The streets of Edinburgh lend themselves to street photography. The natural backdrop of old buildings and captivating views of the surrounding countryside help to frame the people as they go about their everyday life. The winter light is strong and directional. The stonework reflects the light and makes for some interesting pictures. Here is a selection for you to enjoy.
Light and shadows on the junction of Fleshmarket Close and Cockburn Street.Looking up both Cockburn St and Fleshmarket Street.In a rush for politics.The view over Holyrood to Arthur’s Seat.Waiting at the corner.Detail from the Royal MileWhose scooter is it?Old Infirmary LaneJacob’s ladder with Waverley in the background.Let us wait here forever. Calton Hill.
If you liked my take of the Streets of Edinburgh then please search for Street Photography in my blog. Here are a selection for you to look through and enjoy.
I was fortunate to visit Edinburgh for a conference and had the morning to myself. The meeting was due to start at lunchtime, leaving me free to roam around the city. It was a beautiful morning and my hotel was in the Old Town. My plan was to wander down the Royal Mile down to Holyrood and the Scottish Parliament. Then my plan was to move upwards to Carton Hill and then finally back to the Old Town. Edinburgh is full of nooks and crannies.
Sunrise over Calton Hill taken from the Old Town.The Greek Architecture of the National Monument. There is a man right in the centre of the base.
The City is fun to explore and as my pictures show there are many different sights. The hilly terrain allows for some scenic views of the City. Calton Hill has been a focus for many people over the years and with the sunrise over Arthur’s Seat, many of the famous buildings were caught in the beautiful light. I met Zain who wanted his picture taken and he obliged with the portrait that is featured in my blog. In the background, you can see the Dugald Stewart Monument and the Portuguese cannon with the National Monument reflected in his glasses.
I met Zain from Pakistan who wished to have his picture taken.Te impressive Nelson Monument.
There were many sun worshippers and tourists out and about in the early light. I took many photographs and then moved back down to Waverley train station and the Scott monument on Princess Street. Then I made my way back to the Old Town via the beautiful Cockburn street with its Victorian architecture and bustling coffee shops and restaurants. The long straight road of South Bridge brought me back to the Royal College of Surgeons and their hotel 10 Hill place where I was staying.
The Dugald Stewart MonumentA different view of the Scott Monument.Lines into Waverley Train station with the City as a backdrop.The front of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood. Sunrise reflected in the water feature.Details on the door of The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse.
If you enjoyed this blog then be sure to take a look at Photographing Edinburgh which was about my last visit to the city in 2019. Photographing Edinburgh
Venturing into China Town Birmingham to celebrate the Chinese New Year was a colourful affair. Hurst Street was set up with a stage and there were a number of market stalls set up along the street. The main action when I arrived was down in the Arcadian where the dragon dancers were in residence. The dancers put on a great show and these are a few pictures of the costumes and people that were in Chinatown to celebrate the New Year.
New Year Blossom for Chinese New Year in Birmingham New Street StationFun faces in China townHappy New YearGetting close to the action in the ArcadiaGetting lost in the action. Picture Credit – Lena Mac from IgersbirminghamUK
“Walking after you” is a line from an old CCS song called Walking that was released in 1971. The band CCS was led by Alexis Korner and was my introduction into blues music. The song mirrors my photography as I walk along the streets of Digbeth. Arriving early on a January morning before 8am, the street lights were still on in Floodgate street and there were not many distracting cars around. I quickly got out and started taking pictures. In my excitement, I did not get the right focus on my Fujifilm x100v but my iPhone came to the rescue. The opening picture caught the reflections in a large puddle formed from the overnight rain. This is a classic view of Floodgate Street and one that fortuitously worked very well. It did not need much processing and the cropping was critical to remove lettering and stray reflections.
Gibb St provides many photographic opportunities plus reflectionshots.
Having parked my car in Selfridges multi story, I wandered back to Digbeth as I had time before my morning appointment in town. I used my x100v exclusively for the majority of the pictures. The streets were shiny as the rain had been heavy the previous morning. Puddles were grouped along Gibb Street and Floodgate Street providing more photographic opportunities. My visit included a wander to the edge of Deritend to see the sunrise and then back down Upper Trinity Street which completed my trip around of the area.
Mind where you park
Constant change is synominous with the area. Shops have changed hands, new restaurants and night clubs have sprung up. There is new Street Art and old graffiti has to survive the constant mindless tagging that takes place. Around there are new building projects and Digbeth High Street is still scarred with tram works although one lane is open for traffic.
