The Daily Exposure

The Daily Exposure has moved

2007-02-15T19:25:00.000Z

Previous · thedailyexposure.com

As you can see, I've moved the site to thedailyexposure.com. I'll be posting all my new material on that site, so please updated your bookmarks/feeds accordingly.

After a longer than expected break, the daily exposure is back. Please visit the new site and let me know what you think.

Thanks for all your support.

John

Arghhh

2006-08-31T23:02:00.000Z

Nikon D200 @ 80mm, 1/80 sec, f/6.3, ISO 125

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Man, what a difference a couple of weeks can make. I've had quite a lot going on recently and this coupled with the fact that I'm heading down to London for a six month stint in a week's time has meant that the blog has been relegated to the bottom of the pile.

So the first thing you'll probably notice is a couple of entries in the exif data that you've not seen before. I've only managed a couple of outings with the D200 so far but I have to admit that I've been mightily impressed with its performance. I'll be sure to report back a little more thoroughly and attempt to justify (if I can) the upgrade.

I took this shot on Monday on what was a rather impromptu, but much welcomed, visit from the lovely Jem at shutterjunkie. She finally took me up on my offer to give her a tour of the wonderful city of Edinburgh, although it turned out that I wasn't much of a tour guide (my knowledge is pretty much limited to reading the tourist info signs)! It was the last day of the festival (I think) and the weather wasn't particularly great so the streets weren't quite as busy as they normally are at the weekend. But there was still a handful of the usual entertaining street performers, so we managed to get some shots in.

Anyway, was a really good day so thank you Jem for puting up with the horrible train journey to get here. It's amazing what she'll do just to get her hands on a Nikon :)

Hung Up

2006-08-23T22:53:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 102mm, 1/200 sec, f/5, ISO 200

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Thanks for all of your comments on my last post - they're very much appreciated. Everything is/will be fine with me - it always works out in the end.

You might think that my lack of updates has been as a result of no new material. Well, I think it's actually the opposite - I've got too many files to go through and don't know where to start! I think I must have taken about 3,000 shots over the last few weekends. I also took some wedding snaps as the "back-up" photographer, so they're taking priority at the moment. I'm sure I'll post some of the shots and let you know about the experience in more detail.

As for this one, it was taken a couple of weekends ago at the Edinburgh Fringe. Not part of the festival, it's just a plain old red telephone box with an ordinary guy in it. But I was really attracted to the shot and had to react quickly to get it. I just managed to take this as he hung up. I liked how the scratches on the windows prevented me from seeing the person's face - makes it a bit more mysterious!

Oh, and here's a link to a bigger version.

Empty

2006-08-19T18:22:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 175mm, 1 sec, f/5.3, ISO 200

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Alright on the Night

2006-08-11T00:05:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 80mm, 3 secs, f/10, ISO 200

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Took this one tonight from the top of Carlton (or is it Calton?) Hill looking down Princes Street. You can see Edinburgh Castle on the left and the tower on the right is the Balmoral Hotel. Minimal PP on this one.

I was wanting to get some shots of the fireworks going off for the tattoo but a number of reasons meant that I didn't get the shots I wanted:

1. By the time the fireworks went off it was too dark and there wasn't enough light to provide sufficient shadow details;

2. My ML-L3 remote control decided not to work exactly at the point the fireworks were set off; and

3. I was using the wrong lens and only got half of the firework trails in the frame.

So all in all not very successful! But I did meet another professional photographer and had a nice chat with him. He was using a D2X and so understandably I was very jealous! I've actually been toying with the idea of getting a new (camera) body... the D200. Ironically enough it's as a result of all of the hype surrounding the D80 - I finally read a few reviews of the more recent Nikon cameras, the D200 being one of them. Looks like a very impressive camera and has exactly the specs I'm looking for. I wonder if anyone out there has upgraded to a D200 from a D70 and would like to share their views?

The Performer

2006-08-09T08:57:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ mm, sec, f/, ISO

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This guy has to be my favourite street performer, probably because he reminds me of an old fujimugs friend (I won't say who!). He plays his 80s music and moves to its beats, in what seems to be his own unique interpretation of the robot dance (the fluid, easy moving version). He can usually be found on Princes Street on a Saturday - look out for the mark on the pavement which is left from him spraypainting his feet silver!

This one was taken a few weekends ago as he ventured into the crowd to shake a little girl's hand.

The Guilty Secret

2006-08-06T23:32:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 20mm, 1/80 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

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I have to be honest, I do like this one. I think the positive response to my "Urban Deriliction" thread on dpreview.com put me in the mood to take some more of these kind of shots. And having finally bought myself a proper camera bag, the Lowepro Mini Trekker AW, I knew I could outrun any dodgy characters found down these slightly shady alleys in Glasgae. But I welcomed this fellow who provided a much needed human element to the shot.

This is another example of a shot that looks cr@p when resized for the web so here's a link to a larger version.

Would welcome your thoughts on this one - does it work for you?

All Dressed Up

2006-08-05T16:16:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 86mm, 1/800 sec, f/4.8, ISO 200

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One of the many street performers that can be found on the Royal Mile, especially now that the festival has kicked off.

empty

2006-08-03T23:04:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 100mm, 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO

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Because of the great response to my "jazz" photos, I thought I'd post one more :)

The Clap

2006-08-02T15:01:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 150mm, 1/640 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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Another shot taken from the Jazz festival on Sunday, the audience here showing their appreciation for the music.

A cross tone effect was applied in PS.

All that Jazz

2006-08-01T14:44:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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Just a nice little snap showing how busy it was at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival on Sunday. I can't say I'm a huge jazz fan, but the good weather and the great atmosphere made it a really nice day. The venue was the Ross Theatre in Princes Street Gardens.

Holy

2006-07-30T00:29:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 320mm, 1/330 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

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You know, there was something about this woman that made her stand out from the crowd, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I think it was her perfume.

As someone correctly noticed the other day, there has been some new numbers appearing on my exif data - the focal length is now capable of exceeding 70mm! When I was in Thailand I plucked up the courage to buy a Nikon 80-400mm VR lens. I was going to buy the Sigma OS equivalent over here, but when I realised I could get it for a little over £600 (as opposed to £1k) I thought it would be crazy not to.

I've had the lens for about 3 weeks now and have been using it quite a lot. It's been really interesting having a whole new type of shot available to me (previously my longest lens was the kit lens at 70mm). The lens is very big (in comparison to my other lenses) and attracts a lot of attention. So much in fact that I've started shooting without the lens hood when I can as this makes the lens look about 8 inches bigger. Although it's a lot bigger than anything I've used before, it's very easy to hold and use, and the VR works wonders.

Peaceful Protester

2006-07-28T15:17:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ mm, sec, f/, ISO 200

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I liked this man. He seemed to be the epitome of a peaceful protester. He just stood there very quietly, minding his own business and holding his little piece of paper.

Preaching to the Protesters

2006-07-25T21:39:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 400mm, 1/2000 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

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Although the photograph doesn't convey this, I thought that this was quite a funny scene. The man, an obviously passionate preacher of Christianity, was carrying two signs: one was about God being great and all that good stuff and the other seemed to be an unusual diagram of a man with accompanying text about the "Biblical Prophecy". The funny part though, I thought, was the fact that he was preaching to the Women in Black protesters who, in the middle of carrying out one of their silent vigils, completely ignored him.

One set of protesters, one preacher; both conveying their thoughts; neither listening.

