Tag: Scotland

Greenock Customs House

Monochrome Monday

Wouldn’t you like to work in such an impressive, stately building?

I created this image about a year ago. It is really three photographs merged together as a panorama wrapped round a cylinder. A version taking away any perspective is shown later.

When Black Lives Matter hit the headlines again last month, I looked back on this image in a different light.

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Victorian Gothic

“There was something awesome in the thought of the solitary mortal standing by the open window and summoning in from the gloom outside the spirits of the nether world.”

Arthur Conan Doyle

Some of the amazing Victorian architecture on the Roseneath Peninsula, Argyll and Bute.

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Common Darter Dragonfly

Back to nature

A real predator of the animal kingdom. This dragonfly is, indeed, quite common in the UK. I’ve heard it said that their faces look like a smiley clown but at the same time, they are quite vicous predators too. I saw one just drop unexpectedly to the ground and then saw it had taken hold of a sizeable spider, just like a hawk landing on its prey.

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Creatures of a Brief Season

Just a flutter of bright orange like a piece of confetti blowing across the moor, – the male Small Heath butterfly (above). They’re fairly widespread in the UK and, of course mostly found on heathland – not in suburban gardens. It’s quite a small butterfly, only just over half an inch from head to tail, and they always perch as shown…. with wings closed. That way you won’t see the bright orange across the upper surface of its wings until it starts to fly. The male, slighter more colourful than the female, commands its own territory, while the female tends to wander all over the place.

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First Outing – Wild Flowers

This was my first outing with the camera since the first slight easing of our COVID-19 lockdown. It allowed me to drive to the country park close by and get round it to see what was happening in nature there. I’d hoped for some nice shots of birds or insects but with a bit of a wind present, they were not so many of them out posing. So I’ve settled for a few images of some of the wild flowers, particularly in the section with ponds. There were one or two I don’t remember seeing before.

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Culzean Castle, Ayrshire

Like many Ayrshire natives, I’m no stranger to the Culzean Estate. Last Sunday, I was going to see the ‘Forces in the Field’ event, but thought I’d get down early to have a wander. The lighting was so good I started with some shots of the castle. It’s not the type of photography I’m striving for, but when it’s there in front of you………

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