Street Art, arches, lamposts and people, all add to the photographic mix.
For street photographers, there is a constant stream of scenes forming in front of your eyes and most of the inhabitants seem resigned to being photographed as it goes hand in hand with living in such a creative district. Walking after you is my theme and we have several people set against the backdrop of the Digbeth buildings. There are also pictures of the latest street art on the different buildings. The street mural highlighting Parkinson’s disease was previously advertising Peaky Blinders. This wall next to the High Street has become a sought after location.
Parkinson’s Disease Mural.
There are more pictures below taken during my visit to Digbeth. At the end, I have put links to several of my past Digbeth blogs for further reading.
Another view of Floodgate Street with the Floodgate on the left.The link entrance to the Custard FactoryMiddle of the RoadCareful who you walk past.Walking past the Floodgate.
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Welcome to Digbeth
Looking back through my blog, I found that I have an extensive collection of pictures that feature Digbeth. This includes a few more pictures of Floodgate St and Gibb St as well. Please feel free to browse through my pages and comment on what you see and read.
Each year photographers share their top photographs and I am no exception in doing this. I wrote a blog about my personal favourites for 2021. Now it is the turn of 2022 and I have limited to my top 4. Why four? Well the arrangement works well for Instagram and I am not such a fan of the Top 9 where the pictures are even smaller. The four pictures that I have selected all have a story to tell. The picture may have done well in national or local competitions. There may have been some nice comments about the style and composition that were pleasing to hear. I hope you enjoy the selections.
Regency Wharf This picture received a commendation in Landscape Photographer of the Year in 2022 and was featured in the published book. This was quite an achievement for me as this is a very competitive competition and a place in the book is very much sought after. I wrote a blog about this picture and it explains how and why it was taken.
Regency Wharf, Birmingham, My picture of Regency Wharf, Birmingham that was Commended in LPOTY2022
Westside BID winner Last year I failed to get shortlisted for the inaugural Westside Business District Calendar competition. So this year, I entered in again and I came first which was I was so pleased about. The prize was £175 voucher to an exclusive restaurant next to the ICC Birmingham. The winning picture is below and a description of how it was done in covered in my blog.
My winning photograph for Westside BID calendar.
Broken Life I am not very good at Still Life photography and it was one of my assignments in a 52 week photography group that I belong to on Flickr. I am not sure why I went for this picture approach and it was well received on the Weeklies. It was my only shortlisting last year for #wexmondays. I am going to do more photography like this for 2023 so watch this space. Also read my blog about how it came about.
A place setting with broken plates and cups. What has taken place?
I was fortunate that I was in London during Christmas week. My reason for being there was to undertake a photographic assignment for the British Dental Association Museum. Once I had completed my task then I set off for the Christmas lights. I walked from Wimpole Street along Oxford Circus taking in Bond Street, New Bond Street and Piccadilly. Whilst I took many photographs on this journey, my main destination was Regent Street. The Angels were strung across the street and were a beautiful feature of the Christmas lights. The theme was the ‘The Spirit of Christmas’and covered both Regent Street and St James’s neighbourhoods.
Under the arch leading to Regent Street.Angels, London Buses and shoppers.
The place was very busy with people on both sides of the road and in the central reservation taking pictures of the Angels. My x100v was set up with a high ISO3200 and an aperture of f/4. The shutter speed was set at 1/125. I brought along my travel tripod to help me. However I did forget that the ISO was on high for some of the motion shots. It was difficult to think with being in such a dangerous position in the middle of the road and so many people around you. Whilst the pictures do look pretty, there are many obstacles around the area such as the shoppers and traffic. I kept my wits about me and did not look for pictures that may have put me in danger.
An Angel of Regent StreetTake the bus to see the lights.Oxford Circus
I came away with a story as there were a few couples in the pictures and the story looks as if I have followed one couple up from Piccadilly to Oxford Circus. I enjoyed seeing the lights and experiencing the atmosphere of Christmas Shopping.
Making your way back home on the tube.
London is a wonderful city to photograph and you may wish to see my other Blog entries on photographing the UK capitol.
I loved Washington State and there were many memorable moments. Here are a few photographs which summarise my visit and I hope at the same time that you may find them amazing.
Firstly, on clear nights we had so many stars to view. The area was light pollution free and as these pictures show there are starry skies. A wonderful place for stargazing.
