… but I kind of like this.
Category: Photography
Edinburgh Allotmenteers 2015
Edinburgh Allotmenteers is my new project for 2015. It builds on my 100 Portraits project that lead to the Botanics People exhibition. The goal of the project is to produce a folio of around a dozen A3 prints and possibly a small exhibition. To get to this point I will…
Old Hyam History
Rearranging my bookshelf I came across the folder with my negatives in and it fell open at a film my father took in the late 1950’s. That’s my olderest brother, mother and paternal grand parents outside what the Russian’s would call a datcha on the Sharpness Canal. The dog in…
Approaching the river Tay
I think this might work better as a print. It needs examination up close.
Botanics People
Many of the subjects in my 100 Portraits Project were at my place of work (The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh) so I have continued making portraits of people around the gardens and have worked these into a separate “Botanics People” project. I’ve been producing prints on Epson Archival Matt paper…
My Fujinon FX 56mm f1.2 R is Waiting!
I turn 50 years at the end of February (if I haven’t mentioned it enough times). As a gift to my self I’m buying some Fujifilm X gear I couldn’t justify under other circumstances. Fujifilm have a cash back scheme that ends on the 11th January so I have bought…
Brother Steve
My brother Steve came up to visit in October and we had a nice time together for which I’m really grateful. He’d lost weight and was generally feeling and acting a lot more bouncy than over the last few years. We are both looking scarily like our father though.
Gratitude Blog?
It is a navel gazing time of year but this year I feel more reflective than usual. I’ll be 50 in less that two months so perhaps it is my perpetual mid life crisis. This is a selfie with my Fujifilm X-M1 and nifty XF27mm f2.8 pancake lens @ f2.8…
Back to Flickr?
I just discovered that I can embed Flickr images by just cutting and pasting the URL like this: Unfortunately it looks like it only does a small photo! I wonder if that can be changed? Edit: 2014-11-9 – My Flickr images aren’t working! Maybe the image above appears for you…
People @ Pedal On Parliament 2014
Had a lovely couple of hours doing the Pedal On Parliament ride today and took the opportunity to spend the time photographing people. Everyone was in a good mood and, although there were a few people who didn’t want their photos taken, most were up for it. I had a…
100 Portraits: Norman
Norman was working with Andy to build the National Organ Donor Memorial in the gardens. He is a drystane dyker by trade but many years ago he was a student at the botanics. A fascinating guy to talk to.
100 Portraits: Greg
Greg runs the education programs and is such a nice guy. We talked about work whilst he ate his lunch and took a couple of calls then sat quickly for a portrait. Multitasking whilst remaining totally unflappable. The sun has been shining but Greg’s office has a window that faces…
100 Portraits: Martin
Martin runs the conifer conservation project and, as conifers don’t have flowers and are considered ‘lower’ plants he is located in the basement along with David. The windows are almost below ground level but provide just enough light through the foliage.
100 Portraits: Colin
Number 63 in my series. Colin was very relaxed about coming to be photographed. The day was overcaste again I stood him by the window with the heating pipes behind. In another shot we had gone quite a way into the building but the light became too ghoulish.
Railway People
At the end of last year I saw an exhibition of photographs at Edinburgh Central library. They were prints from negatives that had been found in a biscuit tin by historian Archie Foley and put on display with the help of photographer Peter Ross. The photographs had been taken in…
First Portrait Exhibition
On Monday I noticed that the exhibition cabinets in the foyer of the main science building were empty with a note saying the library (who coordinate the exhibitions) were taking a break before the next exhibit. I thought this was a opportunity for me to exhibit my Botanics People photos…
Basil Spence: University of Edinburgh Library
I walk past the Basil Spence building almost every day and have been trying to photograph it for my brother who has an interest in Spence’s building. It is actually really hard to get good lighting and view of this building. This is at dawn (about 8:30 am at this…
Faith to get point shoes
I’m doing some clearing out and came across this shot of Faith from a few years ago which triggered more gratitude for eyes and light and children. She’s much bigger now and asking for her first point shoes.
Jane at the end of the Wester Caputh Retreat
I grabbed this shot of Jane (who is one of my fellow Interbeing aspirants) at the end of our Wester Caputh retreat last week. This is with the FX27mm ‘pancake’ lens.
Feather Frost
I can’t remember whether I have seen it before or not but I was walking in the woods by the river Tay when I came across Feather Frost A.K.A Frost Flowers. It looked like people had left little lumps of tissue all over the woodland floor. Wonderful to see. Fascinating…
View from the bathroom window
Something to be grateful for first thing in the morning.
Winter weather is here at last
I’ve not enjoyed rustling through the frosty leaves for a shot so much in ages. It is so much easier being digital than using Fuji Velvia at 50 ISO and 35mm.
Morton Hall Golf Club Boxing Day 2014
With the cloud rolling in across the cold ground the Pentlands were obscured and the golf course became and island.
Saying so long to Flickr clutter
I have been increasingly dissatisfied with the way Flickr displays my photographs. This is linked with my inability to get on well with social media in general, perhaps with the exception of Twitter. Here is a screen shot of what my Flickr page looked like just before I took the…
100 Portraits: Andy
Andy has worked at the botanics for over 25 years and is actually a lot more cheerful than he appears in this photo – but I like the shot. He was working with Norman on the organ donor memorial.
100 Portraits: Reuben
Finally got around to photographing Reuben. We had just been having a meeting about putting children’s drawings on line and generally sorting out the problems of the world. At the end of the chat Reuben stepped outside for a smoke and let me take his photo. He is tall so…
100 Portraits: Colin 2
Colin works in estates and although I walk past his office every day we have rarely spoken. I caught him “vaping” outside and he was very easy about having his photo taken. The light was picking up today so there is actually some shadow to use. Really annoyed that his…
100 Portraits: David
David is one of our senior scientists who is just about to leave (partially retire?) to live abroad. He works on Diatoms which are considered ‘lower’ plants and so his office is in the basement. The sun had come out briefly and provided just enough light into the room.
100 Portraits: MarkW
I have known Mark for 25+ years so it is actually quite odd photographing him. The days continue to be overcaste and dull so light is very low contrast even using windows.