Earlier this week I couldn’t resist buying some gorgeous little vases from the ‘Cox and Cox’ online sale. They arrived yesterday at 07:50 – ruining my Saturday morning lie-in! But they were worth it! Whilst taking a walk along to Crammond yesterday, I plucked a few wild flowers/weeds to photograph in them.
Today, we headed west to meet friends of ours, Catherine and (Dr) John, at Blair Drummond Safari Park. I’ve been to a few zoos in my time but I can only remember going to one other safari park whilst on a Girl Guiding week-long camp. We had a great day out – the meerkats, sea …
After visiting Wenlock Priory last week with my mom, I was keen to see what else English Heritage had to offer. After a wander around Ironbridge with James and his parents, we decided to call in at Buildwas Abbey. It was quiet with only a few other visitors – perfect for taking some decent photos …
Another visit to see mom and dad in Staffordshire means another opportunity to go exploring! Today mom took me over to Much Wenlock – a lovely litte market town. Tucked away down one of the side streets was the ruins of Wenlock Priory, now under English Heritage ownership. The weather had been very mixed but luckily the …
This afternoon we headed south to Glentress and while James went off on his mountain bike, I took a leisurely stroll through the forest to see what I could see. I had been hoping to get some images worthy of entering in Countryfile’s Photography Competition but I don’t think any of these really meet their …
Okay okay I admit it, I am a fan of Neighbours – always have been, always will be! In my defence, it is pretty much the only Soap I watch. Anyway some of the kids on Neighbours were given an assignment to photograph anything of a certain colour. I thought that sounded good fun, so …
We had a lovely visit to the Morningside Makers Market on Saturday which has given me some real inspiration to try to do more with my photographs. We bought a fantastic framed print from one of the ladies – Paper Snapdragon. She was using her photography but had manipulated it in Photoshop with some interesting techniques – …
Bo’ness Motor Museum – my dad’s second sightseeing request for the weekend. I have to admit though, that once we pulled into the car park, it did take some persuasion to get us to go in. From the outside you really couldn’t tell quite what you would encounter once you entered! It turned out to be a …
My mom and dad came to visit this weekend accompanied by two sightseeing request – the Falkirk Wheel and Bo’ness Motor Museum. James and I enjoyed our trip last year with his parents to the Falkirk Wheel so we were happy to organise a return visit. The weather wasn’t great when we arrived but it …
How lucky am I getting views like this from my front window?
We recently took a walk along Edinburgh’s Royal Mile. Having been there previously on numerous occasions, I was on the look out for something slightly different to photograph. Most people were taking shots of the streetscape or buildings. I decided to focus the lens on some of the tartan goods for sale.
This weekend we’ve had some Belgian guests staying with us and we decided to show them some of the Scottish coastline. We headed north to St Andrews stopping, enroute, at Anstruther and Crail. We had a good wander round the harbours at both calling points and there was more than enough for us to photograph.
