St Giles' Cathedral

Fourteen years on from my last visit to St Giles’ Cathedral I had only the vaguest of memories of the building so it was interesting to return and see what I’d forgotten.

Tourist season had definitely kicked in so it was tricky to capture wide, sweeping views of the Cathedral but I found plenty of lovely corners to aim my camera at and the low spring sun created some beautiful contrasts.

One clear memory I did have from last time was the many regimental flags, some of which have aged so much they’re translucent.

My favourite part of the building was the Thistle Chapel, with its ornate ceiling and wonderful characters on the pews.

Just before I left I spent some time sitting in the nave, taking in the architectural shapes and noticing where the Cathedral had been altered over the centuries. A rather more modern addition are the extraordinary ‘space ship’ lights which I rather like!

Photos taken 3rd April 2023

Sunny Edinburgh

My final day in Edinburgh was a sunny one so I made the most of this and went for a stroll by the Water of Leith - the river which runs just north of the city centre. The crisp shadows and strong contrast just demanded a monochrome approach.

St Bernard’s Well

For most of my stroll the walkway was well above the river, but I did find one spot where I could sneak down onto the riverbank.

Playing with longer exposure times to capture the movement of the water as it rushed by.

Further west I found Dean Village, where the buildings tower above the river.

After lunch I wandered back into the centre of the city and spent some time exploring the graveyard at St Cuthbert’s Church, just beneath the castle, which looms on the Edinburgh skyline.

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

Photos taken 3 April 2023

Georgian Splendour

My exploration of Edinburgh today offered plenty of contrasts. I spent some time at the wonderful St Cecilia’s Hall - a concert hall built in 1763. Its oval performing space is the height of Georgian elegance, although I did curse the modern projector screen which filled the stage and prevented me getting a photo of that end of the hall, with its beautiful pipe organ!

I was particularly taken with the oval roof light and its simple, sleek lines.

More elegant architecture along Princes Street.

Edinburgh is built on the side of a long extinct volcano which means much of the city is very hilly. Many of the streets run parallel to each other along the side of the hill, but rather than expecting pedestrians to walk long distances around the end of each street, there are many narrow alleyways (I would call them twittens but I imagine there’s a local Edinburgh name for them too!) which cut between them. Some of them involve navigating lots of steps or steep slopes, but they make for some great photo opportunities!

Old Assembly Close isn’t a close at all - you can walk right through and out the other side!

Looking up to the light along one of the alleyways.

Photos taken 30 March 2023

Bridging the Clyde

During a recent visit to Scotland I spent a very enjoyable day strolling along the River Clyde with my friend Matt. The dramatic cloudy skies just called out for a black and white treatment - very photogenic, even if they did empty their contents over us so we ended the day looked like drowned rats!

A long disused crane alongside the river. The small rotunda beneath it once contained the lift shaft to a tunnel beneath the river.

Matt told me this bridge is known as the ‘Squinty Bridge’ by the locals on account of its offset arch!

Another curvaceous bridge across the Clyde.

Our walk took us beneath several railway bridges too - this one offered some particularly dramatic contrasts of light and shadow.

Photos taken 29 March 2023

Waltham Abbey

I’ve been intending to revisit Waltham Abbey for a long while now but Covid related closures and work stopped me until last Friday. I intended to take a mix of pinhole and digital images but in the end pinhole photography just clicked more for me on this occasion.

The light was very changeable as rainstorms passed through overhead, but the subdued illumination worked well for monochrome pinhole photography.

Click on any image to see it enlarged.

There were glimpses of sunshine though…

The first time I visited Waltham Abbey I laid my 35mm pinhole camera on the ground to take a photo of the ornate ceiling. That didn’t work well, so I had another go this time. The ceiling is visible but the strong spotlights have added their own uniquely pinhole flare too!

A candle burning for Ukraine…

A brace of ornately carved doors outside the Abbey.

