During a walk through the Rothiemurchus Forest around Loch an Eileen the pine woods gave way to a dense area of moss covered silver birch. The lingering mist lent a rather pleasing soft light to the scene.
Posts Tagged ‘Travel’
Highlands of Scotland: Silver and Green
10 Feb 2010 | Landscape, Scotland, Travel | No comments added... »Highlands of Scotland: The Wild Woods
05 Feb 2010 | Landscape, Scotland, Travel, Walking | No comments added... »
Plans to get up a Munroe in the Cairngorm Mountains at the end of September were sadly abandoned due to the fact we couldn’t see much more than 50m in front of us! Not possessing the right equipment for the conditions (you never take your chances on the mountains!) it was settled a walk in the Rothiemurchus Forest would be the alternative ‘Plan B’. As it turned out this revealed some remarkable and fascinating areas that more than made up for the lack of altitude fun and games. This part of the forest (pictures) was entirely pine trees with the old and twisted ones combining with the slowly dissipating mist creating a wild edge to the scene. The dash of colour along the floor seems to balance it.
Hong Kong: Cat Street Market
03 Feb 2010 | China, Hong Kong, Travel | No comments added... »
A trip to the quiet and unassuming Cat Street Market (officially Upper Lascar Row*) can come as a welcome diversion from such markets as found over in Kowloon. There is no gaudy plastic to be found here, mostly antiques – or excellent copies – jostle for space on the tables lining the street, each one loaded with fascinating objects. Upon approaching one stall it felt like stepping back in time to the 50′s to when People’s Republic came to power. It was quite literally overflowing with all manner of bric-a-brac under the general theme of ‘Red’. The communication gulf between myself and the wizened and wrinkled lady, who seemed to be seated somewhere inside a pile of Little Red Books (the words of Mao himself), was partially bridged as I managed to buy a couple of things from somewhere in the pile. Definitely the most interesting market of the area by a long shot!
Hong Kong: Aberdeen Harbour
13 Jan 2010 | China, Hong Kong, Travel | No comments added... »
Aberdeen Harbour lies in the space between the town of Aberdeen and the small island Ap Lie Chau on the south side of Hong Kong Island. Half expecting to see kilt-wearing, caber-tossing antics it couldn’t be more different. Although many places in Hong Kong share names with British and other European locations the similarities end there. Aberdeen was originally called Hong Kong, though visitors to the island mistakenly believed that to be the name of the entire island so the town was renamed Aberdeen after George Hamilton Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen and Secretary of State for War and the Colonies.
Aberdeen Harbour is famous for its floating village and the Tanka people that live and work on their boats, though many now live onshore the harbour is still a bustling riot of activity and noises. Fishing boats coming and going, sampans chugging back and forth as they jostle for position to catch passengers off the jetty, loud clangings from a repair yard across the harbour, a string of fish on a line drying on the sun, gentle waves break around the remnants of a sunken vessel, beyond the harbour wall fishermen bob about precariously in the swell from the vast container ships that pass by…despite the prominent commercial high-rise towers up to the water’s edge Aberdeen Harbour has retained it’s character as a fishing ‘village’ and is certainly worth a visit if ever in Hong Kong.
Venice; Keeping Afloat
23 Dec 2009 | Travel, Venice | No comments added... »
30 Seconds of the Grand Canal. As Venice moved beneath me I knew at least I would be safe if it decided to start sinking at that moment! I shot this on my birthday (a month ago!) at the top of the campanile (bell tower) in St Marks Square in Venice, that ever-so-famous spot and perhaps one of the most identifiable landmarks in the world. I only got to spend a few minutes up here though thanks typical Italian petty officialdom, they seemed quite happy to take your money (a disproportionately expensive 8 euros each!) and then not tell you they’d kick you out a good 15-20 minutes ahead of the ‘official’ closing time of 4pm. So, rather than having a good 35-40 minutes to enjoy the sights I only managed to get a few images in the end and despite the general overcast-ness of the skies the visibility was sufficient to see quite a long way across the lagoon, gaining height on the town to see where everything is (and not just on a map) was a good thing…if only they didn’t shut the place so damn early! Can’t complain too much though, in the last few months I’ve been traveling about a fair bit with trips to Scotland, Hong Kong and then most recently Venice. I still have a fair few images to go through properly but I did manage to get the Venice images organised in time for Christmas to create a book which can be viewed and purchased through blurb.com by clicking here. So, have a look and feel free to leave a comment, that should keep you going for a bit whilst I sort through the rest of my images!