Peace Protest

2006-07-24T12:27:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 38mm, 1/1600 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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I stumbled across a peace protest on Saturday next to the National Galleries in Edinburgh. As this seems a little more topical at the moment, I thought I'd take a break from posting my Thailand photos and post these instead.

Timed to Projection

2006-07-23T01:25:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 80mm, 1/1250 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200

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Words by Andy Waller.

Worshipping at Wat Phra Kaew

2006-07-22T00:02:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 22mm, 1/1250 sec, f/3.8, ISO 200

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Just like the Grand Palace in Bangkok this photo is very busy! And for that reason, I'm sure that many of you won't be taken much by this shot. It doesn't help either that the picture being displayed here is so small - the full resolution version looks far better.

I took this shot just outside Wat Phra Kaew which in turn is within the grounds of the Grand Palace. Wat Phra Kaew, the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, is Thailand's most important and sacred temple which is why I felt slightly hesistant about taking such personal photos. But hundreds of other people were so I thought I might as well join in!

Tuk-Tuk

2006-07-18T19:57:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1 sec, f/4, ISO 200

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After 24 hours of travelling and a day of rest, I'm back in blogging action and ready to share my experiences of Thailand. It was by far the most amazing place I've ever been to, probably because it was so completely different to anywhere I've visited before. I feel as if I've got so much to say about the trip, but I'll try and contain my excitement and just explain it shot by shot.

So...

I'll start by saying I love this shot. I love it because it totally reminds me of my first crazy tuk-tuk experience. It was our first night in Bangkok and we had just visited Khao San Road which our Thai tour guide told us was the first place every backpacker had to visit. We were in Thailand during the rainy season and when it rains there, it really rains - so we thought a tuk-tuk would get us back to the hotel as quickly as possible.

It probably wasn't the best idea in the world: a Bangkok tuk-tuk is a light weight vehicle resting on three wheels with an open frame and a canvas roof which doesn't provide the passengers with much protection from the elements. They're very popular in traffic congested cities like Bangkok as they can maneuver in and out of traffic with alarming speed.

And at an alarming speed did we go at that night in the pouring rain! You get the sensation that your on a theme park ride but without the certainty that you'll be alive at the end of the journey. It's probably partly because once you've negotiated your fee with the driver it's in his best interests to get you there as quickly as possible so that he can pick up his next victim.

I don't want to give the impression that I don't like tuk-tuks. Are they dangerous? Yeah, a little. But are they fun? Definitely! Sticking my head out of the side of the tuk-tuk that while snapping away meant that I inevitably got soaked but what an experience it was. I got the picture I was after so I didn't mind that I was drenched by the end of the ride.

I was actually quite surprise that the shot came out so well as I can't emphasise enough how much I was being bumped about at this point (and which you can clearly see from the light trails!). But a little fill flash freezing parts of the foreground enable a little calm to be brought to the chaos.

Tuk-tuks - you gotta love 'em!

AWOL

2006-06-30T01:08:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ HDR image, ISO 200

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Right, I've had enough - I'm out of here!

After a nightmare few weeks (or is that few months?), I'm delighted to be going to Thailand for a much needed break. I've not had a chance to prepare for it though and the prospect now of an hours sleep before I need to get to the airport isn't filling me with much enthusiasm. Good job it's a long flight for me to catch up on some sleep!

But as I said, haven't had a chance to look into it properly so I'm not entirely sure where I'm even going! It is an organised tour though, so hopefully I'll be ok. And hopefully I'll come back with a few decent shots to share.

As for this shot - it was taken a month or so ago on Buchanan Street in Glasgow. And yes, it's an HDR. Quite an interesting effect, I thought. I was hoping that this image was going to be used for an album cover of a well known Scottish band, but in the end it wasn't to be. Maybe next time...

See you all in 2 weeks time!

Rogue One

2006-06-27T23:31:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 62mm, 1/250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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All I seem to do when I post here these days is complain about the lack of free time I have and apologise for slow updates. So why stop now? At the moment I feel as if I'm being punished for something but don't quite know why or what for. Hopefully I'll be forgiven soon and I'll be granted my freedom again. Or maybe I'll just stop moaning about it!

Took this shot at the weekend while in the west end of Glasgow. A typical urban/graffiti scene which I seem to be instantly attracted to these days.

Uknown

2006-06-23T20:02:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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Not really sure what to say about this one!

Ramsay Gardens

2006-06-20T22:34:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/200 sec, f/8, ISO

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I think I'm going to have to make more of an effort to find some free time to get shooting again... it's been too long. Having said that, I don't have much control over how much free time I have!

Was at Turnbury for the weekend with my firm. All expenses paid and all that good stuff. No time for photography unfortunately, which was a shame becauase there's some great shots to be had down there.

I did manage to get a game of golf on the Ailsa course though which was recently voted the best course in the UK. And deservedly so - it really is a fantastic course. Having not played golf in over a year (and having only had 2 and a half hours sleep) I was quite pleased to find myself 3 over after 17. The less said about the 18th the better though!

I guess I should say something about the shot. I'm pretty sure this is Ramsay Gardens. Taken from Princes Street as the sun was going one evening a couple of weeks ago. So so.

understated

2006-06-14T22:17:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 46mm, 1/4 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

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It's been a poor show on my frequency of updates recently, and so I apologise. Finding time to squeeze in an update seems to be getting more difficult every day.

This is a shot taken from my archives. I took it about 4 months ago on a foggy night on Rose Street. When I first saw the shot on my computer I thought it was OK, but not worth processing. I saw it again last night and thought it might work quite well in B+W, so I gave it a chance.

what time is it?

2006-06-11T00:44:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 62mm, 1/640 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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It's one o'clock.

My brother and his girlfriend were over in the Burgh for a couple of nights so it was the perfect excuse to visit some of the touristy sights we have been meaning to see since I moved here. First stop... Edinburgh castle.

We got there just in time for the firing of the "One O'clock Gun". The One O'Clock Gun is fired every day (except Sunday) at precisely 13:00, and is said to be so accurate that many Edinburgers stop and set their watches by it.

We spoke to the guy in the picture afterwards who explained that the origin of the tradition lies in the days when sailing ships in the Firth of Forth were able to check and reset their chronometers in the time when acurate timepieces weren't available.

In 1861, Captain Wauchope, a Scottish Naval Officer in the Royal Navy invented the time ball which can still be seen today on top of Nelson's Monument, Calton Hill. At one o'clock the ball drops giving the signal to sailors, but this meant that someone would have to be looking out for it and it often couldn't be seen in foggy weather. So, the gun was fired simultaneously to the time ball dropping and this meant that the gun could easily be heard by ships in Leith Harbour (2 miles away).

Deadly Still

2006-06-06T22:11:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, various shutter speeds, f/5.6, ISO 200

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I wanted to see how many comments I could squeeze out of you on my previous post... I think 12 is about my limit! I've been looking at my stat counter recently and have noticed that the number of hits this site gets is about 75% less than what it was at the start of the year... where's everyone going?!?

Anyway, in an attempt to reverse the trend I offer you another HDR. Taken at about midnight on the same night as this one.

Being fairly late you can imagine that there weren't many people about the uni at this time. There was a very strange little security guard though, who watched me for about 15 minutes from afar. I figured he had seen me, knew that I was harmless enough and was just interested in what I was doing. The next time I looked around though he was standing about 100 yards away - deadly still and looking straight at me. He wasn't going anywhere fast so I just continued snapping away. A few shots later and I turned around again - he was about 50 yards away now. Next thing I knew he was only 25 yards away.

