Tenerife – 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?

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.

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.

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.