Edinburgh Castle

Nikon D70 @ 48mm, 1/80 sec, f/14, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

So what do you think of the new layout? It's not a huge difference, but man did it take me a while to put together. I'm pretty useless when it comes to coding so there was a lot of trial and error in getting everything right.

I've been neglecting this site for the week now. But that's only because there were quite a few images from my trip to Glencoe and Edniburgh that I knew I was going to be posting here. And the result of that is that I've not been searching for a new picture to take each day... and hence the desire to post has wanned somewhat. However, I've managed to get back up to date now so I'm back on track.

Ok, last shot of my Edinburgh series... and it had to be a shot of the Castle. It's a building that I've seen photographed many times before, but still I like the way I've captured this one. It was shot from the one of the stands at the Homeless World Cup, just as the last rays of the sun were striking the castle.

Princes Street

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/800 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

A shot of the busy shoppers hard at work on Princes Street in Endinburgh. There's just something about this one that really draws me in...

Scottish Parliament

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/40 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

We had a quick visit of the new Scottish Parliament. This is the second time I've seen the place now and I have to say that as much as I've tried to like the building... I just don't. It's a concrete monstrosity that's totally out of place in its surroundings. Inside, however, it's pretty nice. Here's a shot of the debating chamber...

Homeless World Cup

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/1250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

Back to Edinburgh again...

In the afternoon we stumbled upon the homeless world cup - that world renowned football competition. I have to admit that I thought the idea of homeless people from all over the world being flown over here and having their accomodation and food paid for them was slightly ironic. But it was really quite poignant seeing how happy and grateful the players were to be involved in the event, and it must have done a huge amount for their confidence and feelings of self worth.

There was a really good turn out and the stands reached full capacity when the Scotland boys came on. And man, was the atmosphere good. The crowd were as loud and enthusiatic as they are at Hampden. Although I'm sure a few spectators would have been forgiven for mistaking the homeless guys for the national squad. There was an uproar when Scotland finally broke the deadlock in the later stages of the match...

Last One

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/25 sec, f/22, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

Taken from the same area as yesterday's shot, but a little further downstream in the opposite direction.

The Glen... Again

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1.6 sec, f/14, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

This photo is again of Glen Etive. I found this amazing little area down by the river, and tried my best to capture it. Shot in Infra Red.

Glen Etive

Nikon D70 @ 22mm, 1/20 sec, f/22, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

Got up at 6.30am today and drove up to Glencoe to get some landscape shots. I spent the entire day there... it was actually quite good being there alone, being able to go at my own pace and do what I want. Having said that, I didn't really come back with many great shots, so I'm not sure what went wrong. Maybe I was just having a bad day.

I literally had to crawl under a massive rhododendron bush to get to this location. It's actually 3 shots merged together.

... And Relax

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

Relaxing and enjoying the sun in Princes Gardens in Edinburgh yesterday.

A trip to the Capital

Nikon D70 @ 55mm, 1/50 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

I've been quite slow in updating this blog, but it's only because I've been busy taking pictures, or working on them. But the show must go on...

So today we decided to take a trip to Edinburgh - not for anything particular, just a nice, easy, relaxing day out. The weather was absolutely superb and it just set the tone for a great day out.

I wasn't really taking that many pictures, but I've managed to come home with quite a few good ones. I'll post some of them over the next few days/weeks.

Finding the extra in the ordinary

Nikon D70 @ 50mm, various settings
Previous · Current · Next

A while ago I came up with a collage of various images taken in my back garden... see here.

So this was essentially another take on the idea, albeit alightly more difficult. These shots are all from my garage so as you can imagine the lighting was very poor. All shots were handheld with my 50mm f/1.8, most were taken wide open, and I used my SB-800 for a few.

I'm pretty happy with the results. It was another slow day and I was looking for something to kill the time, so this kept me busy for a while. It's also a good challenge - you've really got to look hard for something decent to shoot. As I've said before, it's all about finding the extra in the ordinary.

Scream

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/5 sec, f/8, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

This shot probably came to mind after seeing the adverts for the film Scream being shown over the last few days.

Schtop!

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/40 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

Just an idea...

Almost Done

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/30 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

It's shots like this that make this blog worthwhile for me. Why? Not because it's a great shot... but because it's a shot I wouldn't have taken if I didn't have this blog.

11.30 at night and I know I need a shot to try and keep the dailyexposure at least reasonably daily. This happens a lot. So I saw some flowers in the living room, thought they looked pretty interesting, put them on the floor and started snapping away.

I didn't realise they would look so good in b+w, so that was a nice surprise.