Looking up to the stars on the road outside our log cabin.
Second, the reservoirs around Mount Rainier were very low. A low water mark is normal at this time of year as they generally fill up in the spring when the snow melts and runs down the mountain. However this year, the levels were very low. In the Alder reservoir, the remains of the towns that were submerged were becoming visible again. However, this one of the tree stumps was quite sensational and almost alien like in its appearance.
The low levels of Alder lake reservoir reveal an ancient forest.
Thirdly, there was smoke around the mountains, some of it from log burning cabins. Smoke clouds from smouldering fires that were still burning from the summer months lingered over the landscape.
The harsh beauty of Riffe LakeDeadwood overlooks the lake.
My first view of Mount Rainier which is to the far left of the following picture, was exciting. What caught my attention is the amazing cloud fornatiion as shown here. I had never seen lenticular cloud formation before and this is caused by the heat of the mountains. They are dormant volcanoes and so the thermal currents produce interesting cloud formations.
Lenticular cloud formation over the mountains.
The final pictures show the warmth of the log cabin both outside and inside. The cabins were warm and cosy. The bright lights contrast with the dark of the forest. Inside the cabins are ready for a long time of celebration, starting with Thanksgiving and moving onto Christmas.
The warmth of the log cabin during the blue hour.
Thanksgiving is all about family and we had a lot of fun during our week in Ashford near to Mount Rainier National Park as this picture shows!!
The rain falls a lot in Washington so when such a day is a washout the locals head to the museums. A popular venue is the Museum of Flight just south of Seattle. The museum is claims to be the largest independent air and space museum in the world and has its beginnings with a group of enthusiasts who began to collect and preserve the planes and other memorabilia of historical importance. The site is impressive with over 175 aircraft housed in several large hangers. There are some of the earliest known airplanes including a very well-illustrated WWI and II display. Not only was the Battle of Britain covered but there is much more detail on the pacific war as befits an American Flight Museum. The impressive Great Gallery included early manned space craft and a wide range of iconic aircraft.
The distinctive Lockheed Model 10-E ElectraLockheed Blackbird M-21 (Blackbird). The fastest plane ever built.Two excited visitors at the Museum.Space the final frontier.Selfie in the Lockheed Model 10-E Electra metal work.Racing to see the McDonnell F-4C (F-110A) Phantom II.Canadair CL-13B Sabre Mk. 6 lining up against its opposite number the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15bisA few pictures from the Great Gallery at the MuseumReproduction of how the first aircraft were manufactured at the Boeing factory in the Red Barn area.
An overhead walkway leads onto the Aviation Pavilion which is covered but open on the sides. Here there is a British Airways Concorde in pristine condition, the Air Force One Boeing, and the prototype Jumbo Jet.
Concorde is a glamorous looking supersonic jet. The inside offered luxurious comforts with a journey of a few hours giving a fast trip across the Atlantic. The Concorde in the museum was known as Alpha Golf due to its registration code G-BOAG.
All aboard Concorde.Concorde rear view.The cramped conditions of the flight deck on Concorde.
The Air force one was a specially built Boeing 707-153, and is known as SAM (Special Air Mission) 970. Four presidents flew on the plane including Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon. Johnson was sworn into office on board the plane immediately after the assignation of JFK.
Boeing VC-137B “Air Force One” with other exhibits in the Aviation Pavilion.In the President’s Chair, Boeing VC-137B “Air Force One”President Nixon meeting Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai with Air Force One in the background.Pictures from the Air Force One display
The Jumbo Jet in the Museum is the first 747 ever built, known as RA001. The inside is cavernous as there are no seats. This was a test plane and it includes all the necessary surveillance equipment that were used during testing. The instrument stations do not take up that much space so you can appreciate the interior size of the aircraft.
Boeing 747-121, the first Jumbo Jet.The impressive inside of the Jumbo Jet without any seats.
Other highlights included visiting the space shuttle and walking down the payload cargo area. There are so many other aircraft to see and remember there are 175 of them! So much to see, so little time and definitely a wonderful place to bring your camera for a day out. I took many pictures and I have attempted to label the aircraft correctly. However, enthusiasts my wish to contact me to add further details and let me know and I will correct appropriately. The Museum of Flight web site is well organised and takes you through the online museum step by step although seeing the aircraft up close is a never to be forgotten experience.
