Category: A Walk

A really lovely day – 20 April 2016

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comboToday was a lovely day from start to finish – unless you were a Rangers supporter because they were beaten 3 – 2 by Hibernian for some cup or league or other.  Personally, I couldn’t care less.

Stayed in in the morning waiting for the postman to bring my second camera strap.  This one destined for my E-PL5 or ‘5 as it’s now known.  While I was waiting, I put my boots on and went and cut the front grass.  It seemed a shame to just sit there on the step soaking up the rays when I could be doing some useful work and since Scamp had a muscle pain in her arm, the grass cutting would probably make it worse.  Postman arrived just as I was finishing and he did indeed have the strap.  A bit wider and more colourful than the previous black one.  I’m quite impressed with the quality of these straps.

After a quick bite to eat I rolled the bike out and went for a run.  The weather couldn’t have been better.  Almost no wind and a blue dome above me.  It’s a while since I’ve had a chance to wander over one of the wilderness walks and a bike is the only way to get there.  No parking places nearby, so a bit of exploration and some exercise too.  Didn’t do very many miles today, only about 6 miles all in, but hopefully I’ll get more done during the summer.  I meant to mention in yesterday’s blog that I saw my first swallows yesterday.  Three definite sightings.

As I was leaving, Scamp started painting an old orange box that will hopefully hold her sweet peas.  The orange box must be over 30 years old and came from my mum and dad’s house.  It’s wooden, probably beech and originated from Cyprus.  It might have been my brother Alex’s toy box at one time.  Notice the carefully mown lawn in the background!

While I was out I managed to get the shot of the spider hanging from its web.  I liked the translucency of the body with the light shining through it.

Before I went out I took the preparatory shots for the Weemen picture and finished it off tonight in Comic Life via Photoshop.  One more to go in the series.

Salsa tonight was easy as far as moves were concerned, but hard on the legs and feet.  Scamp says it’s because of the concrete floor.  I don’t know if that’s true, but it was sore on my wee feet.

May go in to Glasgow tomorrow if the weather holds.

The Time Lapse

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comboToday we had an appointment with our financial advisor in Falkirk and it was an early meeting at 10am.  Not so early you may think, but working backwards from there it meant allowing 30 min to get there, making and devouring breakfast another 20 mins with essential lie-in, showering and shaving (for me!).  All in it would take about an hour and a half, so I set my alarm for 8.30.  Of course, we were awake long before that.  There’s a special little internal alarm that triggers as soon as you set the physical alarm and doesn’t allow you to go back to sleep after you wake two hours before the physical alarm.  So, we went to Falkirk and the news was good, so to celebrate we went to Tea Jenny’s for an early lunch.  The food and service were excellent as usual.  You really should visit this cafe the next time you’re in Falkirk.  I don’t really care if you are from New York or Tokyo, make the effort for heaven’s sake!

When we got home I considered wheeling the bike out and taking it for a run, but there was a cold north wind blowing and I decided to go for a drive and possibly a walk instead.  I’d seen the dodgy looking santa last week and wanted a photo of it.  Up close it looked even creepier, stuck in a hollow of an old tree.  After that I went down to Auchinstarry to try my luck at making a time lapse, like the bloke on Rannoch Moor.  When I got to my chosen place, the sky looked interesting and I found a hollow in an old tree to wedge the camera in.  I chose the 9mm lens on the Oly to get a decent wide sky and did a six minute timelapse of just 60 shots at 10 second intervals.  I calculated that this would give a 6 second film of clouds scudding across the skies.  You’ve seen these things on the TV.  Very arty.  Halfway through the exposure I noticed that I’d bumped the focus lever on the lens to the closest focus setting, about 20mm, so everything was going to be out of focus.  However, mastering the process was more important than the actual finished article this time and I was reasonably happy with the result.  Next time I’ll prepare more carefully, rain protect the camera and lens, use a sturdy tripod and take care not to nudge the focusing lever.

The bramble leaves shot was just a grab shot to make the most of the brilliant contre-jour lighting.  I like the colours you get in bramble leaves.

Hoping for that cycle run tomorrow if the weather is more forgiving.

Walking through the Toon – 16 April 2016

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We got the bus into Glasgow and went for a curry at Cafe India, where I’d gone to have my Indian cooking lesson back in February. The food wasn’t spectacular, but they were decent curries. Too much incense burning in the place and we both had the feeling that it was to cover up something. I don’t think we’ll be back.

