Wednesday 30 March 2011

Newhaven Harbour Edinburgh Scotland


Newhaven close by Leith and Granton offers up a photographic opportunity at almost every angle. The old harbour has historic beauty and the natural attractions of the sea and sky make superb backdrops and foregrounds depending on how you frame the scenes. This is a wonderful place to visit and to take pictures.

Newhaven is only two miles north of Edinburgh city centre but the harbour is striking different to the metropolis of Scotland's capital city. The sea views obviously make a great deal of change but the whole calmer atmosphere of the old stone set waterfront has a different rhythm to bustling town just a couple of miles away. On the banks of the Firth of Forth you can let the motion of the tides carry you away and the historic settings can drift in out of sharp focus allowing a sense of time to alter in the perception of the viewer.

In 1977 the Newhaven Conservation Area was established and it is one of forty conservation areas in Edinburgh. The existence of so many conservation areas around Edinburgh is no surprise as the city poses many remarkable historic survivals. Newhaven is a site well worth meandering around as the tidal rhythms shift slowly they will carry you out into a sea of your own thoughts, so do take note of the lighthouse as a guide not just to this district but as a marker to steer by as you travel on the flows of the seas in the Firth of Forth and in your self.


Newhaven Harbour Edinburgh Scotland (101)

Newhaven Harbour Edinburgh Scotland (110)

Newhaven Harbour Edinburgh Scotland (112)

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Magical Pinhole Portraits

Pinhole apertures can be used to form stunning images of many subjects. When the pinhole is placed in front of a digital sensor it can create some startling records of light and motion. The digital sensor can record the subject in a plain and simple manner or the ability of the digital sensor can be used accurately to record minute differences in light which give a sense of texture and of movement. These tones and shades can be accentuated by photographic development techniques. The end results give a rendition of the moment that is often overlooked. Pinhole photography frequently delivers a less than sharp image which may have taken longer to create than most photographic images we see. The techniques that form the pinhole image may not be recognised by the viewer but the end results are unmistakably enamouring. The simple hole through which the image is created is the source of many aberrations which form a sense of alternative beauty. The smudged looks and universal focus form an image which requires the viewer to take more time and effort in their appreciation of the finished work.

PHH Sykes ©2011

Soundtrack
Pensive Piano
Jason Shaw @ audionautix.com

 
Pinhole Portraits 10 March 2011 (102b)

Pinhole Portraits 10 March 2011 (104b)

Pinhole pictures of Warriston Cemetery Edinburgh Scotland

The former final grandeur of Warriston Cemetery in Edinburgh has been allowed to decline. Once the well to do of the city were quite literally dying to get in here. It is still possible to see the formal layout through the wilderness that has been allowed to take over. The main paths are clear, but mature trees have now grown tall enough to shroud many of the still impressive monuments. Once upon a time Warriston Cemetery would have presented a prime location in which to feature your monumental mark for those that recorded your life in a few brief stone cut lines. This was at one time a premier place to lay your head to rest as you awaited the rousing call of the Last Trump. Unfortunately it now it looks like the dead have been too shallowly buried and that they have been staging an uprising throughout the cemetery.

Some stone monuments are said to have been altered whilst the cemetery was still in private hands, but many of the stones that have been laid low were toppled on council orders. The current trend for ensuring safety is maintained does not stretch to repairing the striking burial markers, but there is little hesitation in having them pushed over to form a fallen forlorn grave stone littered confusion. The social history shown by the fashion of the stones and documentary evidence delivered through the inscriptions is a vital part of the heritage of Edinburgh which seems currently to be undervalued, but this whole site may one day be seen as a rich resource worth investigating, recording and using.

There is something very pertinent about looking into the final rest which awaits us all. No matter how or where we come to be at the point at which we finish this life our final statements give eternal insights. There is almost nothing as enduring and as intriguing as the pyramids. Here at Warriston several grave stones take on Egyptian styles in homage of the history of earlier funerary monuments. Even today we follow earlier customs and in our way we continue traditions often more so in death than in life.

In an attempt to align these pictures with some of the traditions presented in the Warriston Cemetery pinhole photography was chosen to capture the contemporary scene. The simple pinhole lens seems to record historic sights very evocatively. The pictures presented here cover up a little of the dishevelment and mask some of the detritus now allowed to remain in the cemetery. Through the pinhole lens we are shown an image of how things might have looked, or at least of how a camera might have recorded them when the monuments here were proud statements set out in an organised formal garden of remembrance. By creating old style, or retro photos it is possible to look back at a time when these imposing granite stone seeds were planted on the manicured surface as lasting tributes to those that lay beneath.