Inside the Cargo bay of the Space Shuttle TrainerSupermarine Spitfire Mk.IX built in Castle Bromwich Birmingham!Sopwith F.1 Camel (reproduction) with an original Aviatik (Berg) D.I WW1.This North American P-51D Mustang overlooks the WW2 gallery.Close up of the North American P-51D Mustang in the WW2 gallery.Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fought in the Asian Pacific War during WW2. The same type of aircraft dropped the Atomic Bomb.Boeing 809A-1, one of the first commercial airline models.The figure of a pilot looks towards a Boeing WB-47E Stratojet with a Douglas DC-2 just to the right.Mark and Jim watching a plane come in outside the Museum entrance.
If you enjoyed this blog then please read about my visit to the East Midlands Aeroparc. Not on the scale of the Museum of Flight but there are some iconic aircraft to see there as well.
Thanksgiving is about expressing gratitude and has its origins in the original settlers and the native Americans giving thanks for the harvest. Now it is an important national holiday where friends and families gather. For Thanksgiving 2022, we went to stay with Sandy’s sister in Washington State, USA. She lives in Ashford which is only a few miles from the entrance to Mount Rainier National Park.
Nisqually entrance to Mount Rainier National Park.
The area has stunning landscapes and the dense trees that surround the area are tall and majestic. The surrounding forest on the approach to Mount Rainier and then from the entrance into the park is comprised of old growth trees. Including Douglas fir, hemlock, and cedar. The trees reach for the sky and block out most of light.
The road into the Mount Rainier Park.
The sky can be seen as you drive into the park and the road weaves through the forest with occasional stopping places. During the winter months access to the park can prove difficult not only due to the changeable weather conditions but with staffing shortages preventing many roads from being properly manned. Therefore the road to Longmire was open but the gate to Paradise was shut. This was disappointing but in photography you always work with what you have and therefore I looked for other opportunities. The Nisqually River Entrance is your first stop as you encounter the rangers who let you into the park. All cars need snow chains before they are allowed to drive through the park. Before you get to Longmire there is a stop at Kautz Creek Viewpoint. This gives your first glimpse of the mountain in the park. It is a fun shot to take as you can get a good group picture and take a bit of time viewing the mountain.
Mount Rainier from the Kautz Creek Viewpoint.Family group photo against the backdrop of Mount Rainier
Longmire is dominated by the National Park Inn that sits looking at the mountain. It was as far as we could travel but I was determined to make the most of the opportunity to be in the park. There are photographs to be taken of the mountain and the Inn. Luckily there was clear visibility of the mountain as my pictures show. The area houses the living quarters of the park rangers and if you drive to the rear of Longmire you arrive at an impressive suspension bridge crossing the Nisqually river. This hidden gem provided several good photographs.
The Inn at Longmire, Mount Rainier National ParkTake a seat, have a drink and admire the view.Mark looking over the Suspension Bridge, Longmire, Mount RainierJim looking up on the Longmire side of the suspension bridge.Classic view of the Longmire Suspension View.
In January 2022, I spent the morning walking around Gas Street Basin. The area was bathed in beautiful sunshine and I took several photographs with my Fujifilm x100v. Several of the photographs came out really well. I was lucky with the light and the weather. Plus there were several people walking along the canal tow path. There were two stand out pictures that I took that day. The first was from outside the Tap and Spile public house on the west side of the basin looking towards Regency Wharf. This picture was highly commended in the urban view category of UK Landscape Photographer of the Year. I also took pictures on the other side of the basin. One part of the basin that used to be difficult to access is The Wharf which has access to various offices including the Pakistani Consulate. On that morning I found that the barriers had gone and there is now public access to the area where you can access the canal bank. This gives you a great view of the Bistrot Pierre restaurant building. The morning was still and quiet providing excellent conditions for reflections of the restaurant. As luck would have it, a passerby came into the picture and looked backwards. I snapped him and found that he was centred perfectly. The picture turned out well and did not need much adjustment post processing. There was a good reaction on social media when I posted the picture. Therefore when the Westside BID calendar competition came up then I entered this one along with several others. I was pleased to learn that I was the overall winner for the competition with my Bistrot Pierre picture and my prize was £175 vouchers for the Craft restaurant in Brindley Place next to the ICC. There was also a cheesy write up of my win which I include here. The title was “Dentist ‘reflects’ on top prize in Westside BID’s 2023 calendar competition”.
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