Last week I was having a look through the first site that ever sat on this domain. It was an architecture and photography portfolio from my uni years, and whilst clicking about I stumbled across an old project.

The project was to design a school on a brownfield site to form part of a brand new extension to a town just outside Edinburgh called Granton.

With only 3D models of what the rest of the new town was going to look like, sources of inspiration were limited to the history of the site and the surrounding architectural remnants. I decided to try and design the school so that it would tell a story. The story didn’t have a beginning, middle, and an end, per se, but it told the history of the ‘place’ and how it connected to the rest of Scotland. I racked my brains for weeks over how to use different vistas of the same space, or interlocking spaces to give just enough info and evoke just enough emotion to covey this story of sorts.

Flicking through my notes I saw this quote:

“Often a transition is marked by a structure,
as a sentence is marked by punctuation,
bringing pause in the rhythm of one’s progress.”

Ian Hamilton Findlay

I wasn’t totally happy with the final design, but I always though that the ambition was an honourable one. Perhaps if I’d been reading www.xkcd.com back then I’d have had more success.

Here’s how to draw a story:

That there is top notch data visualisation. ;)

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Edinburgh to London by train
2. Renaissance series
3. Working in the Scotsman building for the Evening News.

I scooted over to the london seo get together, but decide to bail early and spend the evening strolling around London with a friend – something I’ve not had time to do for months.

Strolled through Covent Garden and up Shaftesbury Av, then popped into soho for dinner.

As I scooted home down the Strand, I drove past this classic car being run by what I think were two students from Imperial college. Its engine had a fantastic haphazard rhythm, and just as you thought it had settled into a song it would change entirely again. Very fun!

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Working in the Scotsman building for the Evening News.
2. The west coast train to Scotland
3. New eyes in old places

Track, track, and more track…

(click to view larger)

I just treated myself to some new sports kit – not because I can afford it mind… but last weekend I got a blister the size of a 2p piece from my £15 football boots… now no more, yay! :)

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Back at Battersea Track
2. Sunset in Battersea Park – Updated
3. Some more from the weekend

All I can hear looking out of my window is the drip drip of melting snow. I think it’ll all be gone in 12 hours. What a beautiful day – all day long mums and dads were out with kids walking past my window throwing snowballs and carrying sleds on an unexpected holiday.

Lots of folk walking back from the shops with manageable (and some less manageable!) purchases. A bag of food for dinner – instead of the usual unnecessarily large Asda shop. Lots of chatter between strangers too. First thing I heard was an old chap telling a worried commuter that the tube tracks were under snow. She about turned and went back home!

Update – turns out the snow is still here (5th Feb) – but it’s definitely gonna be gone tomorrow! ;)

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Snow in Putney!
2. The move to London, and 1 year anniversary!
3. Exhibition at the Proud Gallery, London

It’s true, and I haven’t seen it for years!

After a morning playing lacrosse in the snow out at Haberdasher’s Aske’s School, I came home to a chilly but not snowy London and dozed all afternoon by the fire.  It wasn’t till 6pm that I removed the cats from my lap, got up and opened the curtains in the sitting room and saw the product of a wintery afternoon!  At about midnight I had an urge to go out and take some photos (in my dressing gown).

No tripod, and very rushed due to cold!

Took me a while to get out of the door and brave the cold!

The front garden:

My street:

And a fox that I just managed to capture:

Next day update:  I can’t get to work!  London Snow Chaos!

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Last snow in London
2. New eyes in old places
3. The Moon, the Castle, and the Night Sky.

Having made the move from Edinburgh to London, I’m now heading into my second week of employment as a photographer! I’m working full-time producing architectural and interior photography, and the best bit of that I get a company scooter to get around London in! Actually, the work is the best part – I love having a job that means I’m not stuck in an office all day long. Such a good decision, and I’m so glad I got it!
Understandably I’ve been a little run off my feet getting used to everything and so haven’t had a chance to get going on the heavy editing work required for my recent Edinburgh to London project. So… in order to stave off the guilt for a while, I’ve scanned in the contact sheets which I just picked up from the developers. I was using an old medium format Hasselblad camera for the trip, and though most of the photos I took were on my D200, the quality and ‘feel’ created by the Hasselblad is too pleasing to resist. Unfortunately, development costs are somewhat prohibitive.

Below are some thumbnails, but I’ve uploaded them at full resolution so if you click on them you should be taken to a full-size version hosted on flickr.

Enjoy for now, and eventually I’ll get round to finishing the real editing work.

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Edinburgh to London by train
2. The move to London, and 1 year anniversary!
3. Early morning in Edinburgh

I’m feeling a bit obsessed with colour lately, and these Lee filtersJeder Blackjack Spieler online roulette der Reihe nach einmal gegen die Bank (Runde). are a total blast to play with!

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Click on the photos for MASSIVE versions. I thought that they would make rather good desktop images, so once you’ve clicked on them, press ‘all sizes’, and you’ll find v v large copies up there for you to download.

Enjoy your weekend!

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Preston Pans
2. KT Tunstall in Dundee
3. Battersea Prk (after a little April Shower)

On my last day in Edinburgh I decided to photograph the Greyfriar’s graveyard which my bedroom window has overlooked all these years. I have popped in before, but never with a camera handy.
Though of course the gravestones made good subjects, it was the greenness (for want of a better word) of the grass and new leaves, that I was soaking up.

Spring is brilliant isn’t it.

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Introducing Wordle… Word Clouds with added creativity.
2. Daffodils on Princes Street
3. New eyes in old places

Putney Bridge

SO, I have upped and moved to London, and I only just noticed, but the exact day that I arrived in London was precisely one year on from the date of the first post I ever made on this here blog! I was planning on doing some big posting about how I had or hadn’t achieved my aims, what I had and hadn’t learnt, the ideas I’m still working on and the projects that I’ve completed and am or am not proud of. The truth is, I’ve been so busy with the move that I have literally hundreds of photos I’ve not yet posted up. So instead of writing, I’m just going to be posting lots of photos up over the next week as I get round to editing them – so check back soon for lots of yummy tidbits.

Here’s to the next year!

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Last snow in London
2. Edinburgh to London contact sheets
3. Exhibition at the Proud Gallery, London

A very kind friend of my flatmates dropped by with a chunky roll of scrap filters from the theatre that he works in. Contained within were lots of pieces of four main Lee filter colours, and I decided to stick them up to my window:

Just for reference, here’s the scene without any filters:

This photo is with just the yellow filter. It did appear yellow for a second but the iPhone adjusted, and it came out like this:

Here with just the red filter, pretty cool:

Here’s where it starts to get interesting. I started to overlay the filters, this one is the Red and Blue filters combined:

and this is Red and turquoise, my fave by far:

I can’t believe how infra red some of these photos look! So much fun, I’m definitely inspired to start playing with filters more. Also, putting filters onto flash heads will definitely be interesting.

A few other similar posts on this blog:

1. Leaves
2. LensBaby in Colour
3. A bit of experimentation