At this point I was starting to get slightly concerned. I felt as if I was in one of those cheap horror movies - every time I turned around he was slightly closer, but I never saw him move! Rather anti-climactic I know, but I eventually walked up to him to make sure everything was alright. I asked if it was ok that I was taking pictures of the uni, to which he responded "well, it's a bit late now". If it wasn't ok then why didn't he bloody well tell me when he first saw me, instead of stalking me like some weird pyscho.

Anyway, he let me take my shots and didn't kill me, so it's all good.

I should perhaps also say that this is the back of the Stair Building at Glasgow uni where I studied law for 4 years - man am I missing those student holidays now!!!

Fantastical Forest

2006-06-01T23:22:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, various shutter speeds, f/8, ISO 200

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I entered this shot into the recent fujimugs.com challenge for distortion and (un)fortunately it came 2nd. You can check out the original entry here.

I was really pleased with how this one turned out. It was taken a couple of weekends ago at Chatelherault Country Park. There's a small opening during the forrest walk where there's a nice collection of 3 or 4 really old and interesting oak trees - I was really desperate to get a good shot of them. I was probably trying too hard and as a result I simply wasn't seeing any shots. Just as we were walking away I voiced how disgusted I was at being such a crap photographer. At this point my girlfriend yanked my camera off me, turned around, took a quick snap and said "right, there's your shot". Jesus, she was right. How annoying! :)

So, having been gifted with the composition, I proceeded to set up my tripod and create this HDR. I think I ended up combining 8 different exposures and was delighted with the results - it just shows you how well photomatix can cope with scenes of extreme dynamic range.

I felt the image had a slightly surreal and fantastical feel to it and that the hue adjustment complimented it well.

Oh, almost forgot... this is another shot where the smaller version doesn't really do it much justice... check out the larger version.

walk in the park

2006-05-30T23:52:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/40 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

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Thanks for all your words of encouragement on the previous post - they're all very much appreciated. And I do mean that.

I took this shot tonight as I was wandering through Princes Gardens. I could hear some live music playing and so was attracted to the old band stand where a group of people were dancing to some ceilidh music. The sun was on its way down at this point and so helped create a very pleasant backdrop for the scene.

I also got a chance to try out my new tripod - a little Verbon Ultra Maxi F. I have to say that it's pretty cool. Very compact, light and perfect for those occasions when you can't be bothered hauling a heavy tripod around. It also has a twist mechanism to extend the legs which is a very clever idea and easy to use. Although it's incredibly compact, its maximum height is a respectable 155cm. It certainly isn't the most stable tripod when fully extended but you can't really expect that given its specs. It does make me fully appreciate my uni-loc 2300 major system and manfrotto 332 RC2 head combo, but boy is that thing heavy!

IReturn

2006-05-29T01:49:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1 sec, f/9, ISO 200

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Apologies for the lack of updates of late. It's been a combination of a number of factors. Primarily laziness I suppose and a recently continuing thought that perhaps this blog has run its course. I've also been busy with a couple of other photography projects - one of which would be pretty exciting if it succeeded... I'll let you know if it works out...

So, this is one from the archives. Not because I didn't like it first time, but because I couldn't find it on my hard disks! I had tried taking a picture of this before, but with the area always being in shadow the exposure was always too difficult (and I didn't know about hdr at the time!). So infra red it was. The weather was very interchangeable on this day and I had just finished sheltering by the river after getting seriously p***ed on.

I'm quite happy with this shot - I like the dark and ominous feel to it. Also enjoyed playing about with the colours (instead of going for the normal IR colour approach).

Your opinions are always welcome...

Andybro

2006-05-24T23:25:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 50mm, 1/60 sec, f/1.8, ISO 200

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Guitarist... poet... brother.

Glasgow Uni

2006-05-22T22:51:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, various shutter speeds, f/8, ISO 200

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I went back home to Glasgae on Friday night and as I was just about to go over the Kingston bridge I thought I'd get a couple of night shots of the uni. The main shot I had in mind was one of the cloisters at night but with the lights on. Unfortunatey, by the time I got there it was after midnight and all of the lights were off. So no cloister shots for me... this time.

Instead I got a couple of other shots, including this one which was taken in one of the entrances to the main building. It's an HDR image consisting of 7 images with different exposures. Here's a bigger version" to get the full effect of the image.

Wet Paint

2006-05-20T11:13:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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Sorry about the lack of updates recently, but it's been a combination of being really busy at work and upgrading my other website. I'll let you know when it's finished and you can let me know what you think.

I actually really like this shot. It has a slightly unreal feel to, I think. Taken a few weeks ago on the same day as the May Day march.

Eat, Sleep, Work.

2006-05-17T15:11:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 50mm, 1/100 sec, f/1.8, ISO200

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Eat, sleep, work.

That's all I've been doing recently. Although there's definitely a heavier emphasis on the work - the eating has been consisting of a lot of takeaways and the sleeping has been cut down to the bare minimum.

So I thought this self portrait fairly acurately represented my general mood at the moment.

A good sleep tonight (work permitting of course) and I'll be back to my happy self again!

Old News

2006-05-13T21:35:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/80 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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I wonder if the paper boy was having a bad day? Taken last weekend on one of the alleys off Buchanan Street in Glasgow.

Pretty in Pink

2006-05-10T22:58:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/15 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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I managed to escape from work at 8 o'clock tonight. Not the best, but it was a glorious night so it felt like it was still the afternoon. I dashed home and straight back out again with my gear. I planned on getting a nice shot of the castle with the moon in the background, but it didn't quite work out.

Instead I saw the opportunity of getting a shot of some of the lovely trees mid-bloom on Princes Street, and the bike here seemed to finish it off. I did take a load of shots with people walking past, but they were more distracting than not. I think keeping this shot simple works best.

It's not quite as dark, contrasty and depressing as I'd like... but it is pretty, isn't it? :)

P.S. I thought I'd treat you to a bigger version of the picture... the resizing wasn't very favourable to the image.

bring the troops home

2006-05-09T22:53:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/3200 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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Another one from the march a couple of weekends ago. This woman had a very solemn look on her face throughout the whole march and I couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she had a son or daughter that she wanted back home...

The man on the other hand... well, he just looked like Gazza :)

no barking

2006-05-08T23:45:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 40mm, 1/100 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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I'm trying hard to like this one, but thought I'd post it anyway to hear your thoughts.

full bloom

2006-05-07T18:34:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/2000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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It's been a while since I've been able to get that kind of shutter speed! I took this shot last weekend when the sun was out and the weather was glorious. Given that the weather was back to being crap again today, I thought that this one might cheer me up.

Summer is coming, and I can't wait...

New Life

2006-05-05T21:59:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 38mm, 1/80 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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Taken one night last week when I managed to escape from work at a reasonable hour.

room 101

2006-05-03T23:00:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 50mm, 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200

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Room 101... where all of your worst nightmares come true...

Fight poverty not war

2006-05-02T23:00:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/2000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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I like this one.

The colours in this shot are quite clearly photoshopped, but I felt that the bright bold colours of the original didn't really fit the overall mood and feel of the shot.

For me this shot - and more importantly, the people in the shot - convey what this day meant for the different people there. On the one hand you've got the young girl smiling happily, enjoying herself and the glorious weather. Then you've got a few people who look plain bored - the march is almost over and it's probably just as well for them. And then you've got the man in the foreground on the left hand side, holding his hand written placard, standing alone. He looks as if he really cares: he's there for a reason.

People not Profit

2006-05-01T23:52:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/1000 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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Only a few minutes left of my holiday and then back to work... can't wait...