Every time I visit mom and dad’s new place I get to see the countryside’s changing seasons. I’ve already photographed autumn and winter down there, but last weekend gave me the chance to take some early springtime shots. The ploughed fields down the lane immediately caught my eye. Donned with mom’s camera and the dog …
This weekend I went to the Egyptian Mummy Exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland. Well worth a visit – especially if you get the 2 for 1 entry tickets which are currently on the back of Lothian bus tickets! Unfortunately photos were not allowed inside the exhibition so you’ll have to go and visit …
In search of an afternoon in the great outdoors, we decided to head north to Loch Ore Meadows Country Park. It wasn’t until We arrived that I realised I had been there before – about 8 years ago now – for a very memorable sailing lesson. Today we were promptly welcomed by some very friendly …
I’m sure I’ve said before on this blog how much I like living down on the front overlooking the Firth of Forth. There is always something going on and people to watch on the beach. Yesterday, James and I set out for a wander along the front with two aims in mind. First and foremost …
My parents have recently been away skiing in Sauze d’Oulx, Italy. On their return, my mom mentioned two photos that she’d taken which she thought I’d like to see. I promptly asked if she would like to pop them in a Guest Blog Post and she agreed. Here are her photos:
Lauriston Castle sits behind a high stone wall. We’ve often passed it in the car and wondered what exactly was hidden beyond the wall. Today we decided to go and find out. We arrived promptly in time for the 2pm tour around the house. The last owner of the house, Mrs Reid, left it to …
Ever wondered what happened to your recycling once it leaves your house? Well today I got to find out – thanks to a Uni site visit. I tried to get a few shots but only had my iPhone with me so the quality isn’t up to its usual standards. This recycling centre was in Grangemouth. …
For Christmas my brother gave me the Cath Kidston “Stitch” book. As a kid I had a go at cross stitch, but I’ve never really tried tapestry until now. I do, however, always relish the opportunity to try out new craft so I’ve selected my first project from the book – a bright flowery cushion …
I took these photos at the weekend, but I’ve only just got round to putting them into a quick blog post. Sunshine momentarily brightened up our Study and lit up just a few of the leaves belonging to one of James’s plants that lives in there. The illuminated leaves really highlighted their details. I grabbed …
Today I was pondering what to use as the subject for today’s blog post. I’m still learning how to get the most out of my new Macro lens so decided to pick out something small but with some detail and see what type of shots I could get. Coins seemed like a good choice. I …
Whilst staying with James’s family over the Christmas Holiday, we took a trip over to Bletchley Park near Milton Keynes. Bletchley Park was one of the British centres at which teams were tasked with decrypting the coded German messages during World War Two. New codes were used on a daily basis so this was a never …
Its Christmaaaaasssssss!!! Alas, the day is drawing to an end and there is a break in the good TV so what better a time to upload a quick Christmas blog post. Here is a the documentation of my day. Here’s Ellie waiting for the fun to begin And here are the oh-so-tempting pressies Quickly followed …
There is so much to photograph in and around mom and dad’s house. These seed heads were collected whilst out on a very muddy walk with the dog a couple of days ago. I’m pretty happy with the range of images I was able to capture with such a simple subject.
My parents’ house suddenly started to feel very Christmassy this afternoon, when the living room received a good covering of decorations. I couldn’t resist taking a few snaps of them all.
Well it has been a little while since my last blog post – uni work took over my weekends for about a month. Semester is now over and all of my assignments have been handed in, and so the camera has been allowed to re-emerge. I’ve headed back to my parents’ house for Christmas. Its …
Can not believe that this will be my 100th Blog Post! Thanks to everyone who has been following my posts over the last year or so – hope you have enjoyed them and will continue to enjoy them. This post returns to a subject that I’ve covered a few times in the past – flowers. …
I’m selling at a craft fayre this week and really wanted to take some photos which might appeal to the kids who might be there. With a selection of James & his brother’s old toy cars packed into my rucksack, we headed down to Inverleith Park. After getting over the initial embarrassment of taking the photos whilst …
This week a close friend’s wedding gave me the opportunity to visit my mom & dad’s new place in Staffordshire’s countryside. Photos of the wedding will follow in a future blog post, but for now I’d like to share some from the lovely autumnal walks we’ve been able to take over the last few days. …
I think it’s pretty easy to stop seeing the interesting things and colours around you. I mean, when you go away somewhere new you are always looking out, eyes open, for what’s around you, but we forget to do that so much when you are in a more familiar place. Recently I took my camera …
Well since starting my part-time Masters course it has been somewhat tricky to keep up with blogging once a week. Today I was determined to get some good photos to put up on here. With a little bribery (half of my M&S Iced Bun) I persuaded James to act as my model so I could …
It wouldn’t have taken much to interrupt my studying this morning, so when I saw how low the tide was in the harbour in addition to the sea haar, it took me all of three minutes to grab my camera and tripod and head outside. I was hoping to capture some of the mystery created by the …
This weekend was Doors Open Days in Edinburgh. It’s a fantastic way to see places the public aren’t usually allowed to go in to. We decided to visit the Lothian Buses Open Doors Event which was held at their depot in Annandale Street. It was a fantastic opportunity to see the insides and outs of …
I absolutely adore the style and character of VW Campervans. Unfortunately for now I will have to make do with a 5cm toy version of the 1962 Volkswagen Microbus! This has, however, just come in very handy for practicing with my new Macro lens. I’ve cheated slightly and applied Aperture’s inbuilt present “Toy Camera” filter. …
There’s an old disused building on Leith Walk which looks like it has been ready for demolition for some time now. I used to pass it a couple of times a week. From the top deck of the bus you can see into the building and across waste ground clearly. I wasn’t sure that i’d …
I’ve been living in Scotland for a good few years now and probably haven’t explored the country as much as I should have done. This weekend, however, we got organised and headed over to Arran. It’s a great destination for a weekend away because it’s not too long a journey from Edinburgh, but the Ferry …
Last week I did a blog post about my trip to the Botanic Gardens. In that post I decided to make the images black and white. I quite liked the black and white versions but perhaps they are better in colour?