Photos taken 24 March 2023

Pinhole meanderings

Whenever I’ve been out and about recently I’ve taken a pinhole camera with me to capture the scenes around me in slow motion. Last week I took and afternoon stroll in Saffron Walden. St Mary’s Church has always been a fertile ground for pinhole photos so was sure to visit and, sure enough, I found some new angles and views.

Elsewhere in the town this wonderful old building was calling to me.

Later in the week my work took me to Maidenhead and my B&B was close to the River Thames. ON Sunday morning I took a stroll along the river and found plenty of inspiration, including the dramatic Boulters Weir.

I found a vantage point close to the river level and the weir seemed even more powerful from there.

A ghostly self portrait by the Thames.

Photos taken 16 & 19 March 2023

Houses and gardens with style

After my not so successful photos from Nymans last month I returned on my next journey down to Sussex for another try.

The house and Nymans suffered a disastrous fire in 1947, destroying a lot of the internal structure. Some of the rooms were restored, but a large part of the building remains just a shell to this day.

My ultimate destination was West Dean College, where I was due to tutor a recorder course. Naturally my camera got some exercise there too, especially around the gardens.

Two early morning photos of the River Lavant from a stroll before breakfast.

I’ve photographed this huge curving sculpture before but this time I got really close to accentuate the lines - my camera was just a couple of inches from the end of the structure!

A ghostly self portrait under the arch in the garden. In a couple of months time this will be covered in climbing plants.

During our morning playing session my group of recorder players gave me permission to capture a slow motion group portrait, which took forty minutes!

After lunch on Saturday I explored the glasshouses. The first image looks quite bare at the moment, but these strawberry and peach plants will soon be covered in fruit.

A much more verdant scene in one of the tropical glasshouses.

Photos taken 10 & 11 March 2023

A wondrous respite from the rain

For my birthday a couple of weeks ago I treated myself to a day in Cambridge, although sadly the weather didn’t take any notice of my request for good weather. Instead it poured with rain - hardly conducive to spending time looking for interesting characters on the streets.

Rather than getting drenched I bought a ticket to visit Kings College Chapel where I at least knew would keep warm and dry. During a previous visit I discovered the Chapel has underfloor heating - a real boon if getting the magic photo requires you to lie on the ground!

The vaulting at Kings is exquisite so my eyes were perpetually being drawn upwards.

A stolen view through to the choir.

Two small scenes from the choir

Arches within arches in one of the side chapels

A final glance back at the trumpeters on the organ and that wonderful ceiling.

Photos taken 9 March 2023

Surprises in every negative

Pinhole photography is an unpredictable art at the best of times and sometimes things don’t go to plan. On this occasion a glitch with my camera during a stroll around the grounds at Nymans let me with much stronger vignettes than usual on my photos.

Several of my photos were unusable as a result, but in some cases I really like the dramatic fall off of light - every cloud has a silver lining!

Photos taken 25 February 2023

Low tech photography

As you know, I’m a fan of simple cameras - after all my pinhole cameras are about as simple as it gets! A couple of weeks ago I decided to use a different sort of machine, but almost as basic, when I made a couple of journeys west. My Holga camera is made of plastic (including the lens) and cost me the princely sum of £21 from eBay - undoubtedly one of my best photographic bargains! It has a single shutter speed and a fixed lens so the only setting you have to remember to adjust is the focus distance, although occasionally I forget to do that!

Holga photos have a recognisable look. If you get the focusing right the simple lens is remarkably sharp in the centre, but this clarity drops off at the edges, creating a dreamy effect. This simplicity makes you think about your compositions but it also brings the ability to make multiple exposures. During my wait at Paddington Station I had a play with this, creating multiple layers with the station’s architectural lines.

A few days later I found myself travelling through London again, with some time to kill before my train home from Liverpool Street. As I walked out of the tube station the sun emerged so I took a stroll with my Holga, seeking out interesting combinations of lines and light.

A shaft of sunlight on the pavement

Photos taken February 2023