PHH Sykes ©2011

Soundtrack
Before Dawn
Jason Shaw @ audionautix.com

Pinhole pictures of Warriston Cemetery Edinburgh Scotland (105)

Pinhole pictures of Warriston Cemetery Edinburgh Scotland (104)

Pinhole pictures of Warriston Cemetery Edinburgh Scotland (107)

Pinhole pictures of Warriston Cemetery Edinburgh Scotland (113)

Pinhole pictures of Warriston Cemetery Edinburgh Scotland (110)

Monday 14 March 2011

Scottish Snowdrops

Spring is never far away from our hearts when we see Snowdrops. True there could be frost and much snow yet to fall but Snowdrops show us that the life within the ground is shooting forth and that there is much natural vibrance just waiting for the longer warmer days. Snowdrops appear quite delicate and yet they are robust enough to weather the harsh end of winter. They keep on flowering through snow and frost and year after year they resiliently return to show us all that Spring is on the way.

The brilliant white petals of Snowdrops present some problems for the photographer. Their natural sheen renders the flowers into a highly reflective bloom. The flowers often grow in the darker areas under trees where their stunning white appearance attracts the viewer. The only way to ensure good pictures involves the photographer discovering just how wet the winter has been. Good pictures of Snowdrops may well be brilliant white. In capturing the pure clean image of the Snowdrops the appearance of the photographer can become somewhat less than clean and far away from pure.

PHH Sykes ©2011

Soundtrack
Everything Begins Instrumental
http://www.danosongs.com

 
Snowdrops 25 Feb 2011 (114)



Snowdrops 26 Feb 2011 (101)

Amaryllis Hippeastrum The Belladonna Lily & The Horseman's Star

The Amaryllis flower is known as the Belladonna Lily or Naked Lady. The botanical name is said to derive from Virgil. In "Eclogues", a shepherdess is named Amaryllis.  This name is reminiscent of the Greek and Latin words meaning to sparkle. The Amaryllis does indeed sparkle and the flower is a beautiful bloom so the names it has have been bestowed upon it by merit. It belongs to the Hippeastrum group of flowers named in 1837 by the Honourable Reverend William Herbert, Dean of Manchester. Some think that the name is inspired by the Morning Star, a medieval weapon and a name for the planet Venus as the brightest star in the night sky. A version of the morning star weapon was called a "holy water sprinkler," which could have figured in the Dean's musings.

PHH Sykes ©2011


Amaryllis Hippeastrum Red Lion (108)

Amaryllis Hippeastrum Red Lion (104) sml



Amaryllis Hippeastrum Red Lion (107) sml

Amaryllis Hippeastrum Red Lion (115) sml

Saturday 12 March 2011

Yuck at Sneaky Pete's Cowgate Edinburgh 22 Feb 2011


It may have been raining last night in Edinburgh as I left Sneaky Pete's in the Cowagte but I was too full of Yuck to feel it.  There was great deal of bass and enough reverberation to shake my soul free from it's material mountings so as I phonically trembled on my journey home I was not hindered by the rain.  From the first blast to last subsonic echo I was enthralled by Yuck.  Three guitars and one drum set can overwhelm you with sound.

Yuck were front mounted to the stage from where they projected forth strong rhythms and gentle tones.  The sound system was stretched to captures the high pitched lyrics and the awesome range  of guitar effects.  In this bijou venue they seemed to stir the crowd and shake the room, being a part of the resulting cocktail was worth shaking, stirring and savouring.

Yuck were formed from behind the curtain that fell on Cajun Dance Party.  Guitarist Max Bloom and singer Daniel Blumberg have come long way since then.  They have toured with Yuck for one year releasing singles and accumulating praise.  Their guitar driven style is a new angle on Indie Sound and it echoes Grunge but reaches beyond both.  They could be described as a brighter The Jesus and Mary Chain with Sonic Youth attitude.  The grunge stylings of Yuck take their shoegazing roots to new heights with fruit blossoms and bitter/sweets fruit treats alternating along every bough.

The subtle nuisances of Suicide Policeman were lost in the mix but the band put on a great transformation giving their album sound a major shift to create a stunning live performance.  Coconut Bible was announced as a B-side and it is free to download from their website.  This might explain the Coconut explosion that covered the audience as as the front row sang the lyric back.

The album Yuck was on sale on the night in vinyl format.  A good sign that traditions can be kept and that retro is not redundant.  The band have well set roots but they are progressing forwards releasing new tracks aiming to find future classics.  Some bands are well worth braving the elements for.  Yuck gave me elemental emanations in their sonic soundscape that has left me inhabiting my own micro climate.  Their finale Rubber left me bouncing of the inside of myself long after the sun came through the curtains.

Yuck Sneaky Pete's Cowgate Edinburgh 22 Feb 2011 (103)

Yuck Sneaky Pete's Cowgate Edinburgh 22 Feb 2011 (101)

Yuck Sneaky Pete's Cowgate Edinburgh 22 Feb 2011 (104)

Yuck Sneaky Pete's Cowgate Edinburgh 22 Feb 2011 (102)