Olympic Badger Race

Tonight we had a very enjoyable evening with best friends Rob and Annie. It involved Snecklifter at the Shepherd's in Whaley, a very nice meal on their canal boat, a couple of pints of Landlord at the Navigation, followed by a brisk walk over the hill to get home, in the dark.

As Jan and I were walking home we heard a clicking noise behind.Before we could work it out a badger raced past us going uphill, it's claws clicking against the tarmac. Obviously racing home to see the end of the London Olympics opening ceremony!

Great Dome Art Fair in Buxton

The Great Dome Art Fair is on this weekend, Sat 21st and Sun 22nd July 2012, 10am to 4.30pm, free entry, in the Buxton Devonshire Dome. The venue is spectacular, with one of the largest unsupported domes in Europe, bigger than St Paul's. Very strange acoustics though. You have to be very careful what you say or someone on the other side of the building can hear every word!

We have a large stand with several hundred photographs from £5 to £270 as well as my 3 books on offer.

I have just received a small allocation of a new calendar of my photographs; Cities of the World 2013. This is only available in North America but I have 9 copies available at £15 each. It actually has 13 photographs as it has 1 extra image for the 4 months from Sept to Dec 2012, so it's a 16 month calendar. If you would like one come to the fair and pick one up; I won't be getting any more. The only other way to get one is to buy from a bookseller in the USA or Canada.

New London Photos

I have also added several more London photos from our trip in April (coincided with the London Marathon). For the next month they will be in the Recently Added Gallery but here is the permanent link to photos of London.

Here are a few examples:

New Moon Pub in Leadenhall Market

London New City Hall and Tower Bridge at Night

Gherkin from Mitre Street

Bank of England and Bus

Leeds Arcades and Canal - New Images

I have added some new images to my web site from our trip to Leeds at the end of April. They include some of the arcades, the canal and a night shot from an airy viewpoint above Eastgate. There are a few more on the web site on the Recently Added Gallery page. The permanent link to Leeds photos is here.

Leeds at Night

Leeds Thornton's Arcade Roof

Leeds Granary Wharf and Canal

Leeds Civic Hall

Amsterdam Canals, Bridges and Rooftops

Yesterday was our second day in Amsterdam and it was a hot one at 26°C.

We had a late start after the late night of photography on Tuesday. We actually returned to some of the locations from Tuesday so that I could re-take them with blue sky and a few clouds.

Jan dragged my camera case, in cities I use a Peli 1510 wheelie case. It easily holds my 2 Mamiya 7 cameras and 4 lenses.

If I had known Amsterdam had mostly cobbled and brick streets which make dragging a case difficult I would probably have used my usual carry case and a rucsac.

I've taken 16 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film so far. Hopefully a few more today but more clouds.

We walked miles. Most of the good shots were in the south and west. It was dull in the centre when we were there.

I took quite a few rooftops with the short telephoto, 150mm lens. I don't often use it but it was good for these.

Last of all I wanted to repeat the bridge shots from Tuesday. It was too dark when we reached the best location and I wanted more detail in the buildings behind the bridges.

The bridge and street lights came on at about 10.30pm. It was a lighter evening than Tuesday so I could take the shots I wanted and have more detail in the shadows.

Another late night, finishing after midnight. I much prefer doing night shots in the winter, I can start at 4pm and be finished by 6pm!

Today the forecast was for clouds and it's sunny. A bonus day!

Amsterdam Day and Night

We are on a short photo trip to Amsterdam. It's quite a few years since I was last here but Jan had meetings here in 2011.

It was an early start yesterday to catch the 7am from Manchester. The day was mixed with some sunshine in the afternoon, the odd shower of rain and quite a lot of cloudy periods.

Mostly the shots were of the canals and their bridges, with a few buildings thrown in for good measure. Lots of walking in warm humid weather.

Jan found us a very nice restaurant that she knew then, at 10am, it was time to start the night photography as it was starting to go dark.