Hong Kong; People of the Water pt2, The Islands of Hong Kong
03 Dec 2009 | China, Hong Kong, Travel | No comments added... »
It’s a straightforward affair to reach a number of the 236(!) islands from Hong Kong, so one evening I headed down to the ferry port, paid the princely sum of just under £2 and enjoyed the 30min trip out across the bustling harbour passing through the West Lamma Channel towards the island of Cheung Chau. As noted in an earlier post, small pockets of people still live aboard their boats and can be found in various locations around Hong Kong such as; Causeway Bay and Aberdeen Harbours on Hong Kong island, and further afield on Lamma Island, Cheung Chau Island and Tai O on Lantau Island where the more traditional lifestyles can still be found.
Arriving at Cheung Chau is very much like going back in time, all the buildings are low-rise, a large harbour crammed with fishing boats from the large trawlers down to the ‘i-can’t-believe-you-take-that-beyond-the-harbour-wall’ type craft that bob gentle in the swell of passing craft, bright colours along the sea front promenade are not the glaring neon lights from the hub of commercialism I recently left but brightly coloured awnings and building fronts, strings of lanterns and bare light bulbs, even the gentle persuading from merchant stalls and fish restaurants seemed more laid back than anywhere else so far.
I wandered along the promenade coming to the Tin Hau temple to the north of the town, as usual you could catch the scent of incense some way away before actually spotting it, inside the burning candles and heady smoke put me in something of a daze and so I continued by wandering back to the water front, coming face to face with a stunning sunset. I set myself low and close to the water using a line of boats as my foreground, the rapidly falling light increased my exposure time but I achieved the effect, in fact I was hoping to show the movement in this way, its as though the small ones are moving around as the larger ones remain static without losing to much detail. I believe whilst out on Cheung Chau I witnessed the best sunset I’d seen since arriving in Hong Kong – still a fair bit of pollution around but at least it felt like you’re away from it all.
After pleasant evening’s stroll in a comparatively quiet location I caught the ferry back to the main island ferry port, the slow one this time so I could sit out and watch the island lights slip away behind as I went…
Highlands of Scotland; Ardnamurchan Shores and Hidden Woodland
19 Nov 2009 | Floral, Landscape, Scotland, Travel | 1 Comment »
A break away from the landscape view to one of a more intimate nature. Ardnamurchan forms the northern edge of Loch Sunart, along the shoreline can be found great swaths of seaweed clinging to dark rocks beneath. What struck me was the intense yellow colour it had, especially notable on a gloomy day. By chance a patch of blue sky opened up directly above me and I quickly set up to create this image of the contrasting colours and layers as they appeared before me. Despite the frenetic placement of the seaweed there’s something calming about the way they’re held in place by the water…
After the wander along the shore I found myself in another dense woodland, discovering this little gem quietly eking out its life in the crook of a heavily coated tree’s branch, it certainly pays to take it slowly and look carefully at what’s around
Hong Kong; People of the Water
19 Nov 2009 | China, Hong Kong, Travel | No comments added... »
From the earliest settlers throughout Hong Kong’s history, people living on the island have been dependent on the surrounding waters for their livelihood; trade, fishing and as a place to live due to the shortage of space on land. Today very little remains of the old ways of salt production and fishing with most trade being done via computers as unimaginable values upon the lofty floors of glass fronted towers that now look down on the once frantically busy waterway of Victoria harbour Don’t get me wrong; it’s still busy but not quite how it used to be when going by the old images of pre-war Hong Kong (more on that later). Indeed the dramatically changing scenery of Hong Kong extends beyond the construction sites and office buildings, the continuing reclamation process is reducing the available harbour and shelter space for boats immediately adjacent to the business districts and the bulk of the shipping ports have begun relocating into mainland China where there isn’t the restriction on space. Looking out to sea it’s hard to miss the unfathomably large 18-container wide ships steam past.