Walked down to Glasgow Green via Parnie Street (Merchant City Cameras, but nothing inspired me). It was cold down The Green, but some Indian blokes were playing cricket. Cricket in Glasgow? Whatever next? Walked back through the town along Argyle Street taking in the sights. One bloke dancing and singing with his top off in a north wind that would cut the face off you. One bloke dressed as Superman, blowing hundreds of bubbles for the wee weans. One bloke dressed as a monster in Buchanan Street. Thankfully we missed The Bastard Drummers who were setting up when we walked down Bucky Street and having a rest when we walked back up. Sometimes we’re just lucky.

Bus home and that was our Saturday afternoon. I quite enjoyed our wee walk round the toon.

Just walking in the rain – 13 April 2016

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combo bIt’s been a bit of a mixed up day. It started off dry then it rained then it was dry for a while then it rained again. We had both decided to go to the gym in the morning. It turned out to be early afternoon, but who cares. Pool was busy when we got there, so we agreed to do a bit of gym work first. It looks like about 1pm is the optimum time for a swim. The “brown towels” (the spa folk) go for their lunch then and the pool empties. At least it did today.

After our lunch the sky cleared and the rain stopped and I went out to St Mo’s to get some photos, armed with both Olys in my new bag. I hardly got out the door when the rain started. However, I plodded on and got some shots of coots’ nests. I don’t remember ever seeing them before. Saw a deer, but it was off too quickly for me. There were lots of snails and slugs about, so that may be a sign that the worst of the frosts are past. Finally got some decent shots of bursting buds. Impressed with the sharpness from the Panasonic lens if I switch off the vibration control and rely on the in-camera anti-shake. Another lesson learned.

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now – 11 April 2016

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combo bYesterday was a long day and a long drive, so today was just about relaxing and coming to terms with this urban environment again after the wide open spaces of Skye.

Didn’t do much this morning apart from my daily sudoku, but today’s game was an “Easy”, so not to much of a challenge.

While the “Gems” were practising I went for a walk along the Luggie, but under a milky sky, everything was dull.  I did find a new piece of graffiti under the road bridge.  Good bright colours, but poor shading and highlights which left it pretty 2D looking.  It looks like one critic has already tried to burn it off.  Difficult on a concrete wall, but that’s the Cumbernauld mentality for you.  Totally brainless.  The other shot was a couple of daffodils that looked like they were talking to each other.  Unfortunately, under the flat lighting, there was very little modelling.

I hadn’t realised until recently just how much the clouds and sky contribute to landscapes whether they are paintings or photographs.  The Indian bloke with the umbrella from a couple of days ago needed a plain, textureless sky to focus attention on the main subject, the man.  Contrast that with yesterday’s monochrome landscape.  A flat toned sky would have dragged that image down.  The wild sky in it – it wasn’t faked by the way – was in harmony with the wild land underneath it.  These are the extremes and there are degrees of cloud detail within those extremes and the sky must be in sympathy with the land and the subject.  Sometimes the land is simply a backdrop and then the sky too should be a supporting player, but if the landscape is the subject then the sky should play a more leading role.  After all is said and done, it’s the light from the sky that creates the modelling on the land.  Maybe I should think more about the effects of the sky light on the subject and if the light isn’t good or is too flat, I should re-assess my subject.

After all somebody said that it’s all about the light.

Stunning Sligachan – 9 April 2016

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combo bDrove over Quiraing to reach Uig, then down the west side of the island to Portree. Stopped for a while at the top to take in the view and to grab some photos. I liked the style of the Indian bloke with his pink umbrella striding off across the footpath round the edge of Quiraing.

Had lunch at Jan’s Vans new café and also took on some petrol further down the road. Then we made our leisurely way to Sligachan to photograph the Cuillins which were looking quite dramatic after some overnight snow. Snow in April. Not unheard of, but after the fairly temperate winter we’ve had, it was not really expected. I got another painting done and was quite pleased with it. Just a medium sized sketch, but not timed this time. We made a really relaxed afternoon of it sitting in a lay-by off the main road with just the beautiful mountains and hills around us. Weather was kind with lovely sunshine and very little wind.

