Mellow Yellow

We had a super weekend in Fife recently – visiting all of the gorgeous coastal villages. Most of the photos were of the family enjoying the beach, but I couldn’t resist publishing his little yellow trio.

Why didn’t I take my camera?

We packed up for another weekend away – Melrose this time. I had my camera packed, battery charged and memory card empty. But, did I actually take it the camera out on our adventures? No! Not sure why not, just not a priority I guess, and it kept raining. I took a few snaps on …

As promised, i’ve been back out with my camera AND a tripod! I’ve done a little more research and suspect this is a lacecap hydrangea, composed of a flat ring of petaled florets that surround a lacy cluster of smaller florets. Apparently, the acidity of the soil has a lot to do with the colour …

I just wandered into the garden to cut a few flowers to pop in a vase and brighten up the living room. I hadn’t quite realised how bountiful and bold our hydrangea had become in the last week or so; the one thing that has enjoyed our wet summer! I rushed back out with my …

I recently came across Emma Mitchell on Twitter and her beautiful book ‘The Wild Remedy’. I’ve not read it all yet, but felt immediately inspired to do get outdoors and take time to observe nature more closely. I love Emma’s style of photographing what she’s found and wanted to give it a go. My opportunity …

We escaped into East Lothian for the weekend and I made the effort to take my camera along. Feel a bit disappointed with the images I captured. Lacked a bit of inspiration, I guess, to see things from a new angle or to spot something worth capturing that a thousand people haven’t already captured. Would …

Popped outside on my lunch break to snap these flowers. I had a quick google, which revealed they are Tiarella (foam flower) and I love seeing them fluttering in the summery breeze.

Canal walk

It’s been a long time since I had my camera out with the hope of pulling a blog post together, but today was a great opportunity to get a few shots when we headed over to the Water of Leith Visitor Centre in Slateford and walked from there along the Union Canal. I loved the …

I’m well overdue getting my camera out to take a few snaps of our new, four-legged family member. She’s a mini goldendoodle and is just over 4 months old now. She’s such a cutie at times and loves a bit of fuss, but I can’t wait for the nipping to stop now!!

Carnations

I treated myself to a bouquet of flowers to cheer up my home working desk at the start of the new year. It included some lovely roses and lilies, but it was the Antique Carnations that really caught the attention of me and my camera lens. The frilly edges and gorgeous colour transitions were a …

Felt inspired for the the first time in ages to grab the camera as we headed out for a walk today at Vogrie Country Park. It’s not often easy to take photos while also cajoling a toddler, but today I knew there would be four adults to one toddler, so the ratio was in my …

A little game of poohsticks part way through our walk. Dad and son trying to spot where the sticks had gone.

Looking beyond the autumn leaves

We’re all just recovering from coughs and colds, but decided it would do us some good to get out for a walk. I was looking forward to photographing the autumn leaves now that the colours are starting to turn. However, in the end, it was the moss and mushrooms that really caught me eye.

A little editing

In my last post I included a couple of photos of a frosty seed head. I couldn’t resist having a play around with the editing options and really liked this version.

A crisp morning

I’m glad my camera was at hand when we went out for a walk this morning. There must have been a good frost last night and it had barely warmed when we went traipsing through this small, local woodland. The light was gorgeous. I was particularly pleased to spot the seed heads glistening with their …

EDIT: I am grateful for a friend who found out that I was photographing dried ‘brunia’. Brunia is a shrub native to the cape region of South Africa. It has white pompom-like flowers. I received a beautiful bouquet of winter flowers at Christmas from my other half. The flowers themselves are now residing in our …

Our surroundings were once again transformed by a layer of snow this week. Isn’t it fascinating how a layer of the white stuff makes you spot beauty in the ordinary; an unnoticed roof and a hedge that needs a trim.

