museums and the city catching people but they are all in hiding. So I am fungi hunting and looking for interesting nature while walking in the local park. My back needs a break from my camera bag though. Hopefully Santa will bring me one with decent shoulder straps and enough space.

Lucky in love? Seal it with a padlock. It’s an odd tradition that started in the real city of love, Paris, and can be found almost anywhere now.

Arran

It was a whistle stop trip to the isle of Arran for a Sunday shoot.

After a little early morning jaunt on one of CalMac’s finest. They do a cracking bacon roll, by the way. It was decided that we would head to Brodick Castle. A National Trust for Scotland property with extensive gardens, it’s a beautiful place. I need to head back to spend longer there sometime and to see round the castle itself.

If only there had been more time…. We were running a little late to get the ferry back (there’s limited spaces just now) so had to do a bit of a route march to get back to the terminal. My legs almost couldn’t take it…. I need to to more excersize if I plan on doing more shoots like this.

Brave New World

So I went out to the recently reopened Riverside museum and it was abit of an exerience compaired to the last time I was there in late November 2019 (all of 8 months ago). Last time it was teeming with people as you can see in the photos I took for my Higher Project. Of course, I was also there for fun when I wrote this post all about it in March 2019.

If you had told me back in March, or even November, that it would have about a third of the usual number inside, no cafe, no museum shop, and that you would need to book in advance…. well I would probably have laughed.

It really is a whole different world to the one that shut up shop in March this year.

Meanwhile, out on the streets….. I had a meet up with some of the guys from my Higher class and we had a bit of a walk about. It’s always good to get out and see other humans these days

South Queensferry

Sitting on the edge of the Firth of Forth is a sweet little town better known for the iron rail bridge that cuts through and dominates the skyline. A place with its own history and teeming with sightseers currently, it’s a great place to visit. It does boast some great views of the 3 Forth bridges – the famous red rail bridge, Forth road bridge, and the new Queensferry Crossing.

All three bridges stacked up, looking west. If you move further to the east beyond the Queensferry Crossing then you can achieve amore startling effect as the grey road bridges stand out out over the red of the Rail Bridge. I didn’t manage to head out that way this time but did walk out from the town further west to get the shots to build a panorama.

As assembled in Photoshop and then reduced….. the original image is over 23,000 pixels long and broke WordPress. I’ll admit it does lose something in the reduction. The colour and vibrancy is kinda kicked out of it.

For more on the science of the iconic Forth Rail Bridge and it’s history check out Wikipedia.