Sunday, December 31, 2006

Edinburgh Torchlight Procession

Passing St.Giles Cathedral

Procession passing St.Giles Cathedral - Sigma 18-50 f2.8 zoom @ 18mm or so.
The Sigma zoom is a bit soft at the corners wide open, but it's so lightweight and
compact that I will actually carry it all the time.

On the way home from town the other night, after a meet-up with Graeme Reid, (a regular of my other blog), I was cut off from home by the annual torchlight procession - and with only my Fuji E550 compact, my SLR and three lenses to hand! What could I do but keep shooting until my cards were full?

Looking Towards The Castle

Luckily, I was carrying my old 85mm f1.8 lens, which is an excellent fast telephoto, except that it's prone to internal reflection from bright light sources - note the green ghosting from the torches in the top quarter of the frame.

Because I normally carry a fast mid-range zoom and a fast prime telephoto, I could shoot in the available light coming off the torches - it was bright enough to handhold even the 85mm lens at ISO 800, which gave usable results without needing noise reduction.

Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas!


Princes Street Gardens, Edinburgh, with the Walter Scott monument behind the big wheel.

Even a hard-hearted old techie like me can be touched by the spirit of the season, so here are some Christmassy photos taken on and around Princes Street this season. Merry Christmas!


The clock tower of the old North British Hotel building behind the ferris wheel on Princes Street.

Composite panorama showing Edinburgh Castle and the illuminated trees on the mound.