I had several canal bridge shots lined up but all but one weren't lit up fully. They all have strings of light bulbs outlining the bridge but quite a few were unlit. One of the problems of not being able to do night photography until most people are in bed! Not many boats moving around after 10pm so not much need for illuminated bridges.

We finished about midnight. Round 2 today. Overcast now so I will look for smaller bits in the landscape and keep the big views for when the sun comes out later.

Will try and find some wifi too so that I can pick up emails and post this to my blog. In Starbucks with free wifi so fingers crossed this goes.

Ullapool to Stirling the Pretty Way

It was a wet start to the day so we didn't hang around in Ullapool.

We decided to go via Loch Maree and Torridon. Unfortunately the clouds stayed low so the views weren't great.

By the time we reached the Eilean Donan Castle it had brightened enough to encourage me to get the camera out and run a few shots off. The only ones of the day.

A quick stop in Fort William was the last stop before Stirling.

Home tomorrow.

Orkney to Ullapool

It was raining all morning in Stromness on Orkney so it didn't look good for photos.

Fortunately it had brightened up by the time we reached the Old Man of Hoy. The camera was already set up with the 150mm lens ready for the shot (equivalent to 75 on 35mm or full frame digital cameras).

The sun came out just as we passed. The ferry wasn't the best viewpoint for taking the shot but it's still interesting.

The only other shots were of Ardvreck Castle ruins near Inchnadamph, north of Ullapool. My 3rd visit here but still no sunshine and blue sky.

Tomorrow we head for Stirling, home Monday.

Castle in the Rain, Palaces in the Dry

The weather was the worst it has been all week. Heavy rain at times and clouds all day.

We started with Yesnaby Castle, not a real castle but a sea stack (rock pillar just offshore) just south of Skara Brae.

We visited here on Sunday with blue sky and calm seas. Today we had 25mph winds and high tide so I hoped for some waves and white water around the base of the stack.

Unfortunately the wind was blowing offshore so there were no waves at all. I took a couple of record shots in heavy rain and returned disappointed to the car.

The rain continued for a few hours as we drove around, eventually parking in Kirkwall as the rain stopped.

To start with it was dull so I left the camera in the car and went to the pub for a pint of St Magnus, a reasonable pint.

It was a brighter after the pub, or maybe it was just the effect of the beer! Photos of the cathedral, Earls Palace and Bishops Palace followed. The last shots were sunlit, albeit fleetingly.

Tonight was our last night on Orkney so most of us had dinner together at the Stromness Hotel before transferring to the Ferry Inn across the road. Dark Island was back on after a 5 day absence so all is well with the world!

Sorry, once again I forgot to take photos on my mobile to illustrate this blog. You will just have to wait until my films are processed and I find time to scan some of them. 33 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 taken so far.

Cliff Walk and a few Photos

A grey day was forecast so we decided to go for a walk along the coast from Skara Brae to the Kitchener monument on Marwick Head and back. That's a walk of about 11 miles.

Not too many photo opportunities but I did run off 3 rolls of Ilford FP4 120 film. First stop was a sea stack called the Spord. There was a bit of light and the Old Man of Hoy was just visible in the background. Lots of Sea Pinks on the sea cliffs to add to the foreground of some shots.

Then we came upon some fisherman huts built over 100 years ago and recently restored.

Marwick Bay was interesting with a tidal pool between the shore and a band of rock. A Red-Breasted Merganser was swimming on it along with Eider ducks and a few waders.

From here we walked steeply up to Marwick Head and the Kitchener monument. So many birds on the cliff face. Mainly Guillemots but also Fulmars, Kittiwakes, Razorbills and a few Puffins. Lots of predatory Skuas about too, both Great and Arctic.

There was a good shot of the cliff and monument with a large stone slab and Sea Pinks in the foreground.

We sat watching the comings and goings of the birds for quite a while, especially the Puffins.

Then it was time to retrace our steps back to the car in the gathering gloom. There were a few spots of rain as we neared the car but we made it back before it started in earnest.

So, despite the dull day I still managed to take a few good shots.

Still no Dark Island in Stromness. Everywhere has run out! I'm meddling through on other brews in the meantime.