Kitesurfers on Barassie Beach
On a windy, but sunny February morning, a few of us from Ayr Photographic Society, met on Barassie Beach to enjoy the acrobatic activities of the local kitesurfing training school, run by Grant Clayton
Below are some of my action-packed images, captured with the new Sony zoom lens
What an amazing performance. Superb !!!!!
Good old Santa – Sony FE 200-600mm
I must have been a good boy, as I’m now the proud owner of this great lens. Here’s a few more local wildlife/bird images, shot with my new lens.
I hope you like them.
Happy New Year to all my fellow bloggers
Sony FE200-600mm f5.6/f6.3 Trial
I had the opportunity to trial this lens at the end of last week, at Rozelle Park, in Ayr, where I manage to shoot some “active “dog images and a few images of some local birds
Although a little heavier than my Canon FE70-200mm f2.8 IS USM, with metabones e-mount adapter, I found it easier to handle than expected.
The reach and quality of this Sony lens was superb, and the continuous autofocus, on the subjects was extremely accurate. I hope Santa will be good to me, this Xmas so that I can add it to my photography kit bag
Here are a few sample images which I hope you will like
Fireworks Near Burns Monument
The annual fireworks display, to commemorate Guy Fawkes’ attempt to blow-up The Houses of Parliament in 1605, was held recently at the grounds of Ayr Rugby Club.
Here are a few images, of the local firework display, shot near Burns Monument, overlooking “Brig O’ Doon” Hotel.
Scottish Airshow 2014
The Scottish Airshow, was held in Ayr, this year, during early September.
It was an incredible performance that was enjoyed by around 50,000 spectators soaking up the atmosphere and the great weather.
Many thanks to all involved for a superb day.
A small sample of my images are shown below.
Caitlin – My Wee Granddaughter
A “Wee Cracker”. born on 24th July.
A Poem for Caitlin
“C” is for child so wonderful and new
“A“ is for apple of my eye she is too
“I” is for innocence you see in her face
“T” is for tenderness and so full of grace
“L” is for love, unconditional and pure
“I” will protect her and love her, for sure
“N“o words can express my joy and elation
Caitlin’s arrived …. she’s a sensation!
Spectacular Vintage Festival – Glasgow 2013
A Spectacular Vintage Festival was the main theme, last week, at Glasgow’s Merchant City!!
Thousands of “retro” fans descended on Glasgow to take part in one of the cities main events of the summer, many dressed in costumes from the 1910s to the 1980s. The revellers enjoyed a feast of vintage styles covering 7 decades.
Vintage entertainment, fashion, makeovers, shopping and food markets were the main attractions during the day; and in the evenings Glasgow partied at vintage nightclubs, to the sounds of Rock and Roll, Soul Music and the Big Band Sounds of the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
We visited the festival on Saturday, where we met some “groovy” characters in “retro” style costume. There were many interesting people, including a couple I spoke with, Claire and Paul, from Wrexham, who were dressed in 30s/40s style; a great couple that would travel almost anywhere to experience the early to mid 20th century “retro scene”. It was great to meet the two of them!!
While at the festival, we took the opportunity to have lunch at “Arisaig”, in Merchant Square, where we enjoyed the home-made fish cakes starter followed by a superb king prawn risotto, all “washed down” with a nice bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.
Below are a few of the images I captured before lunch and the bottle of wine.
Images from previous Merchant city festivals at http://wp.me/P1WKsc-oI
More details on the Merchant City Festival at http://www.merchantcityfestival.com/Pages/default.aspx
Beamish Museum – Co. Durham
You can’t visit Durham and not visit the nearby Beamish Museum. This “living museum” is a superb example of urban and rural life that existed in the early 20th century in N.E England.
We had previously visited some 15 – 20 years ago, when our children were young and it was great to return, a few weeks ago, and remind ourselves how amazing the Beamish is. We were only there for a day and really did not get a chance to see all of the exhibits, but we will most definitely return in the near future.
Below are a few images, including some of the interiors of the houses in the old Victorian town.