When we got back to Staffin I dropped Scamp off at the house and then headed down the slip. The place was quiet so I got to walk across the bog and on to the limestone pavement section and got a few shots, but not many. It was nice to sit there in the quiet and listen to the waves crashing and the birds singing. Sometimes that’s worth more than the dramatic scenery, but the drama helps too.

Remember, the mosaic at the top sometimes shows only part of today’s images and always at a reduced scale.  Click on the mosaic to be transported to my Flickr page.

Off home tomorrow.

Walking in the Sunshine – 5 April 2016

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combo bScamp had Elevenses booked with her sister and Lunch booked with a friend today, so I had the day to myself.

After a wee natter with Hazy on the phone, learning more about my latest apps (Thanks for the links the first one especially is just what I was looking for), I took myself off to buy my dinner (Steak pie) from the butchers.

With the sun coming and going when I got back, I thought it would be a shame to not take advantage of the light and went for a walk along the railway line. I’d really intended to take the Nikon, but forgot that I’d put the Oly in the car when I went to find my dinner, I only noticed when I got to Auchinstarry and thought that if two heads are better than one, then two cameras would be too, so I stuck the Oly in my jacket pocket (a tight squeeze with the 45-200mm lens on) and off I went, but not before getting a 15min sketch done of a strange wee house near the canal.  It wasn’t quite in the open air, I was sitting in the car, but I timed it and it wasn’t done from a photo or a tablet screen.

The weather was much kinder than it had looked with a bit of a breeze, but nice warm sun. The breeze was helping the clouds to scud across the hills and I got some record shots to be the basis of some possible paintings later. I liked the light on the robin which was sitting on a branch across the burn from me, at least 4m away and the picture above is a severe crop to the centre of the frame. The blossom is a bit of a cheat. The branch was actually hanging vertically downwards and I rotated it when I cropped it in Lightroom. That gave me a diagonal composition and also helped remove some extraneous branches that were getting in the way. Not a big cheat, but a cheat none the less.

That’s about it really. A pleasant walk along the railway to Dumbreck and back. Saw a couple of deer feeding, but they were in the middle of a little stand of trees and I couldn’t get a clean shot. I tried of course, but the results weren’t all that inspiring, so they went in the bin. I’m being a bit more ruthless with my thinning out these days. The external drives fill up at an alarming rate otherwise.

The Birds and the Bees – 3 April 2016

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combo bThis was a very lazy, wet day with one bright light.

The rain was on and off most of the morning and afternoon, but Scamp was determined to do something about our summer holiday and we are now booked on a 14 day cruise to the western Mediterranean.  We’ve been to most of the places on the itinerary before, but it will not be a great hardship to visit them again.  Now all we have to do is pay for it.

The rest of the day pales into insignificance.  I went for a walk in one of the bright spots of the afternoon and got the photos above in St Mo’s.  I’m not sure if the insect is a hoverfly or a honeybee.  My money is on hoverfly because there is no evidence of a honeybee’s antennae.

On the slow train – 2 April 2016

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comboWe went to Edinburgh today, hereinafter referred to by its real name “Embra”.  Since the rail line to Embra is being electrified, the tunnel entrance to Queen Street Station in Glasgow is being closed to allow the necessary building work to proceed.  This means that trains will take a lot longer to get from Croy to Glasgow, 25 minutes longer.  That’s 25 minutes added to the 15 minutes it took before last Sunday.  On the other side of Croy, all the Embra trains now stop at all stations to Embra, meaning an extra 10 minutes on that journey too.  Now, I can almost understand why it takes the extra 25 minutes in to Glasgow with all the redirection that’s necessary, but I can’t see why closing a tunnel in Glasgow causes trains to stop at all the stations from Croy to Embra.  Maybe it’s a butterfly flaps its wings thing.  I never understood that either.

Anyway, the train arrived early, which was a surprise, and it was empty, which is unheard of.  Arrived in Embra and got tea (tea leaves, that is) at my favourite shop.  Walked up past the conference centre where there was a massive queue to get in to the Embra Comic Con, which at up to £27 for a ticket was really well named.  There were Doctors Who, Captains America and some vaguely demonic looking souls.  I said to Scamp that I should have worn my black and red striped rugby top and gone as Dennis the Menace, but she didn’t think that I was taking the thing seriously.  As if!

Walked through Princes Street Gardens, enjoying the thin sunshine.  Went to John Lewis and looked around the Toys.  Not the kids toys, the big boys’ toys.  Got an early birthday present of a camera bag.  Smiled at a bloke asking his wife if a radio he was thinking of buying was green or grey.  A constant topic of discussion between Scamp and I.

