Glasgow – Selkie’s Photography

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?

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.

Where Do We Go From Here?

I’ve been collecting photos of the social distancing floor dots since the first lockdown lifted. Finally collated into one image just in time for another shift to the rules before Christmas. All taken with my phone’s camera. Nothing sums up the current situation than the waiting and distance between people.

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.

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

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.

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.

Pollok House

So I haven’t made a new post since June. Sorry about that. In between starting the house moving process I had a mental health wobble. I’m back on track now but was taking photos the whole time. Now it’s only two weeks-ish till I head back to night school and start my higher. They are like Scottish A levels and I have 6 of them from when I was in high school…. which was a few years ago now and I barely remember half of it. So this could be interesting.

So the subject of this post is Pollok House. Owned by the National Trust for Scotland and with extensive grounds it makes for an excellent day out. As always the cafe is great and it’s safe to say if it’s not bucketloads of rain there’s a fair few amateur photographers kicking about there. I’ve been a lot over different times and with different equipment. The photo above I took with my 1300d and kit lens on a walk about last autumn before I started any of my courses. Walking around was so peaceful and I didn’t need distractions because I was looking for the shots I wanted. Even though I was on auto mode back then with the camera making my decisions. I also didn’t respect the rule of thirds then either. The photo I’ve used as the featured image at the very top was one I took way back at the very start. When my dad would hand me the camera and watch very carefully in case I did something daft with it.

So it’s also a reasonable test bed for my newer kit. My 77d was taken there on it’s first outing although it wasn’t my most inspired day I did manage a slightly longer exposure on the weir…. I don’t care if some folks think that the smoothed out water shots are awful. It’s a technique worth learning and water nearly always flows.

So my most recent trip was out with the 77d and it’s new glass….. a 24-105mm f4 L. For awhile I’ve been needing a touch more reach and the 77d fell out with the old 70-300mm I inherited. It has some interesting vignetting when I was at lower apertures. You can see it appear in the photo of the single female rower at the Regatta. It’s not always an effect you want to break out. So I sold a lot of things on gumtree and put my hands on new-to-me lens.

Safe to say I have found odder angles since I started out…..

I imagine that I’ll be taking photos here for a long time to come.

Barrhead Colour Run

I’m a bit late in posting these….. They have been all over the social media though.

So I’m slightly cautious with these as a got some cracking shots involving people I don’t know, mostly children. Although as a public event in a public place it’s not as problematic as say a private kids party. I’m also not selling these for commercial gain. I would need model releases for an awful lot of people.

If only my back wasn’t hurting so bad (I toppled over 6 days before) I would have liked to arrive earlier and work for longer. Maybe next year.

Friends of mine – Elaine and Anne, nearing the finish line.

So I wasn’t willing to risk destroying the shiny new camera body on the powder paint… the night before I fitted it into an OpTec rain sleeve (cos they are 2 for £5 and I wasn’t gonna cry over that. They do also work well in the rain. No I’m not sponsored by them.) I sealed it in with duck tape (tie dye cos colour run obviously) round the lens hood, viewfinder and the neck straps. The sleeve doesn’t normally accommodate the straps but I popped holes in so it wouldn’t accidentally turn upside down when I wasn’t using it. (I’m more guarded in the rain but figured that I would need to volunteer occasionally. The other Girlguiding leaders were throwing the green powder around.)

It did inhibit the autofocus at the extreme ends of the lens’ ability so I’d move the sleeve further down the hood before taping it off. It was successful though. The strap is still green in places but no green inside the lens mount or on the mirror/sensor. I’d call that a success.