It's been a glorious couple of days over in the Burgh so I managed to get out and about to take a few shots. On Saturday morning I went out for a wander around the city centre, amazed at seeing what the place looks like in the sunshine. I knew that the May day march was on but didn't know when or where it was to take place. So I was delighted when I bumped into them just off the mound.

I followed the march along Princes Street, up the Mound and onto the Meadows where it came to an end. There wasn't a huge turnout, but enough people to warrant quite a few press photographers. I think I was as interested in watching them and how they were operating as I was the rally itself. But it was a good experience and I came away with quite a few shots. Nothing too inspirational, but I felt as if I was limited by my kit lens (18-70mm) being my longest lens. It certainly gave me itchy feet for the sigma 80-400mm OS, that's for sure.

As for the shot itself, I'm quite pleased with it. I particularly like how the various boards have covered the faces of all the protesters, except for the man holding the newspaper (the headline reading "People not Profit") and the police officer. The various messages can clearly be seen on the placards, so I don't think much more needs to be said about the image.

out of the darkness

2006-04-29T09:12:00.000Z

ikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/125 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200

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So I managed to get out of work fairly early last night and took a walk up to the Royal Mile to see what was going on. I wasn't out for that long, but came away with quite a few shots that I was pleased with. The urban scenes were still shouting out to be photographed, so there'll be a few more of them to come over the next couple of days.

This particular shot was taken in one of the entrances to Lady Stair's Close. The graffiti on the wall initially drew me to the scene, but the girl walking by with her reflection on the wall on the otherside seemed to finish it off. Now, as for the colours on this one: on my new monitor they look spot on - just the right saturation for my liking. On my older monitor though, they look slightly washed out which is concerning me. Let me know how they work for you! :)

It's a nice day outside so I'm off to get some more snaps... have a great holiday weekend everyone!!! :)

ten by sixteen

2006-04-28T13:14:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 17mm, 1/40sec, f/5.3, ISO 200

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A return to the urban style I have been preferring recently. I took this one last week on what now seems to be a rare wander after work. I liked the way the different textures came out on this one.

We have an early finish at work this afternoon (which is slightly depressing in itself given that an early finish is 5pm) so I might give the camera a little work out if the weather stays this nice. I have Monday off as well, so I can't complain!

Have a break

2006-04-26T22:57:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1/30 sec, f/4, ISO 200

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It's the return of the super cool granny!

My gran doesn't mind me using her as my muse, so it's always a good chance to take some silly shots - this time it was her enjoying a cup of tea and a kit kat! I shot this one at 10mm, so her hand was practically touching the lens. I think these are the best kind of portraits - ones where you're capturing the person in their natural state, free from contrivance. The way we will remember them.

pure scottish hobo

2006-04-25T21:22:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 38mm, 1/25 sec, f/4.2, ISO

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Ok, so it's not the most exciting picture in the world, but I've not got a huge choice of shots to chose from at the moment. I'm long overdue a good workout with my camera.

The sign base usually just reads "900kg" but someone has stencilled in the rest: "of pure Scottish hobo"

"Fantasy" Favourite

2006-04-23T23:04:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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I'm sure that this one won't appeal to many, but there's something a little unusual about it that manages to hold my interest. There was also some light snow falling at the time which accounts for the white specks here and there.

I also entered into Moody Monday for the first time and was luckily enough to have one of my shots chosen as a "Fantasy" Favourite - sounds quite kinky, but I like it!

blurred visions

2006-04-20T22:39:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1/3 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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I was just playing about when I took this one and thought it was perhaps worth sharing - if only because my hair looks so mental in it! I manually zoomed in when taking the shot to get the blurred effect and added a little grain in PP.

It's almost the weekend boys and girls - delighted!

Stormy

2006-04-19T23:54:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 60mm, 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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A couple of (relatively) early finishes at work has meant that I've been able to go for a wander with my camera while there was still some light. But I've been finding myself extremely lacking in inspiration recently and I can't seem to shake it.

I don't think I've quite recovered from Monday's traumatic experience... Adam has been up for a while, so we thought it would be good to go on a little photo expedition on Monday. Up at 4.30 to be at Loch Awe (to get some shots of Kilchurn castle) for a glorious sunrise. Obviously with it being Scotland you never expect the weather to be good but it's still a kick in the baws when the weather turns on you at the last minute. I didn't come away with any shots and it all seemed a bit pointless. Ah well, better luck next time.

So on to this shot. If you haven't already guessed it, the silhouette is of Edinburgh castle. There wasn't really much of a sunset, but the cloud formations were very interesting, with a couple of darker clouds standing out in front of a bright background. I ended up heavily underexposing the shot to emphasise the contrast and colours.

Just realised that this is my 300th post - how time flies!

Ted's Mum Says: Clean up!

2006-04-17T21:48:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 20mm, 1/25 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

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Man, what a difference two days of holiday can make. So much of a difference that it's almost worrying! Almost, but not quite... having Friday and Monday off gave me a much needed break and I almost feel as if I can face work tomorrow :)

I know I promised a lot of pics would be taken but unfortunately it wasn't to be. Not through lack of trying though as today's efforts went totally unrewarded - I'll probably explain tomorrow.

So on to the current shot. I took this one last weekend when out with my brother in Glasgow - it was taken from the rear entrance to the Ted Baker shop in Princes Square. When I saw the wall I was instantly drawn to it and had to get a shot. The writing on the wall alone was reasonably interesting, but it needed a little more. So in stepped my bro, who was looking particularly sharp... and who is always more than willing to get his picture taken ;)

Really pleased with this one... so much so that it's probably one of my favourite portraits.

On a completely different note (and thanks to Jem) I finally got my monitor through - a sexy little 19 incher. The quality is astonishing and puts my old one to shame - everything looks so much sharper and cleaner. So I've now got both my TFTs hooked up to the one computer and I'm feeling rather geeky!

Easily pleased :)

still night

2006-04-12T22:50:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 20 secs, f/4.8, ISO 200

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Looking back on this shot, it amazes me that this was a 20 second exposure - it must have been a very still night! I took this one down at St. Cuthberts, where most of my other graveyard shots have been taken. I was quite limited to the composition here as I had to wedge my camera in between the railings above me. Still, there's something about this one that appeals to me.

I've been crazy busy recently so am delighted that I've got Friday and Monday off... a woo hoo!!! Will definitely be getting some photography in and hopefully that will inspire me to get back to my daily updates.

Got a sweet shot of my bro coming up soon, so hang tight :)

Moonlight

2006-04-10T12:17:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 56mm, 1.6 secs, f/4.5, ISO 200

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I feel that I should apologise for my lack of response to comments and my irregular updates... but I'm going to make an effort to try and get things back on track!

As for this one... taken at Edinburgh castle when the moon was occassionally being revealed by the passing clouds. One exposure.

Last one

2006-04-07T18:31:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 24mm, 1/60 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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Right, I think you're getting bored of the recent style of shots, so I promise that this will be the last one (for a while). Yesterday's shot was one of my favourites of late, so this was doesn't do it quite as much for me.

I haven't been very talkative recently but I'm hoping that get back to my normal self soon!

Have a good weekend everyone :)

evolution

2006-04-05T22:46:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 44mm, 1/200 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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If there's any sign of graffiti then I'll be there. This one was taken a few weekends ago, but I thought it was in keeping with my current theme of urban dereliction. I was intrigued by the composition and what felt like quite a natural progression from left to right and top to bottom. I think the heavy contrast and dirty tone works well with this kind of image...

I really must get shooting again... my shutter hasn't been getting much action of late. Gotta work on those motivation levels...

letterbox

2006-04-04T23:08:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 20mm, 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

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Man, where does the time go? I seem to be losing it all the time these days!

