This picture was our first deliberate attempt to capture the now more obvious baby bump!

This one was a quick landscape with my beloved 28mm prime Sigma. On the Canon 7d, more or less a normal view like the 50mm was on older SLR film cameras.

These next two images were handheld HDR’s using my Sigma 10-20mm zoom, wide. On the 7d this is 16mm equivalent. Three bracketed exposures were taken handheld at high speed to minimise movement between them and they were processed in my favourite “Photomatix” HDR software helped by the “Lightroom” plugin.

Whitelees windfarm with 140 turbines, is the largest in Europe. This turbine is 110 metres high when the tip is at its highest point. This picture is from below where the noise in a steady wind was impressive, but 2 minutes walk away, inaudible. Sigma 10-20 is good for this kind of thing even though I criticised it for edge sharpness in my blog recently. Polariser on and on tripod to get a tiny bit of tip movement at least, even at f22 it was so bright that I didn’t get much!

This is the main entrance hall with its magnificent organ. They do regular recitals.

Some people love this exhibition room with its bizzare heads, others hate it. I kind of like them.

Another of the same room. The bare bulbs favoured by the curators are a photographic challenge; in low light they simply burn out in the picture.

We are not amused.

All of these are black and white as the mixture of tungsten spotlights and daylight windows is kind of horrible in colour.

One of the two main entrances with its oh-so-macintosh look and feel. Poirot is just about to walk through the door.

We all have a favourite thing in a museum. This is probably mine. A real Mk5 (I think) Spitfire from the Glasgow Squadron. The engine has been removed, but otherwise it is the real deal. With the taxidermy victims below, it is completely odd and out of place, but that’s kind of likeable.

This corridor has my favourite portrait selection on it. But like all lines of archways it is just photographically an irresistible cliché.

This is Stephenson in bronze. Classic author and unless the sculptor exaggerated, a striking man.

On a technical note, I used my basic Sigma 10-20 ultra-wide zoom for many of these, and it is worth noting that the distortions introduced at the edges are kind of horrible. I suspect this is where Canon L lenses and other mortgage-requiring glassware really make a difference.

I’ll post a selection early this week and ask for your help with choosing for the “Inside a building” round of the APOY contest. Thanks for looking.

I have decided to have a go at photographing a tree for round one of a photographic magazine’s contest. Truthfully I have always commented on how hard I think trees are to photograph. Getting good contrast between green and brown trees and green and brown backgrounds can be challenging. I have had a few successes, but the fact that I can pretty much remember them all tells its own story!

I took a walk today to the West Highland Way around Carbeth with a view of Dumgoyne and Dumfoyne on the end of the Campsies. I was reminded of my friend Martin’s comments that “using your feet” is a critical part of photography. I strolled around for about an hour trying different angles to try to fit the tree and Dumgoyne peak and get a leading line from the crag edge to the tree. (Actually, I wanted to be 1 metre to the right, with the lens a little wider, but found I couldn’t float mid-air). Anyway, I had my tripod, but couldn’t erect it here, as I was balancing on a precarious edge.

That makes two postings in a row with my Sigma 10-20 lens; anyone would think I liked landscapes.

If anyone out there would like a portrait done, please contact me. My Sigma 28 and I need to get back to doing our thing. Seriously, I need to do some portraits!

Taken two weeks ago as a handheld HDR while on a walk to the Mull of Kintyre Lighthouse. It is an amazing walk to the lighthouse, (visible on the right of the coastline), descending from the car park through 1000 feet, (300m), only to have you walk back up again. The vague coastline in the distance is Northern Ireland, about 12 miles away. I don’t often do black and white HDR, but the shape of the road seems stronger without colour distracting.

Photographically, it was overcast and the light was anything but magical; once again I have sold my soul to the demons of monochrome to help me focus on the form and majesty of the boat lift. Often, strong shapes look better defined in black and white as distracting colour elements are removed.

Here’s the lift from the front. (Sigma 10-20)

If the light is dull, it’s nice to pick out interesting details of the structure. It’s kind of like macro photography on a grand scale.

For this angle on the boat lift, the clouds parted enough to allow a brief use of colour; don’t be deceived into thinking the light made an honest photographer of me, the blue saturation has been thrashed to within an inch of its life here to force some colour drama. The yellow and orange has also been pushed to add warmth to the steel structure, emphasising the hints of rust.

These ones show the aqueduct that carries barges from the Union Canal to the boat lift. They are classic Falkirk Wheel views, and I’m sure the world has plenty of them already; its fun for a portrait guy like me to reproduce the standard landscape stuff for a bit of practice. Humour me please. The second and third using my 17-85 on telephoto to compress the upright supports.

