The long way home – 11 October 2015

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIt’s never a happy day, leaving Staffin for the seven hour journey down the road. We always leave with a heavy heart. Me, to lose the silence and Scamp to lose the space. Today was nearly worse. I nearly lost my rugby top. Thankfully Jackie texted Scamp to say I’d left it on the bed, so, since we were only a few miles on our way, we headed back to retrieve it. Drove down to the biscuit tin to have a coffee and a scone. Scones are becoming important to me. Eilean Donan has a photography gallery just now featuring the castle. Some are great, some are just good and some are honestly abysmal. Each has a small description of the photog, written by the photog. Like the photos, some are good, some are … well, you get the idea. Most have ‘a passion’ somewhere in their description. I hate ‘passions’. It’s everywhere just now. Cooks on the thousands of cookery programmes, dancers, everyone has to have a passion. One of the photogs used the ‘passion’ word five times in his self promoting prophesy. That’s too much passion for anyone to have, even about themselves.

Anyway, next stop was set for Spean Bridge. To the wee roadhouse place that used to be a Little Chef and was so much better than that was. Got there to find it was closed. End of season just, I hope. Ok, next stop Fort Billy or Fort William to give it its Sunday name – it was Sunday, so I suppose I should give it the William name. Lunch at Morrisons was a fish and chips and a good F&C it was too at a very reasonable price. Nothing fancy, just hot, fresh F&C. The rest of the road was just the boring run home. Stopped just after Crianlarich for a cup of tea and a chance to stretch our legs and a walk along a bit of a river. Beautiful evening light. Didn’t take my camera, but had my iPhone. On this occasion, the phone didn’t shine as a camera. Disappointing shots.

It was a good holiday. The quiet and the space. You can’t beat it for refreshing you.

Sligachan – 10 October 2015

comboThis morning the sky in Skye looks a lot better.  High level cloud and so far it’s dry.  I think we’re heading for Portree ( the big city).  Who knows where after that.  I need to catch up on my sketching at least.

So we park at Duntulm watching the sea when some english idiots squeeze their black people-carrier reg KF15 CDN right between us and the fence, completely obscuring our view. Some people are born ignorant, some have to learn. They walk among us.

We drove round to Uig again.  It’s a sort of ritual with us when we go to Skye.  We drive round the top of the island to Uig, then down the west side.  Sometimes we drive up Quiraing and on to the high road to Uig, but somehow, all roads lead to Uig.  Today, for a change we drove into this thriving metropolis and stopped for a while to watch the world go by.  After the excitement of Uig, we drove back down to Portree and then couldn’t decide where to have lunch.  We weren’t going to the bakers again, that was definitely not on the cards.  Good scones, but dodgy, watered down coffee.  Even Murd agreed about the coffee.  So, what about a drive down to Sligachan and have lunch there.  Drove the nine or ten miles down entranced by the views of the Cuillins (why don’t spellcheckers understand Scottish words like Quiraing, Sligachan and Cuillins?).  Tried a multiple exposure shot of the river to process later in Photoshop into a fake slow shutter speed shot.  Took a load of shots of the constantly changing cloudscapes on the peaks.  Such a wild looking place.  Unfortunately the lunch bar at the hotel was closed for the season and, as it was Jackie’s Fish Pie for dinner, we didn’t really want to spoil our appetite with a full lunch, so we headed back to the Capital City of Portree.  Had lunch in the cafe, just the ordinary cafe, not the Arriba one.  Scamp was desperate to see inside the newly reopened SYHA hostel run by our niece Jac, daughter of Jackie – confused?  Don’t be.  Met Jac and had a look in the hostel that used to be a chip shop!!  After that we headed back up the road for that fish pie.