I'm going through a street phase at the moment - anything that's dirty, grungy or run down gets my attention. Not so sure there'll be many takers on this one though...

Looking down

2006-04-02T23:06:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO 200

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One of the few shots I took this weekend. I wanted to experiment with a slightly unusual composition/angle for this one. Does it work? I think so, but only just...

mural designing syndrome

2006-04-01T23:20:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 20mm, 1/30 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

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Finally managed to find some time to squeeze in a quick update. I was walking past this scene when the "Mural Designing Syndrome" graffiti caught my eye.

Deacon Broadie's Tavern

2006-03-29T12:41:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 60mm, 1.3 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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I was taking shots of the tavern on the Royal Mile when this group of guys came by. They weren't going anywhere fast so I thought I might as well make them part of the scene...

No Parking

2006-03-27T23:00:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 20mm, 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200

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Finally managed to find a few moments to myself. Recently, I've been feeling that updating this blog has been a bit of a chore, but now that things are back on track it's good to be back! :)

So I was back home to see the parentals this weekend and stopped by Glasgow on the Saturday. It was just a quick wander around the shops, but I couldn't help but stop and photograph this scene which was up a little alley. I've been finding myself enjoying this kind of photography more and more recently, but appreciate that it's not the most popular genre.

Your comments on this one are very much appreciated.

Taxi!

2006-03-26T13:38:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 56mm, 1/10 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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Taken on a foggy night on Princes Street.

Playfair House

2006-03-23T12:13:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 55mm, 1/400 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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I'll be surprised if anyone likes this photo... :)

Taken from Royal Terrace.

I'll get back to everyone's emails and comments ASAP... promise!!!

Playfair Steps

2006-03-22T07:49:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 25 secs, f/14, ISO 200

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Another one taken from the archives...

Just waiting for some free time now to get out shooting again.... it's been too long!

Belford Park

2006-03-20T23:05:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 4 secs, f/4, ISO 200

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I've been quite bad with my updates recently... hopefully normal service should resume shortly. Been a particularly busy time for me recently but I think things should settle down a bit now.

Partly to blame is Jem @ shutterjunkie ... she forced me to buy a new computer, so I've been playing about with that. Thanks Jem :)

Hopefully this will save me quite a lot of time PPing my shots as I was getting to the point where I was spending most of my time waiting for PS to do things, as opposed to actually editing them.

I haven't taken any shots with my camera in over a week now. Shocking. So I've been relying on some of my archive shots. I took this one a couple of months ago just after I got my sigma 10-20. For some reason I really like this shot, even although it's one of these shots of nothing. It's a good example of balancing the ambient light with artificial light... no HDR required for this one.

on thin ice

2006-03-18T12:57:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 56mm, 1/10 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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Another busy few days and another slow update...

Again, this is one taken from my Christmas archives. A temporary ice rink was set up in Princes gardens along with some other attractions. I didn't have a tripod with me for this one so shot off quite a few frames in the hope that one would come out sharp. And amazingly enough, this one did.

I actually took shots of this scene over the course of a few nights and it was usually a lot busier than this. But I like this one because you can see the reflections of the slide on the rink. I also like the positioning of the girl with arms outstretched just below the centre of the saltire.

Choice 2

2006-03-15T23:08:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1.3 secs, f/3.5, ISO 200

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Back to a plain old normal single exposure shot now...

I actually took this shot a good few months ago just after they put the Christmas decorations up. Which really scares me - was Christmas really 3 months ago?? Where has the time gone?!?

I was raking through my archives and thought that this one deserved a second chance.

Lady Stair's Close

2006-03-13T23:08:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1/3 to 20 secs, f/4, ISO 200

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Edinburgh is full of narrow streets and closes and this is quite possibly my favourite. A number of entrances from the Royal Mile leads onto this square which is surrounded by some fantastic buildings. The lonley light in the middle just completes the scene. Because the area is so quiet and deserted there is a very eerie and unsettling atmosphere. Just the way I like it!

I walk past this scene regularly on my night time travels, and have always been prevented from getting a good shot because of the severe dynamic range. So it was the perfect conditions for another HDR!

While I did create an HDR image from a combination of 6 images, I actually relied heavily on one frame in particular. I've actually been doing this for all of my HDR to some extent. Essentially, I decide on a single frame which looks the best overall - one which has good tones and which, but for the clipped highlights/shadows, would be a nice image. I then paste a copy of the HDR image over that layer. If the highlights are blown then I'll set the HDR layer's blending mode to darken. And if the shadows are lost then I'll set the blending mode to lighten.

And violla! Look at all the detail you've recovered.

You can then adjust the opacity of the HDR layer to your taste in order to avoid the unnatural effect that HDR images often result in (I'm not saying that this is necessarily a bad thing).

Anyway, I'm extremely pleased with the result of this shot. It's probably one of my favourites from recent times. And you gotta love the Sigma 10-20mm :)

I've also linked to a larger version of this shot as I don't think the smaller picture does the scene justice.

Sign Me Up!

2006-03-12T02:37:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/200 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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I have to admit that whenever I see a homeless person, I feel the need to photograph them. But I never do. I think it probably all stems from my mother always telling me not to look at them. Well, if you're going to say that then I'll just want to look even more!

And as much as I feel the need to photograph them, it seems that they feel the need to talk to me. The last guy that cornered me (not the one in the picture) told me that he makes £600 a week from begging. That's not a bad little earner. The hours and location are pretty flexible and you're your own boss. I don't think you need any qualifications either, and the training's relatively straightforward. Quite a nice little job actually. The tax man doesn't bother you either, which is nice. No company car though. Bummer.

He then proceeded to tell me that he was going to America to see Coldplay perform. At this point I was wondering where I could get my Mcdonalds cup and cardboard sign. Although, he did tell me that he was having to go into America through Canada... as he'd been banned from the country as a result of drug dealing. Damn nuisance.

That was the weegie. The one in Edinburgh (again, not the one in the picture) told me that he makes £100 for a two hour stint on a Saturday night. Now that's what I'm talking about... sign me up for some of that action!

Castle and Gardens

2006-03-11T00:57:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 11mm, 1/3 to 25 secs, f/4.2, ISO 200

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Thanks for all your comments on yesterday's shot, glad you all seemed to like it.

I should perhaps explain a little more about HDR (High Dynamic Range) images for anyone who hasn't heard of them. It's quite simple really: you take a scene with a really high dynamic range - one that the camera can't cope with - and compensate by taking a variety of images with different exposures. Make sure that you expose for the highlights and the shadows, and get a few exposures in between (I don't know enough about this yet to know the optimum settings to use). You then use a program that'll combine these images and make some tone mapping adjustments. I've been using photomatix (as opposed to what I called it yesterday: photomatrix!) but I know that you can do this in PSCS2 as well.

You can check out the flickr HDR pool for a lot of shots with this effect. Most of them are overdone and completely unnatural looking, but there are the occasional phenomenal shots that make a visit definitely worthwhile.

This one is of Edinburgh casle (if you didn't already know!), taken from Princes Street. The lights on the castle are incredibly powerful, and so a normal exposure for this kind of scene is near impossible. The HDR technique allowed me to combine 7 images, with shutter speeds ranging 1/3 sec to 25 secs (in one stop increments).

The Door

2006-03-09T13:27:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 22mm, 1/15 to 2.5 secs, f/4, ISO 200

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Jeez, it's been quiet here recently...

Tried to update last night, but blogger was down... again.

