Oh, Flower of Scotland

Some scenic photos from Scotland.

Wee Highland Laddie

These photos were taken in one of my favourite places in the world, in Banffshire in Scotland. We have very dear friends who live in the area, and we usually visit several times each year. (Many of the photos featured on this blog were taken Scotland, though I don't always feel the need to label them separately). This particular set, captures the wonderful scenery of Scotland, and how much the little lad loves staying there! (He loves being outdoors, and is never happier than with acres of space to run around in, or a mountain to climb - which he did all by himself).

A Walk In The Park

While not technically a themed photo shoot, this is one of my favourite photoshoots of all time, during our daily dog walk, on a particularly lovely, summer's day.

Zebra

Insects in the Greenhouse

Easter Ducky

A lovely ducky outfit, bought for us by my sister, 'Auntie Jolly.' Put to good use for our second Easter outfit. I used this photo to make Easter cards for family and friends.

Rawr of the tiger!

Snow Bear

Shortly after he turned one, we had a decent snowfall. I think he'd experienced snow in the first few weeks of his life, but this was the first significant snow he was able to enjoy - and he did. He was just about walking by then, and loved being bundled up in his little bear suit, outside in the snow.

This second set was taken on a separate occasion, when I had walked into town with the push-chair, and a little boy who was clearly wrapped up snug and warm. Despite the unexpected snowfall, as I walked home, he didn't even stir from his sleep.

Bridge to Nowhere

We interrupt this stream of baby photos (at am appropriate moment, having reached a year old), to bring an intermission of travel photos. While I do intend to upload a large backlog of my favourite travel photography (spanning roughly a decade!), I felt that this set deserves a post of its own.

These were taken (according to the photo data - my memory isn't that good, so let's hope the camera was accurate) on 4th December, 2007. Believe me when I say, it doesn't feel so long ago. It still feels like yesterday.

I was working on board the QE2 ocean liner at the time, before her retirement the following year (I remained on board until she retired in Dubai in 2008, after her final voyage). On this particular day, we had docked in Lisbon, Portugal, and the '25 de Abril' bridge was partially submerged in thick fog. It gave a striking visual impression, of a bridge leading to nowhere.

I have many, many images of this bridge, taken on numerous return voyages to Lisbon. But none are as atmospheric, or as powerful as the ones taken on this day. The bridge is notorious for its bright red colour, but somehow the fog sucked out all the colour on this occasion.

Having the opportunity to capture the atmosphere of this unusual visual phenomenon on that particular day - being in the right place at the right time - inspired my photography to capture these moments, and I became more serious about photography after this set. It was shortly after this that I upgraded my camera to achieve better results, although even now, I am not sure that I would have shot these differently, if I'd had better equipment at the time. These are more or less straight out of camera (with some black and white alternatives).

And here she is. QE2, in all her glory.