We had an hour or so to spare when we got back so Scamp trusted me to go for a walk down at the slip by myself as long as I was careful.  But I’m always careful, am I not?  Anyway, it was quite cold there.  Bumped into Murd who was taking the dog for a walk and a wander for himself.  He was talking to a bloke from Newcastle who was travelling around in a van.  The bloke thought Murd with his boiler suit on was in charge of the parking at the slip.  They easily slid into conversation and were best mates by the time he left.  I’m not sure if he was there on purpose to make sure I was being careful or whether it was just coincidence.  Anyway, took a few photos of the gloaming light on the water and on the cliffs at Applecross across the water, then went to the ‘beach’ where I met two blokes who were looking for the dinosaur footprints.  I told them where I had been told they were, currently under about a foot of water.  They found ‘another one’ and got some photos of it.  They seemed happy.  Who’s to say they weren’t right.

Fish pie and a wee dram were calling quite insistently now, so it was time to go.

 

Twenty wee Chinese men – 9 October 2015

comboTwenty wee Chinese men coming out of a Vauxhall with forty cameras“. That was Murd’s description of Portree, or to be more precise, the SYHA hostel in Portree in the summer. So you can guess, we went to Portree today … In the rain.

We drove through the rain to Uig. The ferry port to the Outer Hebrides.  You see people getting out of their cars and looking around thinking “I must have missed the town and driven straight to the port.”  Nope, this is it.  A few scattered houses, an unwelcoming petrol station, a small (but not micro or nano) brewery and shop, a cafe and that’s about it.  Not exactly the thriving hub of a community.  However, it does its job.  It ferries people, their cars and lorries across the Minch.  We didn’t stop.  We’ve seen it before.  I don’t think it’s changed all that much.  What has changed is the police station.  It’s now a backpackers bunkhouse.  I expect you have to pay extra to sleep in the cells!

From Uig we travelled down the west side of the island to Portree.  Went to Jan’s Vans which is a big warehouse building on the outskirts of the town, selling everything.  I saw needles and I’m sure they had anchors tucked away at the back behind the rainmates.  I’d wanted to get another pair of boot laces for my walking boots.  I wasn’t sure now if I’d need them with my dodgy ankle, but was getting them just in case. In Portree proper, we went for coffee and a scone at the bakery.  Worst coffee I’ve had in a long time.  We did, however, get to see the tourists piling off a bus (with their two cameras each, as predicted by the Staffin Seer) for their hour in Portree.

Had lunch in Cafe Arriba in Portree in the presence of a star!  Donnie McLeod, formerly with Runrig was in the cafe.  We felt honoured.

From there we drove back up to Staffin and sat for an hour or so at the slip, watching the waves and a lone seal swimming around.  That’s the relaxing effect of Skye.  Just sitting for an hour staring at nothing in particular isn’t odd here, it’s what you do.  For me it’s the silence.  For Scamp it’s the space.

As usual, larger versions of the photos are available for viewing in Flickr by clicking on the mosaic at the top of the page.  Usual rules apply.  All photos are digitally watermarked, copyright remains with D. Campbell, that’s me.

My Wife is Coming – 8 October 2015

combo“My wife is coming.”
“She has a jacket.”
“It is a sheep. ”
“What’s her name?”
It is Lorenzio.”
“Ok. I’ll let her through. ”
A little snippet of conversation outside Eilean Donan Castle. It’s amazing what you hear some times.
Having said that, he was Spanish and I wonder how I would have dealt with that if I was in Spain with my limited grasp of the language which runs to “Two beers” and “Where’s the toilet, please?”

Earlier we sat having breakfast at the hotel, watching the clouds rolling across the mountains and the light changing on their lower slopes. I did think about grabbing my camera, then decided that watching it was better than photographing it. Maybe my brain cells will retain it for longer than the hard disk would.

The drive up to Skye was eventless and through some beautiful scenery. We stopped for coffee and a scone at Eilean Donan Castle, the famous biscuit tin. That was where the Spanish lesson came from.