HDR images seem to be all the rage at the moment, so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. I've not actually seen any hdr night images yet so I thought I'd start there. Plus, it's easy to find high contrast scenes at night.

So I took this one a couple of nights ago as an experiment more than anything. I got a few funny looks when I was taking it, as if to ask "what on earth are you taking a photograph of?". Well, it's a door... of course.

I combined 5 images using Photomatrix with exposures of shutter speeds varying from 1/15 sec to 2.5 seconds. I'd definitely recommend this program - it's incredibly easy to use and gives you some crazy results. Initially I wasn't very impressed with hdr images I'd seen, but recently londonrubbish and chromasia changed my mind.

I'm sure you'll be seeing quite a few more of these types of images from me over the next couple of months.

Skyline

2006-03-08T00:01:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 62mm, 1/2500 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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Taken from Carlton Hill in Edinburgh, you can see (from left to right) the silhouette of the castle, the Balmoral Hotel and the Walter Scott Monument.

Take me out here

2006-03-06T14:04:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/320 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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You'd think that with me having a long weekend that I'd be able to keep this blog updated daily, but it seems that I'm still as busy.

I took this one on Saturday while having a wander around town. I'm still not sure why the boy has his school uniform on given that it's not a weekday. I saw the sign at the side of the bus stop and the attraction was obvious. I really liked the look of concentration on the guy's face and so snapped off a few frames. Was pretty pleased with the results.

Anyway, the sun's is out so I must dash and make the most of it!

Let it snow

2006-03-04T23:30:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 19mm, 1/320 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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Blogger appeared to be down when I tried updating yesterday, so apologies for the delay.

We got some snow on Friday but unforunately I wasn't able to get out and take shots. So instead I had to wait until today. The weather wasn't the best but I still managed to get a few shots.

Conehead

2006-03-02T14:32:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 50mm, 5 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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I took this shot quite a few weeks ago now, on the same night as my other fog pictures. I was surprised at how many decent shots I came back with from that night – was quite a fog fest…

The statue, located on the Royal Mile, is of David Hume and has been decorated the "weegie way". St. Giles church provided for an interesting background, as the spotlights highlighted the foggy conditions. The fog actually helped to control the exposure tremendously in this case, as the harsh lighting from the spotlights usually makes the dynamic range of the scene too great for the camera to control.

When I started taking this picture I notice a little old man stop about 15 feet to my side. I gave him a quick smile and got on with making my shot. Five minutes later (yes, I'm slow) and he was still standing there. I thought it was nice that he was taking such an interest in my work and so glanced up to see what was looking at. It turned out that the poor old guy just wanted to walk past and was worried about ruining my shot! What a shame!

Edit: I've just realised that this must be the first portrait (orientation) shot I've posted in months! Hmm… I wonder how I can fix the alignment problems with the date and exif data…

No More War

2006-02-28T22:52:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1/100 sec, f/4, ISO 200

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If only...

Buachaille Etive Mor

2006-02-27T23:39:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1/6 sec, f/22, ISO 200

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I see that yesterday's post didn't go down so well, so I offer you a landscape from Glencoe.

The lighting was quite tricky on this one, but a 3 stop grad ND seemed to do the trick. This was actually one of the first scenes that came to mind when I bought by sigma 10-20 and again, I'm very pleased with its performance.

Haven't managed to shoot in a few days and am certainly feeling the itch. Must... get... out...!

[Extra]ordinary

2006-02-25T22:26:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 14mm, 1/10 sec, f/4, ISO 200

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"It takes a lot of imagination to be a good photographer. You need less imagination to be a painter because you can invent things. But in photography everything is so ordinary; it takes a lot of looking before you learn to see the extraordinary." (David Bailey)

But then again, what is extraordinary is surely subjective: who decides when you've learned to 'see'?

I came across this quote the other day and thought it was interesting enough to share. I've always said that one of the main reasons I enjoy photography so much is the challenge of finding the extra in the ordinary. Whether or not I succeed... well, that's up to you to decide!

Andybro: I'm sure you'll have something to contribute to this matter? ;)

Loch na h-Achlaise

2006-02-23T23:25:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 20mm, 1/20 sec, f/16, ISO 200

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If yesterday's post was of the 'experimental' shot, then this is the plain old 'normal' one. I have to admit that this scene looked absolutely stunning through the view finder, but I couldn't seem to capture it exactly how it appeared. But it is my humble attempt nonetheless...

Will catch up with my comments soon... promise!

The Loch

2006-02-22T11:59:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 38mm, 2 secs, f/14, ISO 200

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Loch na h-Achlaise has just about been photographed to death, but you just can't help yourself going back for more. I tried a different approach with this one and so, if anything, at least it's a bit different.

Was hoping for a quiet day at work to break me in, but unfortunately it wasn't to be! Hence the short and quick update.

Shot in IR and darkened in PS.

Black Rock

2006-02-21T19:25:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 12mm, 1/15 sec, f/16, ISO 200

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Well that's me back from my little weekend away, and I'll be back to work tomorrow. Ah well, it was good while it lasted!

I know I said I was going to Fort William but after a few problems with the accomodation we ended up in Inverness. To cut a long story short - we turned up at the first hotel only to find that it was an absolute shite heap. We tried to cancel our booking but were told that we had to do it through expedia since we had booked through them. They were going to charge us about £100 to cancel and after some arguing we managed to get them to transfer us to a slightly more expensive hotel. The only place they could offer was one in Inverness - about 90 minutes away. We weren't that bothered about the location - we just wanted a nice break somewhere - so off we went. On arrival we were told that expedia hadn't checked availability with the hotel (which seemingly isn't uncommon) and so we could only spend one night there. They then transferred us to a different hotel on the second night where we also stayed for the last night, but in a different room. So 3 nights and 3 different rooms!

It wasn't a disaster by any means though as we quickly discovered that there's not much at all to do in Fort William. Plus, the two hotels we did stay in were very nice, and we ended up in a better room each night.

So, hotel fiasco over, we had a very nice break. The scenery between Fort William and Inverness, as you drive along Loch Ness, is really stunning. That said, I found it incredibly difficult to photograph as the sun was not co-operating with me at all. It was incredibly frustrating being surrounded by spectacular scenery and not being able to capture it. I suppose it was nice just to see it.

The only time I did manage to get a few half decent shots was on the way up, when we passed through Glencoe. I stopped off at a few of my (and everyone elses'!) favourite spots, trying out my new Sigma on the scapes.

This one is the oft photographed Black Rock cottage and I know that it's appeared at least twice on this site already. I tried a different angle for this one and am quite pleased with the results.

Going away

2006-02-17T08:41:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 20mm, 10 secs, f/8, ISO 200

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Just a super quick update as I'm just about to go away for a long weekend up to Fort William. Hopefully I'll come back with a few nice shots to share.

Next update should be Monday night...

St. Mary's

2006-02-15T21:32:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 15 secs, f/4, ISO 200

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I haven't managed to get to a computer for the last couple of days so apologies for the slow update. It would be nice if blogger had some of that software that lets you set up a post and have it automatically published for you at a certain date/time. Anyone out there care to come up with something? :)

Onto the shot... this is the 'obvious' shot of St. Mary's cathedral, with the last post being the 'expermintal' one. Again, taken in the early hours of the morning, with the cathedral being illuminated by the nearby street lights. The full moon was concealed behind the spire to give it a halo effect and you can just see the stars in this smaller version. I was amazed at how bright the moon was actually - just look at its reflection on the slated roof to the left of the spire.