I would certainly urge a look if you are in Central Scotland; beautiful engineering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falkirk_Wheel

This is the mouth of Loch Sween where my friend and colleague Dick Edie lives. Dick and I share a love of photography and we both use Flickr. Truth be told, I’m not very active now but as I throttled back, Dick started using it more. The common thread is that we were both part of the mighty, Seven Days of Shooting group in which weekly themes were translated into daily challenges which really brought your photography and creativity on. Anyway, Jim Hulme from Brisbane, AU, is a leading light in that community and is visiting his relatives in England at present. Dick kindly invited Jim to his wonderful home in Achnamara in Argyll, and thoughtfully asked if I wanted to join them; I did! (Sigma 10-20)

(Dick in the foreground on the beach) 70-300 mm lens

Here’s Dick, the perfect breakfast host in his “can I get you another egg” mode; the way to my heart anyway! (Sigma 28mm)

Dick took us to the Atlantic mouth of the Crinan Canal near his home. This was a puffer, (strictly a “VIC”) that Dick had photographed and I had seen travelling along Loch Fyne earlier this week. The sun was high and bright, which can be uninspiring for pictures, but the smoke from the puffer seemed to me to add interest along with the still, reflective water. (Canon 50 mm 1.4  prime)

OK, I have hung my hat on the portraiture hook, but I am so pleased with the curving harbour leading the eye to this colourfest of a boat from ullapool. (50 mm f1.4 prime)

Our gorgeous and charming co-host for the visit was Jacqui; I can attest that she cooks, and bakes in a way that would make Nigella Lawson weep. Truthfully I wanted the yellow of the boat to complement the green of Jaqui’s T-Shirt, but I made the error of keeping the aperture too wide. If doing it again I would choose f5.6 or 6.3 to get a little more detail in the boat to balance the picture  as Jaqui was deliberately placed on the right of the picture thinking that the yellow stern provided balance in composition. Thankfully Jaqui’s eyes and warm expression carry the picture anyway. (Canon 50mm f1.4)

Having only spoken on Skype with this wonderful man from Queensland, meeting him in person was a real thrill. I will be sad when he returns to Oz. He is a really likeable man, with a killer mix of humour and warmth, and despite the endless modesty, a striking man too. (Canon 50mm f1.4)

See what I mean!

Here are the Flickr Stalwarts in their full glory, both taking sensible precautions against the uncharacteristically hot Scottish sun today. (Canon 50mm f1.4)

However Jim could only behave for a little while while being photographed, eventually the playfulness/ misbehaviour has to break through. If Mrs Jim is looking at this, could you slap him for me on his return please! Dick is modelling headgear by Buff TM).

On my way home from this wonderful time in which Dick showed us Herons and Otters, I saw these disarmingly cute geese just strolling along the road as though it was their walkway. (Canon 70-300) This was the self timer  picture from last night using my 7D and Dick’s tripod and automatic mode for the first time in ages. This uses fill flash and I coped with the burned out sky by combining two lightroom exposures in Photomatix to let the happy quartet be seen with some detail of the Isle of Jura in the background. Safe home Jim. Thanks Dick and Jacqui

OK, I know the picture of the Trotternish Ridge and the Storr on Skye is a bit of a cliché, but who can resist. It was a bit grey and overcast, so increase contrast and black and white conversion focuses on what matters in this ridge; the prehistoric, folded landscape. For those who are interested, the spike in the centre is an old sea stack called the Old Man of Storr, it is about 160 feet high, and must once have been at sea level. Skye is easily one of my favourite places. Taken from the summit of Ben Tianavaig.

The following 3 are on the descent facing the magnificent Red Cuillins and looking over the sound of Raasay. For a mere 1500 feet hill, this must have one of the loveliest and most dramatic ridges.

Did I mention it was really cold?

Raining again all day, so I went to Glasgow instead. This is the view from the roof of the Buchanan Galleries car park. They have surrounded the roof with a high screen so that you need to use “live view” and hold the camera above the screen. I haven’t seen a nice sunset here for a month at least!

From the sailing club pontoon on Loch Leven looking east to the Pap of Glencoe with its little bonnet of cloud on the right.

The view over the Black Mount area from one of the roadside lochans on the Rannoch Moor.

Anyone who has walked the West Highland Way will know this view well. Ben Dorain, with it’s particularly steep sides simply towers over the West Highland Railway and the road north. I have climbed this a few times myself and can verify its classic Munro status. A great mountain.