I had to forego the usual dram at dinner time to make sure I was legal to go for a drive at night to try to capture the Northern Lights, but the lights were out tonight. Scary drive though. Driving in pitch black on a single track road with passing places populated with the island’s sheep. I think the cloud cover was too heavy tonight and I don’t think it will be any better tomorrow. Rain is predicted. However, I’ve had a wee dram now and it, combined with paracetamol has stopped me thinking about the occasional jerk of pain from my ankle.

By the way, Lorenzio was wearing a sheepskin jacket.

The Road to the Isle – 7 October 2015

comboLeft at just after mid day for the drive up to Skye. It was bucketing down. Hardly taking time to rain. By the time we got to Stirling it was easing off a bit and when we left the motorway for the Callander road Scamp said she could see blue sky. Sure enough, the clouds were lifting and the rain was easing off to an intermittent drizzle. For some reason, police were stopping south bound cars for what looked like a spot check at Tyndrum. Don’t know why that was, but there was nothing on the north bound side. Stopped at Rannoch Moor to get some photos and walking across the long grass by the river, I saw (and photographed) a dragonfly. The climate is very strange this year. Dragonflies in October? Unheard of. Immediately after that I fell and twisted my ankle. I thought it was much worse because I heard a definite ‘click’ as I fell in a pot hole. Thought it might be broken, but although it’s plenty sore, there’s no swelling yet and I can move it. Silly auld bugger. Still, I got the shot I was aiming for, so it’s all right. Sitting in the ‘bunkhouse without bunks’ at the Loch Leven Hotel. Actually very nice looking, and the bunkhouse, which looks like a converted out building is fine. May go for a walk later.

Went for a walk under the Ballachulish bridge and got some shots of the low sun. It was cold, but not freezing. Decided to go along the path to Bishop’s Bay. The path was quite gloomy through a pine wood, but opened out onto a rocky headland. A woman we passed said we should risk the slimy rocks because the views over the top were amazing. So, I’ve got a dodgy ankle which is giving me gyp. I just stayed on the save ground. Nah, don’t be stupid, there’s photos ready for the taking there! Up and over the (not very) slimy rocks and through the oak trees at the top to see the glorious view up the loch. One of those places where you could just sit down and enjoy the light and the colours. Unfortunately, Scamp hadn’t risked the (almost not) slimy rocks, so I had to grab a few shots and go back down to meet her before she got worried that I’d broken my ankle this time. Memorable.

Dinner in the hotel at night and a nice pint of micro brewery (actually nano brewery) IPA and a great waitress with a bit of a sense of humour playing vinyl albums because that’s what they do on a Wednesday. Glad Scamp booked this hotel.

As usual, click the photo to see larger images.

Rain, Rain, Go Away – 6 October 2015

comboI was up early this morning, just after 7.00, trying to finish off yesterday’s marathon file management work. Eventually got it sorted. Now I’ve got to work out the code to keep it working the way I want. I’ve got a few ideas about how to progress, but they’re a bit clunky. There must be an elegant solution just waiting to be found.

Got fed up sitting in the house watching the rain, so I went in to Glasgow on the train after I finally got parked at the station. That place is a nightmare. I’d hate to have to drive there each morning to get to work. Actually, I’d just hate going to work now 🙂 Thankfully I don’t have to. Got the Pentel brush pen I was looking for to use with #Inktober. Then I got three water brushes in Millers or whatever it is now for less than the cost of one anywhere else. I’m presently writing this on the train on the way home, still looking for that elegant solution.

Harissa Chicken with Chickpeas for dinner tonight, and it actually worked. I’ve given up any ideas I had of going on Bake Off. It’s Masterchef for me now. That way I’ll be able to tell that fat, baldy bastard Wallace to shut his fat face, and cook Harissa Chicken with Chickpeas as my signature dish!

Oh, yes, and the elegant solution I was harping on about? I found it. It was a simple one line rule in Hazel and I could have used it yesterday and saved my wee NAS drive from almost going into meltdown.

I’m fed up with the rain now. Turn off the taps please.

More mono stuff below for Inktober.