I say that this is the obvious shot with no meaning of contempt - I actually quite like it. The 10mm was essential in this shot to avoid having to include street lights and cars. I usually try to keep my verticals vertical, but in this case I think the convergence of them adds to the imposing and dominating presence of the building. A simple shot, but is it effective?

Obsessed

2006-02-13T04:05:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 341 secs, f/16, ISO 200

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For the last 18 months or so, it's been been abundantly clear that I am 100% completely and utterly obsessed with photography. I'm not sure if I can even explain why. It's like an addiction, with each click of the shutter being a hit. And it doesn't matter how big or how good your last hit was, you're left wanting and needing more. I think I should stop and smell the roses every now and again - take a moment to ackowledge the pictures I've already taken instead of searching for the next one.

But then where's the fun in that?

So, I was driving home in my car and decided to try out a slightly different route to see if it was quicker. After a couple of wrong turns I ended up at St. Mary's cathedral. I remembered my dad mentioning that this was a fairly spectacular place so I thought I'd get out and have a look. It looked promising, so out came the camera and the tripod.

It was a good job that I had my 10-20mm with me as there wasn't much room to get the tall building in. In fact, most of my shots were taken from the road where I combined my photography with taxi dodging. An interesting experience to say the least, and no doubt I gave a few of the drivers a laugh. I had my shots - nothing too spectacular, but worthy of some time spent in PP - and started to head back to the car.

I turned round to look at the cathedral again and thought that I had to get a shot of it from a distance. But, as is often the case in the city, there were just too many distractions in the way, mainly streetlights. I wondered if I'd be able to get the railings in the foreground and that started off my yoga session. It was just as well that I had my uni-loc tripod with me as I had to somehow squeeze my camera in between two of these green electricity boxes you see dotted about the streets. In fact I'm still not sure how I managed to keep them out of the frame.

After about 10 attemps of getting the composition right, I finally settled on this one. It was a challenge as there were so many elements I was trying to fit in and balance - the cathedral, the trees, the railings and the full moon. Trying to get all of these in a composition that worked was incredibly difficult (for me). I'm not sure if the composition will be to everyones' taste, but overall I'm definitely happy with it.

I usually shoot my night shots wide open, but wanted to make sure that I got maximum depth of field. I stopped down to f/16 and worked out that the exposure would need to be 6 minutes. I got out my phone to start timing it and suddenly realised that it was 1.30am. How the hell did that happen?!? And what on earth was I doing out here at this time in the morning, taking a picture of something that was totally inconsequential and meaningless to me?

I needed my hit.

And I got it. When I saw this little guy on the screen I didn't mind that I had lost the last hour. In fact, I rushed home to put it up on my blog.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this one...

(I didn't like the amount of detail that was being lost when resizing this one for my blog, so click here to see a larger version)

Welcome

2006-02-12T01:50:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 31mm, 1.6 sec, f/4, ISO 200

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I think the reason I wasn't so keen on my last post was that it was too light and didn't convey that dark and eerie atmosphere that it perhaps could have. So another attempt at that effect, and hopefully a little more successful. Same place, same night.

I've got a nice stretch off work for the next week, so I'm sure I'll be snap happy. Fingers crossed that the weather will be good!

Grave

2006-02-10T00:02:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 4 secs, f/3.5, ISO 200

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Another shot taken from last week's late night session in the fog. This is the same building as this one, but taken from a little further back. I think I'll need to go back with my new sigma lens and see if that opens up some more opportunities.

I think I'll have to come back to this one and decide what I really think of it. It's like when you repeat a word so many times that you forget its meaning. Well, that's happened to me on this shot. Maybe I should just get to my bed...

Night and Day

2006-02-09T00:06:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1/800 sec, f/10, ISO 200

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Busy at work again means struggling to keep the blog updated. Having said that, I did manage to have a wander at lunch time and grab this shot! Taken at the Dean Village on the first day in weeks when we've had blue sky (not that you could tell with this shot!).

I see you

2006-02-07T00:38:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1/60 sec, f/4, ISO 200

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Do you think he knows I'm taking his photograph?

W I D E

2006-02-06T00:07:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 10mm, 1/4 sec, f/4, ISO 200

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The more observant members of the audience out there may have noticed something new about the site. Yes, that little number 10 representing the focal length in the exif data! I got myself a new Sigma 10-20mm F4.0-5.6 EX DC HSM lens on Saturday. I've been meaning to treat myself for a while, and thought that this lens was too much of a bargain to miss.

My first reaction was probably the most obvious - it is W I D E!

At 10mm it's ridiculously wide. I really got this lens for my landscape shots when 18mm on my kit lens isn't quite wide enough. When used as wide as it can go for shots like this one, it almost becomes a novely lens (I think), but I don't mean that in a bad way. I've hardly had a chance to use it, but I'm already thinking of a lot of new shots that simply wouldn't have been available to me beforehand.

This shot was taken before we went to the Scotland rugby match today. I have to confess that I'm not a huge rugby fan, but what a match to go to for my first time at Murrayfield. The atmosphere was superb and I still can't quite believe that we managed to beat the French. We had seats right next to where the majority of the action was, so we couldn't have asked for anything more.

As for the shots itself... shot as wide as possible, and wide open. I'm amazed at how close the lens can focus, as the pint was no more than a foot away. Managed to get good DOF at this distance, but added a touch of radial blur around the edges.

Hopefully this is the first of many shots taken with this lens that I'll be posting here.

Bored

2006-02-04T11:54:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 50mm, 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400

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After an early start on Thursday and not getting home from work til the next day, this is exactly how I felt - bored! So apologies for not updating the site sooner, but it's been a busy few days here.

In other news, the daily exposure came 3rd in the best photo/art/poetry category of the best of blogs awards. Slightly disappointing that the judges punted it down from 2nd place after the popular vote (I'm not bitter, honestly!), but still, the recognition is very nice. The guys over there have put in a tremendous effort to put the awards together and, while it does appear to have been riddled with errors and faults, it has been a great success in showcasing some great blogs. That's what it's really all about anyway, and I certainly appreciate the extra visitors it's thrown my way.

Onto the shot... I've not posted this one here before, but I'm sure some of you will have already seen it. I took it at the same time as this one near the start of last year while I was studying for my exams. This series of shots of my gran is possibly my favourite taken to date!

A day in the life of a window latch

2006-02-02T13:32:00.000Z

Nikon @ 50mm, f/1.8, ISO 200, various shutter speeds

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I almost felt as if I was going back to my roots when taking these shots. It reminded me of the days when I'd be stuck in my old house (being a student, I didn't have anything else to do) and would hunt for something to shoot. I've said this a couple of times before, but I like the challenge of finding the extra in the ordinary... trying to make everyday and otherwise boring subjects appear interesting.

So I took these shots a couple of days ago at lunch time. I hadn't put the 50mm f/1.8 on my camera for a while, and thought it deserved some action. Some subtle light managed to find its way through the clouds outside and past the tenement buildings surrounding my flat. I didn't want to subject you all to 9 consecutive shots of a window latch and frame, so decided to display it as a montage. You can see a slightly larger version here if you're interested.

Extra points for those of you who can guess my favourite shot ;)

St Cuthbert's

2006-02-01T11:04:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 5 secs, f/3.5, ISO 200

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The invincibility afforded by having a camera hanging round your neck can lead you to some dodgy places!

This is another shot I took a couple of nights ago when the fog was pretty heavy. I passed by St Cuthbert's church and thought there might be some interesting scenes inside the grounds. It was late at night, dimly lit with poor visibility and I was all on my lonesome. Certainly not the kind of place you want to go to unnecessarily. But I had a camera in my hand so it seemed like a great idea!