A Winter’s Morning

I took my camera out to photograph my little one playing in the snow this morning. It didn’t take long for other things to catch my eye. This hellebore started flowering last week. Out the front of the house, the sun was warming up the air and I loved the light catching our wreath and …

I was sitting and the dining room table this morning, working through some emails. I glanced up and took a moment to really look at the array of colours our autumnal garden was presenting me with. One shrub alone is currently displaying every colour from a vibrant green to a deep red. I went out …

The wind has been whipping around our back garden for the last two days and I was worried what shape I would find the allium in as we hadn’t attached them to stakes. Well, I needn’t have worried, they’ve used each other as supports and have wrapped their stems together. I popped out to get …

Last week I posted the first set of photos of the Allium growing in my garden. I’ve been monitoring them daily and went out again today with my camera and macro lens to capture how they’re developing. To be honest, though, it wasn’t until I sat down and viewed these images on the large computer …

Who doesn’t love an allium? Those impossibly large stems and bold ball-like seedheads are gorgeous. We planted a few bulbs two or three years ago and I am delighted they’ve multiplied in number this year. They’re about to pop open. I’ll have to take some more photos once they are in their full splendor.

Fungi

We went for an insect hunt today but it was the fungi that really caught my eye.

An Autumn Afternoon

Keen to make the most of the last of the autumn colours, we donned our walking boots and headed to Roslin. The rain was heavy when we arrived but our patience paid off and the clouds soon blew over so we could set out on our short walk – up to Roslin Castle, through the …

After a long time away from blogging, I’m back in action with my camera (and a baby in tow)… Those travelling on the top deck of the 31 bus along Kirk Brae (in Edinburgh) can be lucky to catch a glimpse of the gorgeous red vines that twist their way up the walls of Liberton …

In Perth last weekend, we took a walk around the delightful Quarrymill Woodland Park. This was my favourite shot, gazing upwards at the towering Pine Trees.

Lyra

Lyra is a Parson Jack Russell. She belongs to my mom and dad. She’s a cheeky little thing. Whilst not the most willing of photography subjects, I just about managed to catch her attention for long enough to get a few fun shots. “Tickle my belly please”, says Lyra. … I thought we were here …

August is a fun and busy time in Edinburgh, with the Festival in full swing. However, after battling the crowds on a daily basis, I was more than happy to head out of town when we had visitors last weekend. Newhailes is a National Trust for Scotland property that we’ve been meaning to visit for …

Having already uploaded two blog posts about our honeymoon cruising experience and the waterside views, here is my final Norway post. During our cruise, we were able to explore 9 different ports – starting with Stavanger and reaching up to Honningsvåg in the far north, before returning south and ending in Bergen. We saw so much …

Part 2 of my cruising series of posts and it seems inevitable to focus on the inspiring views we saw along the waterways we visited – particularly the fjords. At times we couldn’t bear to tear our eyes away from the view from our balcony in case the next view was even better than the current …

The land of the midnight sun – our honeymoon destination. The Princess Sapphire cruise ship – our transport mode of choice. Two weeks of relaxation, exploration and fabulous views. We’ve never cruised before, so it was a bit of a risk deciding to spend our honeymoon on a cruise ship for two weeks, but I’m …

Photography has been pretty minimal on my part recently, but I enjoyed getting out my little Sony RX100 Mk.3 during a recent work trip to Budapest. We took a trip along the Danube on one of the many tourist boats. Actually, it was a great way to see more of the city and the wonderful …

After a drizzly few days and with the promise of sunshine, Howick Hall Gardens and Arboretum seemed like an ideal destination for an afternoon walk with its lovely mix of formal gardens and woodland (plus the all-important tea room). We easily spent 3 hours exploring, following the paths through the arboretum and snapping away with our cameras.

Over the Causeway

An eerie feel accompanied us as we crossed the causeway from the mainland to Holy Island on a grey and drizzly September morning. Once parked up and waterproof jackets on, we were ready to explore. We headed out to Lindisfarne Castle which is currently closed and undergoing extensive refurbishment. Somehow I think the scaffolding makes …

Castles punctuate the coastline of Northumberland. The ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle kept catching my eye as we walked the beaches during our recent getaway. Here it is from the north at Newton-by-the-Sea and from the south at Craster.