France

Fuji S7000, various
Previous · Current · Next

I've finally started putting some of my shots from last summer's trip round Europe into an album. It's only taken me about a year to do! I came across this collage of shots I did of France. It was a nice idea, but it didn't really work as well as I had hoped. It took ages as well, so I never got round to doing one for Italy and Greece as well. I wish I was able to do another trip like that this year, but I'm just too skint!

Penguin Parade

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/500 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

I couldn't go to the zoo and not post a picture of an animal! So here's the famous penguin parade. It's actually been really hot here recently, so we were lucky that they came out for a little wander today. It's been so hot that they've had to bring in devices to spray them with water to keep them cool.

At the Zoo

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/200 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

A trip to Edinburgh zoo today with my girlfriend and her little cousin. The zoo itself was actually really good, and much better than I had expected. The weather was amazing as well, which always helps. I also had a great time playing with my new little friend Lily. It was the first time I've played "tig" in years! :)

Frogger

Fuji S7000 @ 8mm, 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

It was an unusually clear night, and I quite fancied a try at some astrophotography. Much to my disappointment the sky still wasn't dark enough at 12am. Since I had to get up early the next day I decided to just give it a miss, and headed back inside.

On my way in though, I saw this little fella in the corner of my eye, hopping away. I'm not sure why, but I've always loved frogs, so I couldn't resist getting some shots. I used my Fuji (since I have no macro lenses for my D70) coupled with my SB-800 and started getting some shots.

I followed him onto my front path and kept firing away. I can't imagine what my neighbours must have thought if they'd seen me. Out at 12.30am, kneeling down on the drive way, taking hundreds of shots of the ground.

Oh, I released the little guy after the photoshoot and he seemed happy enough :)

Edit: I've since been told that this is a toad, and not a frog!

She loves me...

Nikon D70 @ 50mm, 1/500 sec, f/1.8, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

Hmmm... I don't really know what to say about this one. It's a daisy. It's post processed to buggery. I like it.

Scottish Open

Fuji S7000 @ 8mm, 1/325 sec, f/5, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

It's a bit of a tradition that we go to the Loch Lomond Invitational (now the Scottish Open), and this year was no exception. My dad likes to get up at an ungodly hour so that we can beat the traffic and crowds, so that probably didn't set me up for the best of days. That combined with the unusual heat and humidity, and my wisdom teeth coming through (I need all the help I can get) left me with one hell of a headache. So much so that it pretty much ruined the rest of the day for me, as it was way too bright for my poor little eyes to take.

Hence the crappy picture above. I managed to get some nice sneaky shots last year, but only took a few today for the sake of it.

The day wasn't a total waste of time though, as my headache didn't kick in until later on in the morning, so I managed to watch some golf when it was quiet. Plus my dad had some brief banter with Phil Mickelson which was rather cool

London Blasts

Nikon D70 @ 29mm, 1/25 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

"You do your worst - and we will do our best"

Winston Churchill - July 14, 1941

Capture the Moment

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/100 sec, f/4.5, ISO 400
Previous · Current · Next

It was my girlfriend's graduation today so I was called on to be the "official photographer." Thankfully my 1GB CF card came, so I was able to shoot everything in RAW. Being able to fine tune the exposure on a few of the shots was definitely worth the extra time having to convert from RAW.

Unfortunately I didn't have a ticket to get into the actual graduation ceremony (mum and dad took priority), but a little bit of friendly banter with the stewards can get you a long way. So you can imagine my complete surprise and amazement when my seat was directly in line with the vice-chancellor... the main man who confers the degrees on the graduates. All that was left to do was get my settings right and that little issue of timing...

Well, I think this one came out pretty perfectly... it's captured the exact moment my girfriend made the transition from a graduand to a graduate.

Triptych Title?

Nikon D70, various settings
Previous · Current · Next

So the other day I was drinking coffee out of my usual mug when I realised that the colours were just like a selection of dolly mixtures. Hardly suprising since I had just finshed a large packet of them moments before. I'm always on the lookout for a new picture, so I thought I could do something with this. I looked in the cupboard and found some jelly babies and thought this would finish the series off.

I really enjoyed making these pictures, and am really happy with the results. It was a very simple setup... so simple in fact that I'm surprised that they came out so well. They were basically shot in a bright room, with glossy photo paper under and behind them. I used the SB-800 remotely with the diffuser dome and aimed it in front of and just above the subjects. I set the flash compensation to +1 to get the whites bright. I then PP'ed the shots further to get the whites completely white.

So, all I need now is a good title for the triptych. Suggestions anyone? :)

Moments Archived

Nikon D70, various settings
Previous · Current · Next

My girlfriend carefully puting her grad ball photos into her new album. Apologies for the frames, but I couldn't resist when I saw all of the photos laid out on the bed like that :)

Congratulations

Nikon D70 @ 44mm, 1/40 sec, f/4, ISO 200
Previous · Current · Next

Happy graduation James :)