Over the last few months, I have been turning some of my photos into cards. My mom recently commissioned me to make these little thank you note cards. They’re made using 3″ x 3″ card blanks. And here are a few of the larger (6″ x 4″) cards that I’ve now sold. Please shout if …
With not much to do with my Saturday afternoon (until 7:10 when the new series of Dr Who started) and the Festival Fringe almost drawing to a close, I decided to take my camera up to the Royal Mile and see what sights I could spot. I went up to the Royal Mile last year, …
The Botanic Gardens always provide some great photographic opportunities. Today I went along with my parents who were up visiting for a weekend of festival activities. They wanted to get some inspiration for their new garden so we headed straight to the alpine garden section of the Botanics. Considering it was quite breezy, I was …
James dragged me out for some fresh air, a walk in the park & some geocaching this afternoon. All very successful apart from the geocaching which we failed to find! I took the camera along and got a few shots which i’ve been having a play around with. Another regal lion statue to go with …
Last week we had a wicked weekend away in Germany for a friend’s wedding. Unfortunately there aren’t any wedding photos in this blog post – my DSLR didn’t quite match the outfit I had chosen to wear! I am, however, just popping a few on here which I took whilst in Munich and Nuremburg. On …
I’ve recently been hearing a lot of good things about North Berwick, so when deciding where to go for a fun day out it was at the top of my list. Its only about 40 minutes down the coast from Edinburgh but we’d never thought to visit before. I think we’ll definitely be going back! …
I’m just back from my second trip to Alberta – I was supposed to be there for the final day of the Calgary Stampede and I was looking forward to getting some shots of the action. Unfortunately a delayed flight from Glasgow resulted in us missing the connecting flight to Calgary and a 24-hour layover …
Just recovering from a busy but fantastic weekend, the highlight of which was a trip to the British Grand Prix. I’ve never been before, but we’re big fans and watch most of the races on TV. My dad and brother went last year and enjoyed it so much that we all decided to get tickets …
Okay so I’m finally giving in and showing some of the landscape shots that I took while we were away. I’ve tried to include some more traditional wide mountain shots as well as some which I will simply call “rural sights”. The first two photos were taken on the first walk of the week from …
The second selection of photos that I’d like to share from my holiday in the Lakes are a little more abstract I suppose. I enjoy spotting interesting patterns, textures and colour combinations. Nature is full of them. I love the knobbly, scratchy tree bark And from macro rock plant … …to distant tree tops. The …
I’ve just spent a lovely relaxing week in the Lake District in a cottage just outside of Keswick. My camera barely left my side all week. I’m sure you can imagine how many landscape shots were taken during the week. I was, however, keen to get a range of shots which I’m hoping to share …
I will often try to get out of the office for a little wander each lunchtime, simply to get away from my computer screen for half an hour. Today was a perfect day for a lunchtime stroll. I wandered to Princes Street Gardens where I ate my Boots Meal Deal before having a little walk …
Its good to try something new and this weekend we did just that – mom and dad were up visiting and organised for use to go land yachting. Now I’ve spend many a fun afternoon on West Sands in St Andrews, but this was something completely different. Jamie and Guy run their own company called Blown …