I spent about half an hour there. At first I was going at quite a leisurely pace, making sure my exposures and compositions were spot on. But as it started to dawn on me that it probably wasn't the best place for someone with a lot of expensive equipment to be, I started to take my shots a lot faster, almost running between locations! At the point of taking this shot I notice a group of guys that were walking past stop to see what I was doing. Hmm…

TAXI!!!

Of course I took my shot first, but that was the end of my late night graveyard shoot! Best not to hang about to see what the guys were up to, I thought.

When I came to look at this shot on my computer I wondered if blending two exposures would have helped bring out more detail in the foreground. But then I realised that it was the dark and foreboding foreground, contrasted with the unusual ominous glow from the sky and building, that made me like the image in the first place.

So what do you think? Too dark and not enough detail, or just right to convey the eerie atmosphere?

Foggy

2006-01-31T00:15:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 25mm, 1/25 sec, f/3.8, ISO 200

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I wish I had more time to update this site - I always seem to end up sitting at 12:30am posting away when my time would, surely, be better spent in bed. Ah well.

After a hard day at the office, I walked home through the fog and battled the sub zero temperatures. Seemed like the perfect night to stay in and keep warm. But where's the fun in that? Yip... time to get the camera out. I only had a couple of hours to spare, so I went for a quick walk around town, taking shots here and there. I've recently discovered that taking pictures in the fog isn't as easy as it looks.

This was actually my first shot of the night, taken near my work on Charlotte Square. Hopefully there's a few more decent shots from the shoot. Stay tuned!

Victoria Street

2006-01-29T23:49:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 27mm, 4 secs, f/8, ISO 200

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I didn't manage to take any shots this weekend, so a mid-week session may be in order to fuel the blog. I can never understand how the weekends manage to pass so quickly!

Anyway, this shot was taken shortly after my last post's, at Victoria Street. I've been meaning to get a shot of this street for a while, but I'm not sure that I'm convinced with this one.

The News Steps

2006-01-27T13:25:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 10 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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Sorry about the slow update, but I tried to make this post last night and forgot about blogger being down for some scheduled maintenance.

I took this shot a couple of nights ago while killing some time before meeting someone. My wander confirmed that I'm finding it incredibly difficult to find night scenes at the moment that I want to photograph. Not necessarily because I don't like the look of the scene, but because the dynamic range is often way off the scale. I know I could blend a couple of exposures if I wanted to, but I prefer to avoid that if at all possible. So I ended up only taking pictures at 2 scenes, which, for an hour and a half, seemed almost like a waste of time.

Anyway, self induced moan over!

Having said all of the above, I'm actually quite pleaseed with this shot. I think this may be another one of those shots that I don't think many people will be particularly taken by, but feel free to change my mind! This was taken at the opening to a fairly hidden lane in Edinburgh and the sign grabbed my attention as I was walking by.

Meet Monty

2006-01-25T11:49:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/80 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 + SB-800

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For those of you who thought you had stumbled across the wrong blog after yesterday's post, here's another one to confuse you!

Taken before Christmas for a "client" (read: work colleague!) I was assured that this little dog would sit nice and still for me. But alas, the adage never work with children or animals was confirmed: I spent most of my time running after him! The lighting was very poor, so about half of my 150 shots came out blurry. I was getting quite worried when I was sifting through the shots on my computer until I got to this one; which ironically was literally my last shot of the day.

Never really tried this kind of shot before so it was a new experience. Was it a good experience? Hmmm ;)

(Frozen) Still Life

2006-01-24T00:15:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 48mm, 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO 200

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I actually took this shot on Christmas day - it was really foggy and I thought I would get some shots of the countryside engulfed in the white stuff. But I didn't really find what I was looking for so didn't stay out for long. That, plus the fact that I had a huge feast waiting for me at home - made all the more appealing by the fact that I was freezing my chops off!

Horticulture isn't my strong point, so I'll let someone else explain what this is. But I liked the way it looked with the frozen dew, and that's all that matters :)

I took this shot from very low down so that I could get the fog to make a nice simple background for me. A very slight vignette added in photoshop finished it off.

Buachaille Etive Mor

2006-01-23T00:24:00.001Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/3 sec, f/22, ISO 200

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Even though I knew the weather was going to be poor today, I quite fancied a trip up to the Glencoe area just to make sure everything was still there. An early rise at 6.30am was somewhat wasted as the completely overcast skies rendered the sun rise practically non-existent - I certainly didn't see it anyway! I think the last time I was at Glencoe when the sun was out must have been almost a year ago now - maybe I'll have better luck next time.

Anyway, it wasn't a complete waste of time as I quite like the way this one came out - the overcast skies here probably did me a few favours.

Early Morning Stroll

2006-01-21T00:53:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/125 sec, f/16, ISO 200

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I took this shot a couple of weeks before Christmas for someone's website. I had been trying to get shots of Arthur's seat for the previous few weekends but the weather had been so bad that I didn't even bother to leave my flat. On this occassion though, I decided that I would go regardless of the weather. And I'm glad I did - the weather was great!

The only trouble was that I had to get up really early, and this is never a good thing to do on your day off. We set off to walk up Arthur's Seat (a hill in Edinburgh) about 20 minutes before sunrise, so it was still really dark. The guy who I was taking photos for is a personal trainer so as you can imagine we weren't going at an easy pace either!

But the weather was ideal, I bagged my shots, and we both went home happy. Couldn't have asked for more.

Deserted

2006-01-20T11:29:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 1/30 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200

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The 'diner' was dead at this point, but you could see from the mess that the crowds weren't long gone. I liked the vintage feel to this scene so thought that the sepia tone would work well.

For any Weegies in the audience... this was taken just off Sauchiehall street.

All Wrapped Up

2006-01-18T23:39:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 50mm, 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 + SB-800

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Another milestone reached... post number 250!

I've been incredibly busy recently (trying to keep this site updated amongst other things) so I apologise for all the emails I've neglected recently - I'll reply to them asap... promise!

This is (yet) another shot of my favourite model taken from my archives and given a high key effect in photoshop. I'll really need to get some new material soon, but the weather's been really bad recently. Fingers crossed for the weekend!

Urban dereliction

2006-01-17T23:01:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 70mm, 1/25 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200

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From the country to the streets, and introducing a little more grit back into the blog! I know this image isn't going to appeal to everyone, and I can understand why. But it was just one of those scenes that I felt completely compelled to photograph. Perhaps it was because it was completely out of character with the rest of the affluent street. It was also one of those kind of shots I take with specific post processing in mind.

I think I'm going to start putting a sig on my images again. After tweaking the site a couple of weeks ago I thought I'd just leave it out as it makes the site look more aesthetically pleasing. But already I've seen a couple of my images being passed off by other people... and it really annoys me! Give me some credit at least. Or some money :)

Cold Loch

2006-01-16T23:58:00.000Z

Nikon D70 @ 18mm, 6 secs, f/8, ISO 200

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You may recognise this scene from my post at the beginning of last week, except this is how it looks during the day. This was actually the first shot I took when I was away for New Year. The loch was situated at the bottom of our cottage so it was naturally the first place to check out.

It was quite cloudy on this particular day, and I was lucky that the clouds parted (slightly) to let me capture this one with my IR filter. I'm actually quite glad that it wasn't too sunny, as I often find that the results are too harsh when shooting in IR. Instead the lighting conditions allowed me to capture a wide tonal range.

It was absolutely freezing when I took this (as you can see from the ice on the Loch!) and so I kept a blue tint to the image to reflect this.