The S Files

Sunday, 8 June 2014

Photo of the Month: May 2014

Pittenweem harbour, East Neuk, Fife

18th May 2014, Pittenweem, East Neuk, Fife

Pittenweem harbour in the East Neuk. It has the largest fleet of commercial fishing boats in Fife as well as a fish market and some of the oldest buildings in the East Neuk. I have spent many hours here photographing along the quayside. On this particular evening the inner harbour was like a millpond as the sun was setting on a brooding sky. A graduated neutral density filter added some definition to the sky and the final image was created by stitching together two overlapping frames.

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 2.5 sec @ f/11 x 2 frames, stitched

Lee filters: 0.6 Soft GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

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Sunday, 11 May 2014

Photo of the Month: April 2014

Rotary Club, Glendevon

10th April 2014, Green Knowes Wind Farm, Glendevon

A 40 minute hike uphill from the road through Glendevon to reach a line of 19 turbines strung out along the ridge. The blades make loud whooshing sounds when you stand anywhere near them and the gears and bearings make strange grating sounds too when the brakes are applied. They seem to stop and start in unison as if they are being controlled. It was quite an eerie atmosphere when I got took this about 30 mins after sunset in the fading light. I used the dry stone dyke and the shadows created by the grasses to lead the eye.

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 15 sec @ f/11
Lee filters: 0.6 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

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Sunday, 13 April 2014

Photo of the Month: March 2014

Eilean Donan Castle

15th March 2014, Eilean Donan Castle

Saturday morning and we were returning from a few days in Plockton, only 10-miles from Eilean Donan Castle. Eilean Donan is one of the most iconic castles in Scotland. Its stunning location where three lochs meet, and with the main A87 trunk road passing within metres of the castle, means it has been photographed a million times. Today, a heavy and misty sky helped to set the mood but there was still light spilling onto the scene which created a lot of contrast. The final image was blended and stitched from 4 overlapping frames.

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 35/2 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 1/15 sec @ f/11 x 4 frames, stitched
Lee filters: 0.6 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

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Sunday, 9 March 2014

Photo of the Month: February 2014

Seafield, Kirkcaldy, Fife

16th February 2014, Seafield, Kirkcaldy, Fife

The Fife Coastal Path at Seafield, Kirkcaldy. This is one of the most interesting areas in Fife for the photographer who likes to seek out their own compositions along a particularly rugged section of coast. Below Seafield Tower, the sandstone rocks have been eroded by the action of the sea creating little rock pools. I have used this composition before in less favourable light. Sunset is about 30 minutes away with the soft pastel sky stretching over the Firth of Forth to Edinburgh on the other side. 3 frames were taken in portrait format and stitched together in software.

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 4 sec @ f/11 x 3 frames,stitched
Lee filters: 0.6 Soft GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

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Sunday, 9 February 2014

Photo of the Month: January 2014

The Watcher, Pettycur Harbour, Fife

8th January 2014, Pettycur Harbour, Fife.

Pettycur, on a headland south of Kinghorn, has a harbour for both pleasure craft and small fishing boats. It has a single stone pier which provides a haven to moor boats in the sandy and tidal Pettycur Bay. The pier is lined with sheds and workshops, lovingly cared for by their owners. One is a smokery and another sells fresh crab. Staircases lead from the pier down to the boats moored in the bay and there are creels and fishing gear at the far end of the pier. When I arrived it was raining quite heavily. When the rain moved away I made my way down the sand to the boats which were beached at the far end of the pier. They were lying at all angles. The sun set and an incoming tide soon covered the sand. I was concentrating so much on one boat, Island Lass, that I didn't notice the figure standing on the pier until after I had pressed the remote release. 10 seconds later the shutter closed and he hadn't moved. Perfect.

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 10 sec @ f/11, 20 sec @ f/11, blended
Lee filters: 0.6 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

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Sunday, 12 January 2014

Photo of the Month: December 2013

The Cobbler from the Allt a' Bhalachain

17th December 2013, The Cobble, Arrochar Alps

The Cobbler. On OS maps it is also called Ben Arthur which is really the anglicised form of the gaelic ‘Beinn Artair’. At 884m / 2900ft it falls short of Munro status by 100ft but what it lacks in height it makes up for in character. It is one of the most impressive peaks in Scotland with three distinct and craggy summits which take on the shape of a cobbler at his last when seen from the A82 road above Arrochar at the head of Loch Long. A constructed path zig-zags up the hillside through an area of forestry, by-passing the original tramway route. Above the forest the path joins the old tramway path and continues from there, following the Allt a' Bhalachain to reach the Narnain Boulders.

Technical Info:

Taken with a Canon EOS 5D mkII
Zeiss Distagon T* 21/2.8 ZE lens

EXIF: ISO-100 / 6 sec @ f/11
Lee filters: 0.9 Hard GND

RAW File converted to TIFF in Canon DPP, developed in Adobe PSE9

Website / Profile