Alnwick Castle

There are a good few castles to visit on a trip through Northumberland. We’ve previously visited Bamburgh Castle so this time we opted for Alnwick Castle. It holds some impressive celebrity claims to fame – having been used as a set for Harry Potter and Downton Abbey. There are plenty of areas to explore around …

No holiday to our beautiful British coastline is complete without a boat trip, and no boat trip is complete without some wildlife spotting. Today we went on a Serenity Boat Trip from Seahouses out to the Farne Islands. During the summer months many species of birds come to breed on the Farne Islands. However, by …

We were super lucky to be selected from the ballot to take part in the Queensferry Crossing Experience this weekend. For those who don’t know, Scotland has a lovely new bridge crossing the Firth of Forth, the Queensferry Crossing. Once it is fully open, it will be part of the motorway network with no access …

The Pentland Hills are almost on our doorstep and yet we rarely think to head over for a walk. However, I’ve recently spotted a few photos on Twitter showing just how lovely the heather is at the moment – a beautiful array of pinks and purples – so I thought it was time to see …

We have not long returned from a very memorable trip to Copenhagen; what a city! We loved exploring by foot and metro. There is so much to see and do. I loved the mismatched and colourful architecture. It’s a city with style and is well-worth a visit. I’ve selected four of my favourite views from the …

I was very fortunate to be invited to participate in a series of transport workshops in Nairobi, Kenya. What a fantastic opportunity! This was my first visit to Kenya and I certainly enjoyed my time in this bustling, energetic and welcoming city. The hotel gardens were my first introduction to local fauna and flora. I was very …

I’ve recently invested in a new, small camera to take on my travels when my DSLR is simply impractical. Today was the first time I’ve taken it out for a test run – to get used to the new controls and see how it fares compared to the DSLR. Our destination: the Secret Herb Garden. …

We really did need to be wrapped up warm for our walk today around Attingham Park – a National Trust mansion and parkland in Shrewsbury. However, the cold didn’t stop mom and me from getting our cameras out. We started off by walking passed the mansion where I liked the colour and composition of these picnic tables and the grey …

I couldn’t quite believe it when I got an email in December telling me that I had been selected in the ballot for a place on Nikon’s Birmingham Meetup. Today was the day of the Meetup and I set off with a sense of anticipation of what the morning would have in store. Would everyone have …

A new vista waiting to be photographed around every corner. On Mull we were certainly spoiled for choice for a good landscape; from Calgary in the north, to Tobermory in the east, and Iona in the south west.

A sea-bound adventure to Staffa

Iona is a beautiful, mainly car-free, island which lies off the southwestern tip of Mull. You access the island via a short ferry ride. We decided to take a day-trip to Iona and wanted to include a boat trip out to Staffa. Once on Iona we headed for a walk up Dun I (the highest point on …

After enjoying our trip to the Outer Hebrides last year, we decided to select another Scottish Island to visit this summer. After investigating our options, we chose the Isle of Mull for a four night trip. Getting some fresh air and taking a batch of good photographs were my two top priorities; the trip did …

I would highly recommend a trip to the London Transport Museum. We visited for the first time a few weeks ago and happily spent a good few hours there. You can get a great feel for the history of transport and the history of London. I think the exhibitions clearly demonstrated how vital the transport …

This little tyke wouldn’t stay still for long enough to get many photos of her that aren’t blurred! She’s my ‘puppy niece’ (my brother’s puppy) and we had a great few days looking after her earlier this year. Couldn’t resist popping one photo of her on here.

Brantwood House and Garden

I had heard the name ‘Ruskin’ but knew little of the man until visiting Brantwood House and Gardens last weekend. It turns out he was a rather interesting and influential man. A little quote by him caught my attention – “Take a handful of rubble from the roadside, and pick out a small stone. When examined …

May in the Lake District must be one of the most colourful times of the year – at least one of the most green times of the year. These photos are from a little walk we took up to a great vantage point over Windermere. I wonder how many shade of green there are here?