I thought that I would post some random photographs from the past year that have been sitting on my desktop for a long time. All taken using an iPhone when I have been out walking along the canal, apart from the one taken at Stirling Castle.
The creative process
I have a process that I like to go through before I go out to take photographs. I like to clean and make sure my lenses have no marks on them and do the same for any filter that I am taking with me. I make sure I have a charged battery for the camera and that the memory card has been wiped clean and that I have a couple of spare ones in my bag. I know also check that I have at least one tripod with me since an ill fated trip to Loch Lomond. There are a couple of other things in my bag, but as long as I have the essentials above I am good to go.
I like to think about where it is I am going and what I would like to capture, already visualising it in my mind, thinking about best positions to take shots and looking at other people shots if it is a place that has been photographed a lot, primarily to see if I can get to a different angle or area to shoot from, to make the photograph my own. Uniqueness is hard to attain, often impossible.
So that's my creative process. It works about 1% of the time. In fact, I often wonder about why I still do it, for almost every time that I go out to take photographs it is the shot I didn't plan on taking that usually turns out to be the one I am happiest with. The throwaway shot that I often take without thinking about that I will work harder with in post processing. Apparently my brain and thinking is getting in the way of my creative process. It happened twice today, once in Stirling when all I had with me was my iPhone ("the best camera you have is the one you have with you") and once this evening when I was out at the Helix Park to photograph the Kelpies.
Of course, I am not sure that I would get these 'throwaway shots' if I hadn't been thinking and going through my thought process beforehand. Here are the two shots I got today. The photo of Autumn is taken in portrait mode in the iPhone. The long exposure shot of the Canal Lock was taken on my DSLR just after sunset.
Canal Lock
Autumn Calling
I like the Canal Lock for several reasons. As some may know I am a fan of the long exposure shots, and I think that this worked particularly well in this shot, the cloud movement towards the shots and the mist created from the water pouring over the top of the lock gives it a surreal look while retaining the crispness of the wood, concrete and debris around the that the lock gate. Usually pylons (to the right of the shot) annoy me, but I like the contrast of a modern eyesore with a historical mode of transport. Of course if you go down to the Kelpies the pylons are an eyesore and getting a shot without pylons or pylon lines is very difficult.
Autumn calling was taken on the back walk down from Stirling Castle into the city centre. I just happened to look back at where I had come from and took around twenty different shots of this staircase and took a long time choosing which one I liked best. I was a bit surprised by the reaction both on Instagram and Facebook, a lot of comments (which I totally appreciate). I like this shot due to the appearance of green as well as the golden brown leaves of Autumn. It's apparent that Autumn is coming but not totally here yet. The shot was taken on portrait mode on the iPhone and it was focussed on the golden leaf in the centre of the shot, which created some blur in the background. I thought it was appropriate photograph as the autumnal equinox had just passed.
Leiden
Wednesday offered an opportunity to visit the historical city of Leiden. Leiden is a city in the Dutch province of South Holland. It’s known for its centuries-old architecture and for Leiden University, the country’s oldest, dating from 1575. The university houses the Hortus botanicus Leiden Botanical Garden, founded in 1590, where the tulip was introduced to Western Europe. The Museum de Lakenhal displays works by the Dutch Masters including Rembrandt, who was born in Leiden. I didn't get to the botanical garden or the Lekenhal museum, but I did have pleasant walk around the city canals and the Leiden market!
I also forgot that I need sunscreen during the summer and got the back of my neck burned!
Falkirk Wheel
I have several pictures of the Falkirk Wheel through these pages, partly because I live so close to it and partly because I have never got a photograph that I have been really happy with.
I spent the magic hour taking shots there this evening, it was a lot colder than I thought it would be and was annoyed with myself when I realised that my down jacket was in my car!
I posted these two photographs, the first one a HDR shot from the west side and the second is a silhouette shot from the east side. I like the silhouette shot as the structure cuts between the sunset and the darkness. I am sure that if I had stayed longer I was have been able to get some stars in the photograph, perhaps I'll do that next time.
After a particularly challenging day it was good too spend a couple of hours recharging my Chi and watching the sun go down.
Bonnybridge Canal
Taken on the 7th of January, from the bridge that crosses the Forth and Clyde canal (which I think demarcates Bonnybridge from High Bonnybridge).
The weather was misty/drizzly and with a little higher ISO setting I think this image came out quite well. I also used a new app called Filmborn which allows you to take images using filters that give the effects of older film types (for those that are still in love with film). This was taken using the ILFORD HPS setting, but some of this was lost in the little post processing that I did.
Forth and Clyde Canal, 7th January 2017