Detailed information about The Beamish Museum can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamish_Museum
Great Honour for Tawny Owl
I was given one of the highest complements on my “Tawny Owl” image the other day, by a fellow blogger from Hungary, Moira Gyenes.
Using my image, Moira has managed to capture the very essence of the image in her drawing, by emphasising the details, the piercing eyes and augmenting the soft feathery textures of the raptors plumage.
As you can see from the image below, I think you will agree that her drawing is superb! ……. I am honoured!
More of Moira’s superb images can be found at http://fav.me/d67rva6
Durham Cathedral (N.E. England)
My “better half” and I recently visited North East England. Needless to say my camera gear went with me, but was not used often, as the weather was a bit dull and the quality of light was poor. Fortunately there were the occasional breaks in the cloud cover and I manages to capture a few images when, for a fleeting moment, the light quality improved dramatically.
The image below of Durham Cathedral, was capture about 1 hour before sunset, when the “soft” sunlight illuminated the west facing towers of this beautiful Sanctuary. Building started on this magnificent place of worship in 1093 and was completed some 40 years later.
More detailed information can be found at this link. http://www.durhamcathedral.co.uk/
Durham Cathedral
Merchant City Festival – Glasgow
My “better half” and I have attended this superb event over the last 2 years and have been amazed by diversity and quality of this festival, which presents “best of the best” in theatre, music, visual arts, comedy, dance, film, fashion and the food scene.
Looking forward to the next one. which runs from 24th to 28th July 2013
Brazilian Beauty
Please follow my link below to see more images of this annual, “not to be missed” event.
Rome – Additional Images
With so much activity in Rome at the moment, I felt compelled to add some additional images to my Rome webpage. Please click on this link to my Rome webpage http://wp.me/P1WKsc-jl
I would love to be there at present to sense and enjoy the atmosphere of anticipation and excitement as the Catholic Church seek to elect a new leader.
Alas, I will neeed to content myself with watching history unfold on the television and think of our holiday visit a few years ago, seeing the places we visited and dreaming of our return, hopefully in the near future.
Piazza San Pietro – Rome
The 3 Sisters of Glencoe
The group of mountains of Beinn Fhada, Gearr Aonach and Aonach Dubh, shown in the image below, are more commonly known as the 3 Sisters of Glencoe. These mountains form part of a volcanic ridge in Glencoe, known as Bidean nam Bian
For more information please follow this link : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidean_nam_Bian
For some of my other landscape images please follow this link http://wp.me/P1WKsc-M
Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012 – Additional Images
6 Additional images of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012 added today.
- Japanese Girl
Please go to http://wp.me/P1WKsc-jn for the rest of the images
Busier Than Ever – Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2012
Superb!! – 25 days of Events with over 2,600 shows from 47 different countries
Edinburgh, the Scottish Capital was “buzzing” this year, in August, with the annual Fringe Festival.
An amazing diversity of shows to suit all tastes ranging from Shakespeare to light comedy; classical to rock music accompanied by traditional “scottish” cuisine from the many local bars and restaurants. (Even haggis and neeps, deep fried mars bars or the usual fish supper, were on the menu, if that’s what you fancied)
I love Edinburgh, particularly at this time of year when the city is busy with tourists and “locals”, enjoying the “banter” of the performers and audiences, enjoying the culture and “soaking-up” the atmosphere.
Edinfringe Rocks
The Fringe is an opportunity for me to indulge in my photography, to capture portrait images of the “street” performers advertising their shows and to talk with some of the interesting “characters” taking part.
GI Girls at The Fringe
This year I visited the Fringe 3 times. On my last visit, my “better half” and I met up with some of my “old” school friends and rounded off a great day, with a delicious meal in a local restaurant, with a nice bottle of wine and good company.
Looking forward to August 2013.
For more images of the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe please click on http://wp.me/P1WKsc-jn
Roman Holiday – Inside The Vatican
Continuing on the theme “Roman Holiday”; we went into the Vatican during our visit to Rome. Here are a few images.
The first image is Michelangelo’s La Pieta, which is the only sculpture that he ever signed. It depicts the body of Christ in Mary’s lap after the crucifixion.
