Sometimes I feel like making the wildest of changes to images that I have taken, I very rarely post them, but I feel like mixing things up a little of late. This was Edinburgh on a nice day, until I played around with it. :-)
I like to think that most people that know Edinburgh from the North Bridge would still recognise it.
As October has drawn to an end I have been trying to reflect on what I have achieved over the last month. Little has come to mind. It has been filled mostly with searching for a job, interviews for jobs, a little demonstrating and a trip to The Hague. I am left wondering how this leads to me to meeting my goals and it's at this point I realise that perhaps I have not set any goals which is causing the lack of direction I am currently feeling.
Knowing what you want to achieve has been something that I have discussed with many people (t.b.h. mostly MoneyPenny) over the past few years and I have usually been in the position of having some aim or goal in mind, whether it is writing a thesis or a completing a project at work.
I am pretty sure that watching all 8 seasons of Dexter in a month should not be something I am aiming for in life (although it may be achieved relatively soon).
Taking more photographs again has been a recent aim but has failed to materialize. I am also reminded that I am living in an amazing city for photography but travel through it each day blindly without my camera. A small step in the right direction would be carrying my camera, and a tripod... Small changes add up to large changes?
The dark nights of winter are almost here and that is great for night photographers. These are some of my favourite scenes to shoot and I have spent many nights in Europe encapsulating history this way. I learned a lot about the cold, about having a good tripod and how essential gloves and snacks can be! I have posted a few of my favourite photographs below. Lisa Bettany reminded me what is possible with a little patience and practice, without having to travel far and wide. She gives some great advice on night shots (with trailing lights) in her blog and they are from Edinburgh and St Andrews.
Thanksgiving Day (Canada) occurs on the second Monday of October, our M.Sc. class celebration was a little belated but this didn't stop the celebration going ahead on the 16th of October instead.
I took a few candid photographs during the evening and these are the shots that are safe for public consumption. I'll apologise here for the shocking standard of these photographs but to be fair there was a lot of whisky and wine going around (but at least I didn't take part in the 'buck fast tasting').
It was a nice evening to mix with the new class as well as catching up with my own class from the M.Sc. course. It's great to hear where my fellow classmates are now working and their new experiences at the forefront of GIS.
More of a tweet than a blog post ;-)
So apparently The University of Edinburgh School of Geosciences has decided to give me a M.Sc. in Geographical Information Science for my efforts over the past year.
It was nice to get this congratulatory text from a close friend:
"It is a M.Sc. in map making which is equivalent to an arts degree. You will be doing a course in media studies next". - JYB
I had no idea I could have done a course in media studies! Sounds like fun!
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I feel like I am in Edinburgh more now than I was last year, but I am pretty sure that it's just the train journey that makes me feel like that. During my wanderings, before and after, being at Drummond Street I have been taking a few photographs that I though I would share here.
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Taken at sunset from Northbridge looking towards the Castle on the left and Scott Monument on the right.
Taken from the Waverley Steps looking towards Market Street
Taken after sunset when the light were illuminated towards the castle. Shot from Princess Street.
Taken from Princes Street towards Market Street and the Castle.
Have only been using my iPhone for photography around Edinburgh of late and it isn't really satisfying me. I need to keep my DSLR on me and start going to locations that I haven't been to before and get back to some serious practicing.
