Tag: Street

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.

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

Santa Cruz

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

  • The Exhibition Centre
  • The Auditorium
Such a mixture from through the ages.

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.

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.

Clearly not Glasgow.

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.

The shoe seller

It’s an enjoyable way to spend a morning.

  • Tiny cacti
  • The freehand embroider

And finally…………

There’s always a dog to get a shot of.

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.

Edo did a lot of modelling for us.

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.

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.

Yardworks

Some of the best street artists descended on Glasgow this weekend and their work is fabulous. There was a great atmosphere as the artists have a sort of social meet-up at the same time. There were a fair few photographers out there not just the group I’m part of.

Dundee

So I spent a brilliant weekend in Dundee… I started shooting when it was getting dark on Friday evening then went on to visit the V&A Dundee, RRS Discovery and the best statue I’ve visited in a long time.

The V&A is brilliant inside and out and of course they have a specially commissioned item in the shop that shares its name with me. A Selkie cushion. Yes, I brought one home with me. You can take photos in some of the exhibits just be careful of flash. So from there it was all aboard the RRS Discovery which lives next door.

Photography is actively encouraged and its a great exhibition and place to learn about how we finally made it to the South Pole and Antarctica. Amazing to think this ship was frozen in ice for 2 years while they investigated and made all sorts of scientific discoveries.

They wouldn’t let me use the darkroom but then you don’t really need it with a DSLR……. Yep they were taking photos all the way down there….

I had time for one stop before home but I’ll post about that tomorrow….