Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Focus Stacking Examples

We ran a focus-stacking workshop at Scotsdales Garden Centre just before I went to Edinburgh and I have just got time to process the images. They are stacks of 60, 50 and 30 images respectively at f2.8 taken on a Fuji T2 with focus bracketing and stacked in Zerene stacker - not a perfect result as 
the floor is sprung so there was some movement between 'frames' 

Monday, December 16, 2019

Edinburgh 9. National Galleries

I completed my last day  doing the sights in Edinburgh with a visit to the 
Royal Scottish Academy Building and the National Gallery of Scotland - interesting buildings and interiors plus some great art.

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Edinburgh 8. Walk to the Castle

My last day in Edinburgh and a walk from my B&B in West coates through Princes Gardens with its wonderful fountain up to the Castle. The Old Town is full of alleyways and steps. As expected my favourite view was from the Castle entrance back across to Arthur's Seat with all the tourists milling around in the forecourt. 

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Edinburgh 7: Scottish Parliament Exterior

The rainy conditions suited photographing the exterior of the building with its mix of metal and concrete. The branching tree motifs on the concrete walls are part of the architect’s “sitting in the land” vision with Scottish wildflowers, trees, shrubs and water adding to this ambition.

Friday, December 13, 2019

Edinburgh 6. Scottish Parliament Interior

From the outset, the building and its construction were controversial, scheduled to open in 2001,it did so in 2004, with an estimated final cost of £414 million, many times higher than initial estimates of between £10m and £40m. Enric Miralles, the Spanish architect who designed the building, died before its completion.The building aimed to achieve a poetic union between the Scottish landscape, its people, its culture, and the city of Edinburgh. The Parliament Building won numerous awards including the 2005 Stirling Prize. Here some interior shots - Barry, its exterior with its abundance of concrete will follow. 

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Edinburgh 5. Glasshouses Botanic Gardens

Unfortunately, the Palm House was not open so it was straight into the tropical zones and hence misted up cameras. I got impatient waiting for the lens to clear so the first few images are (in the words of my school reading - never forgotten) “through a glass darkly” i.e. to have an obscure or imperfect vision of reality. the last two are double exposures.