LEVERBURGH LIFEBOAT PORTRAITS Overpowering the sun – on a budget! A big event here yesterday (May 2nd, 2012). The village of Leverburgh, population 200, saw the official opening of its brand new lifeboat station – the first RNLI all-weather lifeboat facility in the UK for 22 years. I knew there’d be plenty of people snapping away so figured I’d try something a little different. I decided to concentrate on taking close-up portraits of the people in attendance. My plan was […]
PROCEED TO GOAT ISLAND Shot yesterday on Goat Island – the industrial boatyard section of Stornoway. This old fishing boat, ‘Proceed’, caught my eye. The sky and cloud combination was looking good for a long exposure shot: brilliant blue sky with a smattering of fluffy clouds, plus a gentle breeze to guarantee some cloud movement during the exposure. Camera tech stuff: I composed the image with the camera mounted on a tripod. With the camera in Manual mode I set […]
THREE SCORE YEARS AND TEN Seilebost school, on the west coast of Harris, celebrated its 70th anniversary earlier this month. Prior to their platinum birthday bash I’d been contacted by the school head, asking if they might use my night photo of the school (above) on a batch of commemorative mugs they were having made for their reunion get together, which would be attended by seven decades worth of pupils and staff. A photo on a tea mug probably isn’t […]
The spirit of Elvis Presley is alive and well on the Isle of Lewis, as he sings “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!” to disinterested locals on the bus to Grimshader.
STARGAZING The BBC have been running a live TV programme over the past three nights called ‘Stargazing Live‘. I got a message via facebook suggesting I contribute a few of my night photos. I checked the web link and discovered the BBC have set up a dedicated flickr page: BBC Sky at Night and Stargazing LIVE, inviting contributions from anyone wishing to share their pics of the moon, stars, planets and the night sky. I had a quick dig through […]
Niall Iain Macdonald contacted me the other day, asking if I’d consider contributing one of my prints as a raffle prize for an event being held later this month in aid of the forthcoming North Atlantic Row and his chosen charity, SAMH. ‘No problem’, I said. Niall called down to Leverburgh today to collect his boat (now christened ‘The Fox’). I ventured down to the pier, camera in hand and rattled off a few snaps while he was loading it on to its custom built trailer.
GRINNEAS NAN EILEAN & GRASSHOPPERS HOTEL An Lanntair’s annual open art exhibition, Grinneas nan Eilean, opens tomorrow (Saturday December 3rd) and runs until January 29th 2012. Grinneas is held annually and hosts work by sculptors, photographers and artists from around the Outer Hebrides. My contribution to this year’s exhibition consists of four limited edition prints, all shot at night during 2011. Three of the prints feature shielings at Cuishader, Isle of Lewis. The fourth is of a ruined stone house […]
A man got out of the car, clambered over the fence and walked slowly towards me, shining a torch in my face. I could have retaliated with my Lenser T7 but chose not to because he’d have been blinded for a week. Bear in mind this is after 8pm on a November night and despite the full moon, it’s too dark for either of us to make out what the other is doing, or about to do.
I’ve been trying to get a decent night shot of this place for the past 2 years. 2011 has been a poor year in terms of clear skies coinciding with the full moon, therefore severely limiting photo opportunities for the aspiring night photographer. This month came up trumps and the night of November 10th and into the early hours of November 11th saw a super bright full moon accompanied by almost cloudless skies.
BALALLAN POST OFFICE Back in August of this year I received an order for a print of my Balallan Post Office photo from Kate Morgan, all the way from Australia. Kate mentioned the post office had previously belonged to her great aunt and uncle, Joan and Angus. A few days ago I received a follow up email from Kate informing me the print had arrived safely. She also included this great photo taken outside the very same building. I love […]