Social Photography

In the years that I have been taking photographs it has been primarily a solitary pursuit. In fairness I have always enjoyed the freedom of wandering wherever and whenever with my camera. It never really occurred to me before to meet up with strangers to go take photographs.

This changed a couple of months ago when I started chatting to some people through Instagram and after (what can only be considered to be way to much beer and not enough planning) we decided to get a group together to take photo's on the wettest day Glasgow has ever seen.

Even though the day was wet the spirits were kept high and this led to a second meeting with new (and familiar) people yesterday in Edinburgh. The weather was a mixed bag but eventually blue skies presented themselves at Newhaven Harbour. 

I feel very lucky that I have met such great group of people that are always willing to share experiences and knowledge that makes the day so much fun. The group selfie was taken by @alycoste and includes @lisajparis, @chappygbr, @davidgulliver_photography and @redinscotland.

Have posted a few of the shots from Newhaven Harbour below, click for the large versions. 

 

 

 

A splash of colour.

I have been spending a lot of time processing photographs into black and white for my Instagram account. As fun as that is, it does make the world look a little grey. On my last visit to Edinburgh I thought I would have a little fun taking some shots of shop fronts that had nice colour in them, inject a little colour back into my stream. 

The Falls of Dochart, Killin

Killin is a village situated at the western end of Loch Tay in the north east of the district of Stirling. The Falls of Dochart are at the western end of the village. Although it was bright when I started out travelling to Killin the weather closed in and it was raining heavy when I was taking these shots. To be fair the weather suited my mood :-)

 

Glasgow

Saturday (28th Jan) saw myself on a photo-trip to Glasgow with @davidgulliver_photogrpahy (David), @alycoste (Alayne), @jensinscotland (Jens) & @omr_photography (Oliver). It was hard not to call them by their Instagram handles all day.

We managed to get round a few areas of the city; George Square, The Necropolis, Glasgow Cathedral, various dodgy alleyways (that David was obsessed with) and down to the River Clyde. I took about 400 photographs altogether and was happy with about three of them (two of which were taken on my iPhone). I think that I am still out of practice composing and not overthinking things when it comes to the settings.

It was nice to go out photographing with other people, hearing their ideas and perspectives on various photographic topics. *Shockingly I don't have a group photo! But if one is passed on to me I'll enter into this post :-)* 

The Forth Bridge

The Forth Bridge is a cantilever railway bridge across the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland, about 9 miles west of Edinburgh. It is an iconic structure and is a UNESCO heritage site. During the Second World War it was the subject of the first bombing raid by the Luftwaffe over British skies. Thankfully the RAF and their spitfires defended the bridge, and it still stands today since its opening in 1890. There are some more interesting facts about the bridge at the Forth Bridges website.

We just don't build structures like this anymore. The Victorians really didn't build anything with half measures. Testament to this is that there is a second road bridge being built as the first one is basically falling apart.

Conditions weren't that great for taking pictures (22/01/2017), it was cold and misty. I got a couple of shots that I was happy with (click for larger versions).