Moodscapes

Rebekka Gu∂leifsdottir - Moodscapes

I recently bought Rebekka Gu∂leifsdottir's book titled "Moodscapes". The easter weekend has presented me with some free time to finally read it and enjoy the photographs within its pages. I can't recommend it enough, she introduces the evolution of photography, the basics of the photo triangle, equipment, composition and much more. It is very readable!

Many of her ideas resonated with me and in particular this line:

"The time, I got exactly the image I had been hoping for. This is proof that you should never settle for mediocre when you feel that you can do better"

I feel that a lot of my shots of late have been mediocre or worse, formulaic. Taken because it's an easy shot that looks good instead of pushing my own boundaries. This is what I hope to do now. It isn't easy to take a photograph nowadays that hasn't already been taken, but it is possible to take one that has your own signature look in it.

This may slow down the amount of shots that I post though :-)

Endrick Falls

Also known as the Loup of Fintry, Endrick Falls is a 94ft waterfall a couple of miles from Fintry. Best seen when it has been raining heavily or iced up in really cold weather. Alas, today was neither of these conditions but it was nice to visit it for the first time since I was very young.

Seeing as I had a little time on my hands I also thought that I would play about with Cameo from Vimeo...

 

Dean Village, Edinburgh

Dean Village is a former industrial village northwest of the city centre of Edinburgh, about 15 minutes walk from Haymarket Train Station. It was known as the "Water of Leith Village" and was the centre of a successful grain milling area for more than 800 years. At one time there were no fewer than eleven working mills there, driven by the strong currents of the Water of Leith. 

From the mid-1970s onwards it became recognised as a tranquil oasis, very close to the city centre, and redevelopment and restoration began, converting workers' cottages, warehouses and mill buildings. This included development on a cleared former industrial site on the north side of the river. The area has now become a desirable residential area, plagued with tourists and photographers ;-)

I was finally able to get some time to take some photographs of this little village and was happy to spend a sunny (if windy) couple of hours wandering around. Click the thumbnails for the larger versions.

Return to The Hague

A knee jerk reaction to a water leak in my apartment in The Hague last weekend also provided an opportunity to catch up with friends, take coffee and shoot photographs in the glorious sun! The leak turned out to be a five day long saga that is way to boring to go into here, but it was eventually resolved by a drainage engineer from Glasgow (obviously).

The weather was great which was much to my surprise, sunny every day and a little cool which provided me with ample opportunities to take photographs in between appointments with plumbers/buying washing machines/drainage engineers/clients.

I was also reminded how much I miss The Hague and the atmosphere around the city. I am never surprised now by the crowds of tourists and the happy go lucky "niceness" of the Dutch. The owners of my favourite places still remember me and ask when I am coming back. My answer to that question raises some uneasy feelings from within. Especially when 'something' is leaking to your downstairs neighbours apartment.

As always, I have collected together a few shots from last week below. The bronze sculptures are from the Museum Beelden aan Zee (Museum at the Sea) and the outside exhibition of  (by Tom Otterness). It's really worth looking around if you are ever there. Click the thumbnails for the large images :-)