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Workflow Problems

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I always shoot in Raw these days. I’ve been shooting in this format for nigh on twelve years. I gives real flexibility for post processing, but as a backup, I add a medium quality JPEG. It’s useful for viewing on a tablet when I’ve not got the laptop with me. When I download my pics I use Hazel to strip the JPEG files out to my NAS storage drive so they don’t clog up the Mac’s HD. Hazel also files the images for me by date in a folder on the NAS. Recently this has become cluttered and I want to sort them more methodically so that they are filed by month in a folder and then by date within that folder. I started what should have been a simple rearrangement this morning. It’s still doing it now at 11.55pm!! I thought the NAS drive was supposed to speed up my workflow, but it looks like that’s not the case.

It rained today. First rain we’ve had in weeks and it seems as if it’s going to stay for a few more days. Oh well, the farmers have their hay cut and the the gardens need the rain. We’ve had a pretty dry September and for the first few days of October it’s been better than average. Still hoping for more late sun this month. We can but hope.

Better pleased with today’s monochrome landscape. Pen and wash.

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Flying through the air in an armchair – 4 October 2015

IMG_2742- blog--277--277Sitting in a metal tube waiting to be lifted thousands of feet in the air above the UK. What was it somebody said about flying through the air in an armchair?  So it’s goodbye to London for another wee while. Hazy and ND’A were great hosts as usual and the party was a blast. Everything running with the usual D’A combination of humour and efficiency. Back to “Auld claes and purrich” as a wise man once said.

Inktober No 4

Need to take more time with this sketching lark.

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Angels, Markets and Parties – 3 October 2015

comboWe went to Angel to meet JIC and Sim. All organised and planned by Hazy and ND’A (thanks again folks). After a bum steer with a dodgy looking Indian/Mexican dive and finding a tank in the process(!), finally settled on Jamie’s Italian restaurant and had an enjoyable lunch (Italian sausage and pappardelle for me). Then went for a walk around a small market we’d visited before with Hazy. Some strange things for sale there. Numerous stalls selling spoons and fish-knives(‘?’ again) and other things that will not be mentioned for fear of nightmares – just don’t ask! Some beautiful opportunities for photos in the low afternoon light, especially with the 9mm and 20mm lenses. After that JIC and Sim went for their train and we did the same. Scamp was in a bit of a rush to get back to Hazy’s, to make sure we’d be ready for the party. I’d rather have had a wander around Kings Cross, or even better Vauxhall. I really want to have a go at photographing those riverside buildings. They are quite a favourite of mine, but obviously not as good as the one on Ingram Street in Glasgow. We agreed to disagree on timings and I left Vauxhall for another day. I need more practise anyway, to do them justice. Got some more photos of grapes in Hazy and ND’A’s garden. Then it was time for the party.

In the usual D’A style, this was a party not to be missed. Food, drink, dancing, speeches, laughs. These people really know how to enjoy themselves. It took my breath away the first time I met them and seemed too good to be true. It’s not. It’s just the way they are, and they are an object lesson for the rest of us. I admire them in so many ways. Anyway, we all had a great time and although Hazy didn’t stay long, I’m sure she too had a good time. When it was time for the last dance I was so disappointed, I hadn’t noticed the time passing. After we helped clearing up the hall, ND’A drove us home and we had to get ourselves organised for the journey back up the road.

A short trip, but a lot crammed in.

As I said, “… I need more practise anyway, to do them justice.”

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A Message from Engerland – 2 October 2015

IMG_2738- blog--277--275-1So here we are in Engerland again. Good flight down with great views of the sunset as we jockeyed for position in the line for landing. ND’A was waiting for us. I still can’t get used to the new car!

This morning I redid the SP and it looks a bit more like me and a bit less scary if that’s not an oxymoron!!

Early bed tonight before the big day tomorrow. Meeting JIC and Sim at The Angel tube station. It’ll be like being in a Monopoly game!

Below is the inktober entry for 2 October.

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