Walked back along to Zizzi and spent the voucher we got way back ages ago for complaining about the service and food in Exchange Square Zizzi.  Sometimes it pays to complain.  Squeaky wheels and grease.

On the way back to the train I went in to Waterstones and waited 15 minutes while a moron decided whether or not to buy a Dorling Kindersley book on Peru, because he was going there in June with a friend.  He has a friend?  Is it an imaginary friend?  I expect so.  He wasn’t sure whether to buy the book or not, because the new version was coming out.  He asked the girl behind the counter when the new version was due out and she said it was due to be published early June.  He then asked her if that meant the shop would have it then.  She said no, it was published on that date.  “What exactly do you mean by published?” he asked.  I sighed loudly “For fuck’s sake!” and walked away to go downstairs and pay for my book there.  How the hell is Peter the Peruvian Prick (alliteration) going to get all the way to Peru?
Go to the train station and ask Information “When is the next train to Peru?“
“It’s at 3.30pm sir, but you have to change at Queen Street and remember it stops at all the stations, so it will take you an extra 35 minutes.”
“What exactly do you mean by ‘stops at all the stations’?“
“For fuck’s sake!” Says the girl at Information and pulls down the blind.  “This position is now closed.”

We went home in the train in the rain, having had the best of the day.  It stopped at all the stations.

Went Out, Did Something – 29 March 2016

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comboYesterday was a bit of a wasted day and we were determined not to do the same today. I’d like to say we got up early and went out for a walk or a run or even to the gym, but we had breakfast in bed, then read for an hour or so, this after waking up about 9.15. However, after that we DID go out.

We couldn’t decide where to go at first with both of us making half-hearted suggestions. We finally settled on Hamilton, intending to walk through the Palace grounds to the Mausoleum. Hamilton is such an awful place to drive through, always has been with a convoluted one way system and stringent parking regulations, so rather that face that, I decided to take the Motherwell turn off and park in Strathclyde Park. From there we could walk to the Mausoleum if we wanted or walk part of the way around Strathclyde Loch. We chose the latter.

We started walking anticlockwise round this soulless man made sailing venue. It’s never been my favourite place to walk. At weekends it’s usually crowded with dog walkers, joggers and cyclists, oh, and hundreds of weans. At night it has a totally different reputation. It used to be a boy racers’ paradise, but the council speed bumps every 20 feet or so has put paid to that. Now it’s the secluded carparks that are venues for other sporting pursuits – or so I’m told 😉

I remember it when it was simply Motherwell Pond, away back in the ’60s. Then it was just a big pond in the middle of a field. It had the reputation then for holding the biggest pike in Scotland and I remember seeing some big fish taken there. Not by me though. If I was lucky I’d get a small perch or two. Now it’s just a big sterile expanse of water used by small boat sailors, the occasional windsurfer and canoeist. It also has an Olympic rowing course. Enough of the adverts, it’s a rich person’s playground. Proles like us just get to walk round it.

We walked round the south end of the loch and on past the man made beach. Just before that, I spotted a buzzard through a fence. It was sitting on a post in a timber yard just outside the park. I managed a few shots of it and it seemed quite happy to let me get near. Then a couple of seagulls started mobbing it and it flew off. When we were walking near the water and under some trees we were joined by clouds of wee black flies. I don’t know what they were, but as they only appeared when we were near the water, I assume they were water borne and had just hatched. Maybe spring is near after all. We walked as far as the Roman bath house which, if you read the description on the plaque is not original, but a reconstruction using modern materials. That’s a bit of a con I think, but what do you expect in North Lanarkshire? The South Calder Water runs in to the park at this point and just around a bend in it is the old Roman bridge. This is part reconstructed too, but there are no signs to tell you what it is and it’s fenced off so you can’t get across. Well, you could get on to it quite easily, but I suppose by fencing it off NLC exonerate themselves from any injury caused from falling from it. YOU WERE WARNED etc.

Walked back the same way we’d come and almost managed to get back to the car before the clouds opened and although we got wet, we didn’t get the soaking that we might had got if we’d caught the full downpour that arrived a couple of minutes later.

Tomorrow? Who knows. Hopefully we’ll GO OUT AND DAE SOMETHING again.