It’s a strange view looking across Causeway Bay, below me lay a tangle of rafts of all shapes and sizes, tarpaulins draped across their tops to act as shelter from the weather and all of them loosely connected with thread-bare ropes forming a slowly undulating mass in the swell. Small craft being paddled laboriously out across the harbour yield to the sampans that chug about, ferrying people from land to water-borne craft. Yet above all the swirling chaos stood neat, ordered static structures, air conditioned offices, high-rise apartments and glistening deep blue glass. Imposing in their placement and dominating the landscape, the people who live on the water are not just looked down in the literal sense of the phrase and the economic status pushes the buildings ever higher. Two worlds so far apart on one level but so undeniably linked to each other…
Highlands of Scotland; Lighthouse on the Edge, Ardnamurchan Peninsula
18 Nov 2009 | Landscape, Scotland, Travel | No comments added... »
When I set out towards the tip of Ardnamurchan Peninsular, often described as the most westerly point on the British mainland (though Corrachadh Mòr which lies to the south inches out a little bit further apparently), a glance at the weather report led me to believe I was in for an evening of light winds, bright conditions and a ‘little’ cloud cover. It ticked all the right boxes promising for some atmosphere and potentially good light to create the image I had in mind. After an hour of perilously tight and twisting single-track roads, I realised the forecasters were optimistic in their descriptions. A blanket of grey cloud overhead blocked any sun and a strong wind meant standing up involved leaning into it at a comical angle! I briefly considered my options and rather than head home with the thought of a wasted trip hanging over my head I watched the fast moving clouds, hoping for a glimmer of light in the dying moments of the day. Waves pounded the rocks below me as I looked north eastwards to Eilean Carrach with Portuairk and Sanna Bay out of view beyond. Looking out to sea, dark clouds roiling off the coast all but obscured the Isle of Coll, Isle of Muck and Isle of Rum beyond it was certainly building into a dramatic display.
If conditions are right, as the sun dips beneath the clouds before falling below the horizon, the photographer is afforded the most spectacular light with which to illuminate a subject whilst retaining a potentially moody sky around it. You may even get some light reflected on the underside of distant clouds, depending on their altitude, as the sun dips below the horizon adding a further dimension to your images. Unfortunately, with stormy seas to the west, the clouds on this particular day stretched to the horizon and possibly beyond, with sufficient density to mean the sun would probably not be making an appearance any time soon. One final factor remained to my advantage though; strong winds. I was in luck as a large hole developed lending a touch of soft light to the scene. I stepped out of my shelter from behind some rocks and got to work creating the shot. Light produces colour from the objects it reflects off, in its relative absence I chose a longer shutter speed to collect what light there was and to emphasise the movement of the waves. The final result belies the high winds I was sheltering from just moments before but the movement in the water gives it the energy that I was looking for.
After precariously balancing on the slippery rocks with my tripod for some time, surrounded by the wind and waves, I made my retreat. The nature of landscape photography is often one that allows the photographer time to prepare a composition and then wait for the “right” light to illuminate it just the right way. Occasionally though an opportunity may arise that is fleeting, requiring quick instinctive decisions to make an image. As I began my rock-hopping back to dry land the clouds began to break up directly in front of the sun and around the lighthouse. I was quick to set up again and make just one image of it (top). Within the space of another exposure a large cloud had completely obscured the sun and any light. It did not return. I packed up and headed home satisfied I had done what I could given the circumstance.
The weather is one aspect a photographer cannot control, no matter how much we’d like to but this unpredictability makes the challenge of photography worth pursuing. With results perhaps better than those initially envisaged it serves the photographer well to keep an open mind and use their vision to create an image regardless of the conditions, with due attention to their own safety of course. More often than not images created in such circumstances generally turn out to be some of my favourites, be it the sense of achievement at having survived harsh conditions (and lived to tell the tale!) or that such a departure yields an altogether better representation of the subject from the original intention. By keeping an open mind and being prepared to seek alternative views a photographer may be pushed to stretch their skills to new levels and create images that perhaps exceed their initial intent or vision. Be prepared and ‘expect the unexpected’.