The second image is the Main Dome inside the Vatican. Michelangelo designed the dome in 1547 and it was completed in 1590 by Giacomo della Porta and Fontana.
The third image, the Cathedra Petri or ” the Throne of St Peter” is surrounded by an enormous statue of bronze produced by Bernini.
More information can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter’s_Basilica
Roman Holiday – Swiss Guard
The Swiss Guard has existed since the late 15th century. As guardians of the gates to Vatican City, the Papal Swiss Guard, founded in 1506, is the only remaining Swiss Guard in the world.
Swiss Guard
More information at http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/swiss_guard/swissguard/storia_en.htm
Loch Shiel – Glenfinnan Monument
The Glenfinnan Monument was erected in 1815. It is a memorial tower marking the place where Bonnie Prince Charlie (Charles Edward Stuart) raised his standard at the start of the Jacobite Rebellion of 1745.
Today the monument is in the care of the National Trust for Scotland.
This image was captured on a hill above the National Trust Visitor’s Centre.
Loch Shiel (Glenfinnan Monument)
Oban View
We visited Oban during a recent trip to the Scottish Highlands. Oban, located on the mainland, at the northern end of The Firth of Lorn near the entrance to Loch Linnhe, is known as the “Gateway to the Isles”. It is also recognised as the “Seafood capital of Scotland”.
And while I love fresh seafood, for the chocoholics like me, I recommend a visit to the Oban Chocolate Company, who offer a range of delicious hand made chocolates manufactured in their factory in Oban.
More information at http://www.oban.org.uk/
Oban
Julie and Kenneth’s Wedding
A few weeks ago my youngest daughter, Julie married Kenneth at the Lochside House Hotel in New Cumnock, Ayrshire.
We all had a great day, with sunny weather, at a superb venue, in the company of 130+ good friends and family.
We hired a photographer for the celebration, but I just had to take my own camera with me. The images below are just a few shots that I took when I had a spare moment from my “Father of the Bride” duties. Looking forward to seeing the “official” shots
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- Julie and Kenneth
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- Julie
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- Julie and Karen (my other daughter)
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- Myra and Doreen (Groom and Bride’s Mother)
Mallaig Harbour – “The Jacobite’s” Destination
The fishing port of Mallaig is the destination of the “The Jacobite” the vintage steam train, featured in last week’s post.
This peaceful view over Mallaig Harbour, shows the islands of Rum and Eigg on the horizon. In the foreground is the Caledonian MacBrayne car ferry to Skye
Mallaig Harbour
“The Jacobite”
“The Jacobite” is the vintage steam train which runs from Fort William, through some of the most beautiful countryside in Scotland, to the picturesque fishing port of Mallaig.
While this trip has always been a popular attraction with tourists visiting the Scottish highlands, the “Harry Potter” movies where the ” Hogwarts Express” crosses the Glenfinnan Viaduct has helped boost the popularity of this nostalgic journey. On its journey the “Jacobite” does cross the Glenfinnan Viaduct just like in the movies.
The image of the train below, was captured last week, during a short visit to the Scottish Highlands, as it travelled along the shoreline of Loch Eil, 4 – 5 miles from Fort William, on its way to Mallaig
More details at http://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/jacobite/Jacobite_Details.html and for a journey across the Glenfinnan Viaduct on “The Jacobite” click on this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_GjT9nlAeM&feature=related
The Jacobite
Sir Walter Scott Monument; Edinburgh
This image of Sir Walter Scott’s Monument, erected for his contribution to Scottish Literature is captured, just before sunset, from “The Mound” (the old Bank of Scotland Headquarters; Edinburgh)
The monument, inaugurated in 1846, is 200ft high. A sculpture in marble, of the man himself, can be seen through the centre arch.
Sir Walter Scott Monument; Edinburgh
More information can be found at http://www.edinburgharchitecture.co.uk/scott_monument.htm
Blackrock Cottage “Close-up” (Monochrome) Version – Glencoe
Just thought I’d also post the monochrome “close-up” version. What do you think?
Blackrock Cottage_mono
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