Calton Hill Folly

The best magic in photography seems so often to come from the unexpected. After watching the magnificent end-of-festival fireworks from Edinburgh’s Calton Hill, the folly suddenly struck me as looking fantastic (in the literal sense of the word) and so I quickly retrieved the beloved 40D and had a go. My “standard” 17-85 IS was on, and with its slow f4 aperture, it left the people too blurred. As is so often the case with Image Stabilised lenses it let me get a sharp folly handheld in almost no light, but it was giving a half second or so even on the 40D’s max ISO (3200) and so very blurry people. Anyone who reads my blog at all will guess which lens was quickly pressed into service, yes the Sigma 28 f1.8 prime. The fast aperture gave me 1/13th second, which was just usable. It’s not even vaguely a perfect picture, but it’s unprocessed, except a tiny bit of noise reduction and sharpening. It’s an atmospheric picture for me and captures a perfect moment on a special night.

Just get one of these lenses, I don’t regret buying mine for a moment:-)

Just one of the fireworks for fun: