Travelling, even in my own country, has given me much more interest in the places which many pass by, giving them little thought as they are so familiar. A small Forestry Commission car park at the side of the road not far from Inverness offers a place to stop at one such place: the “Clootie Well” at Munlochy. Continue reading »
I drove through Brienz this weekend for the first time in a couple of years, and roadworks near the office where I used to work reminded me of the terrible events of August 2005. Continue reading »
Following on from – and inspired by – the feedback I received from my aunt about what she felt to be ten of my best online portraits, my Mum sent me her list recently in comparison. I find the differences interesting and am only glad that so many of my images seem to be so popular; not just amongst family members, but also increasingly amongst a wider public. The choice also reflects personal tastes and shows that some images mean more to one person than another; particularly when there’s a memory attached. Continue reading »
I don’t usually bother celebrating my birthday in any great fashion, but as I turned forty this year, I decided to make an exception and plan a short break away with Jo, so that I could look back on the arrival of mid-life with some fondness. After some to-ing and fro-ing on a destination, I finally decided on the Lake District in the north of England, which was a photographic destination in my youth and one which Jo and I returned to during our honeymoon. Continue reading »
Back at the end of 2010, I began a much-researched hunt for a new camera; the successor to the D80 which had served me well until then. As part of my research, I’d looked at small interchangeable lens cameras like the GF1 and Olympus PEN, but had decided against them due to the (for me) inadequate image quality. I also looked at the Fujifilm X100 at the time and although everything pointed towards it being an excellent camera, and well up to my standards, the combination of a moderately high price tag and fixed lens meant that I couldn’t consider purchasing it as a replacement for my “pro” camera.
I knew back at the end of 2010 that I wanted to photograph more weddings, so I chose the D7000. Since buying it, I’ve been extremely happy with the results, but the thought of a high quality “point and shoot” camera remained in the back of my mind. Having put money aside all year, I ended up with the opportunity to look at the X100 again before Christmas and I decided to add it to my camera bag. Continue reading »
In all the times I’ve visited the Cumbrian Lake District in the north of England, I’d only ever been to Coniston Water once before. After all of the dramatic, deep lakes lined with craggy fells and forests, the long, flat, placid body of water didn’t inspire me photographically and so I quickly passed on. However, after a rather photographically unfruitful couple of hours in the Langdale valley during our visit this January, I decided to head for where the beams of sunlight seemed to be headed, which turned out to be Coniston. Continue reading »
Auguste Agassiz formed a partnership in 1832 which was to become a company carrying one of the most reknowned names in Swiss watchmaking and timekeeping. Developing the company to use work-at-home labour, a system which had been in use since the eighteenth century in manufacturing processes, the watchmaker also built trade links to enable the company to sell its timepieces as far afield as America.
When the temperature of the air is markedly lower than the temperature of the water in the lake, mist rises from the surface and creates a truly eerie effect. Such was the case today, when continued winter conditions in Switzerland dropped the air temperature to -16°C. You can see more of my Thunersee photos here at Permanent Tourist or in my Flickr photo stream.
…and I react with a start every time I realize how long it’s been since I was last there.