Pano

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/30 sec, f/22, ISO 200
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A scene I've taken quite a few pictures of now, but never as a pano. Finally got round to stitching this one together, pretty pleased with the results.

Beauty and the Beast

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/100 sec, f/11, ISO 200
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I was at the top of a fairly high building (for Edinburgh at least), and thought I'd be able to get a nice shot of the castle. How wrong was I!

How on earth could someone make such a monstrosity so close to the castle? Disgraceful.

Room With A View

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 30 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200
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Here's the colour version of the view from my lounge that I promised here. Definitely prefer this one.

Viewing Today

Nikon D70 @ 27mm, 1/20 sec, f/3.8, ISO 200
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I actually took this shot last weekend when I went to the cinema at the Ocean Terminal. When the guy at the counter (not in the picture) saw my camera, he told me I wasn't allowed in with it. Not even if I put it in my bag and promised not to take it out. With all of the pirate copies of dvds and avis being so easily downloadable, I couldn't imagine what was the big deal with taking a camera in with me.

Ah well, rules are rules. After some arguing they put it in their safe and thankfully I got my friend back unharmed.

Doors Open Day

@ 27mm, 1/20 sec, f/3.8, ISO 400
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A woo hoo.

So I'm back online now... and a couple of days earlier than I expected. Oh how I have missed thee!

Today it was Edinburgh's Doors Open Day where essentially buildings of architectural merit open there doors to the public. My flatmate is an architect so I tagged along with him trying to learn a thing or two. We went to quite a few buildings by Richard Murphy who is seemingly a very well respected Edinburgh architect. I didn't take that many shots, and of the ones I did take, I didn't like them much. This was probably my favourite shot though.

Back Again!

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 30 sec, f/10, ISO 200
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Hey guys. I couldn't resist sharing this one and the previous shot, so I'm doing a cheeky upload at work. I was delighted with how this one came out.

BT have told us that we'll be getting broadband on Monday, so there'll be regular updates from then.

Stay tuned!

National Galleries

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 30 sec, f/14, ISO 200
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Another night shot to share, this time of the National Gallery of Scotland. I took quite a number of shots of this scene, and couldn't decide on my favourite. So I combined two! One shot for the trails on the bottom of the image, and another for the trails of the bus.

Princess Street at Night

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 30 sec, f/22, ISO 200
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I took this shot on the way back from walking my girlfriend to Waverly Station. I didn't have a tripod with me, so I was amazed that this shot came out tack sharp from resting it on a railing.

Taken from practically the same position as this shot a couple of months ago

Night View

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 30sec, f/3.5, ISO 200
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I'm not actually sure why I converted this one to b+w since the original colour version is a lot more interesting. I'll get a similar colour version posted soon, but this one will have to do for now!

The New Pad

Nikon D70, various settings
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I'm back! Where has everyone gone?? I've still not got an internet connection at my flat yet, so I've not been able to update the site (at my girlfriend's just now). But I should be up and running sometime this week so don't go away!

So, a new flat and a new job - it's been quite a busy week or so. It's all going well though. The flat is perfect - only 5 minutes walk from my office and Princes Street so (unfortunately) I won't have an excuse for being late for work! My first week at work has been pretty easy going, but I'm sure that'll change sooner rather than later.

I'm still making use of the camera, although not quite so often. I had a quick wander around Edinburgh today (Saturday 18th) and so have a few shots to process and post eventually. I think I'm going to have to change the philosophy of the site a little though. I'm still going to post a new photo everyday, but I definitely won't be able to always post a photo taken on that day. And I'm sure there'll be a sharp increase in the number of night shots posted!

Beginning of the End?

Fuji S7000 @ 12mm, 1/60 sec, f/2.9, ISO 200
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Is this the beginning of the end? Maybe that's a little dramatic, but there's just about to me some major changes in my life, so I'm not entirely sure how this blog is going to feature in all of it.

I'm just about to pack up my computer and head over to a new flat in Edinburgh. I'm really looking forward to it actually - Edinburgh is a fantastic place. I won't have an internet connection for a few days (I think), but I'll try and get back online asap.

But Monday is going to be the day that I never thought would come. The day when I have to enter the real world and work! Unbelievable, I know. And that's where I fear the site may suffer, purely from a lack of time to keep it updated. But I'll try my very best to keep it going. The photography certainly won't stop anyway.

I thought I'd post this shot because it was probably the first picture I took that got me really excited about photography. Taken about a year and a half ago of my lovely girlfriend Jennifer.

So boys and girls. Thanks for all of your comments and encouragement over the last 8 months or so. And thank you Jem for inviting me to be your first Guest Blogger over at shutterjunkie. It's been a lot of fun maintaining this site. Let's hope I can keep it up!

Cheers,

John

Model Engineer

Nikon D70 @ 22mm, 1/100 sec, f/5, ISO 200
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This is one of those shots that my girlfriend would think "why on earth is he taking a picture of that?" :)

But I'm attracted to scenes like this - old, derelict, abandoned - for their hidden beauty. I was quite surprised at how well this turned out when converting to b+w. What do you think?

Stirling Castle

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/100 sec, f/10, ISO 200
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Yesterday we took a drive to Stirling, and ended up at the Castle. It was one of those days where it was too hot to do anything - us Scots are never happy with the weather! :)

We didn't stay very long and only really wandered about the shops. I only grabbed a few shots, and this was one of them. What an orginal shot, eh? ;)

Same Again

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/50 sec, f/22, ISO 200
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Another shot from Loch na h-Achlaise. I spent ages here waiting for the right clouds to come by but I'm glad I did.

Loch na h-Achlaise

@ 29mm, 2 sec, f/10, ISO 200
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An IR shot from yesterday at one of the most photographed locations in Scotland. Well, it is right beside the road after all. It's not my first shot of it posted here, and it certainly won't be my last :)

Blackrock Cottage

Nikon D70 @ 27mm, 1/40 sec, f/9, ISO 200
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I had planned to get up at 4 a.m. this morning to try and catch a sunrise somewhere in Glencoe. That certainly didn't happen - I was enjoying my sleep way too much. However, I still managed to get up there eventually, albeit about 10 hours later than planned.

The weather was quite bad (damn those weather forecasters always getting it wrong). But it was a good bad if you know what I mean - the kind where the clouds are dark and every now and again a little sunlight slips through.

This shot was taken at the end of my session. I got out my car, set up the tripod and within the time it took to do that I was absolutely covered in midges. Bugger this I thought, so I returned to my car only to find that I had left my window down. Bah. The good thing was that I preferred the composition from the car anyway, so I just sat waiting for some nice clouds and light, put the window down and took the shot.

Although, I didn't always remember to wind the window down :)

Dumbarton Rock

Nikon D70 @ 31mm, 2 sec, f/11, ISO 200
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Had nothing to do in the afternoon today, so I thought I'd check out a spot I'd noticed before when driving by. The tide was out on the River Clyde and I managed to walk about 20 yards onto the "beach". I must have spent about half an hour standing in the same spot trying to get the composition right, and waiting for the right clouds to appear. I haven't shot infra red in a while so got the R72 out to give it some action.

The "normal" shots look too busy, but I think it works in IR. What d'ya think? Oh, and while you're at it, do you prefer this version instead? :)