A lunchtime wander exploring the Gallowgate and the Barrowlands with some of my work colleagues.
We got the keys to our cottage and headed up with a rented van loaded to the hilt. As the last part of the track, actually more a field, was completely saturated with water and soggy, we decided to leave the van at the bridge. While ferrying the content of the van to the cottage with the help of a wheel barrow during the afternoon, mist started to form across the Loch.
I can kick myself for waiting too long before getting the camera out, as I missed the low sun light filtering through the mist across the loch. When I eventully ended up carrying my camera while walking back and forward, I still got some wonderful shots of the dense mist after the sun disappeared behind rigde, and a later when the mist had partly cleared again with the red sky reflecting in the still water of the loch.
With such a wonderful view on our first day in our cottage, we are very much ooking forward to our time here with (hopefully) loads of fantastic photographic opportunities.
Catedral Metropolitana, Ciudad de México
Or in English, the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City.
I simply sat down on the beech in Tulum with my camera and watched the sanderlings wander along the shoreline searching for crustaceans. Amazing how these lovely little birds were completely unperturbed, not just with passing very closely by me, but also with the noisy flocks of tourists on the beech.
It started with a small thistle seed feeder in the garden and a pair of very shy gold finches, occasionally visiting the feeder. Then there were seven regularly and now there are twelve daily stuffing their faces. They frequent the two thistle seed feeders and the three sunflower heart feeders we now have in our garden. Surprisingly, they seem to prefer the sun flower hearts over the thistle seeds. Maybe I should write to Colins to get them to update their bird guide.
Beside our kitchen window is a tree with two sunflower heart feeders. The tree provides shelter to the visiting gold finches, chaffinches, blue tits, coal tits, great tits and green finches. At certain times of the day, the tree is heaving with birds while at other times there is no bird to be seen. These shots were taken from our kitchen window on a snowy Sunday morning.
The main image is now my most successful image on flickr: Gold Finch in Flight. OK, not in terms of number of views as one of the Notre Dame School fire images tops this league by far, but certainly in terms of comments and awards.
Bart ‘the Dachshund’ was staying for a sleepover on Saturday night. On Sunday morning I let them out into the back garden and they ended up playing for a long time in the snow. It was wonderful to see them chase, tease and play while heavy snow was falling. From the shelter of the back door, I had a dry vanatage position for taking these images. Hope they do the fun they had justice.
A lunchtime wander exploring the financial district in Glasgow City with some of my work colleagues.
A lunchtime wander exploring the Gallowgate in Glasgow with some of my work colleagues.
I finally managed to get out with Lola to the Kelvin to try my new lens at fast action photography. I was already impressed with the sharpness of this lens, but now I’m also bowled over with it’s performance in action. I am absolutely over the moon with the new lens.
On a lovely Sunday afternoon we decided to leave Auchoirk slightly earlier than normal and take the scenic route back to Glasgow along the East shore of Loch Fyne via Otter Ferry rather than the much faster route via Glendaruel.
We stopped off at the parking on the shore of Lachlan Bay for a short break and a stroll along the shoreline while admiring the ruins of Old Castle Lachlan on the other side of the bay.
While wandering the shore of Lachlan Bay, we came across this wonderfully shaped piece of wood with interesting details and colourful reflections in Loch Fyne under a clear blue sky.
Daddy, daddy, get me out of here
Ha ha, I’m underground
Sister, sister, please take me down
Ah ha I’m underground
Daddy, daddy, get me out
Thanks to Euan for keeping his ear to the ground and sniffing out a wonderful photographic opportunity. A little bridie (or was it a mole) told him that the metal doors to the derelict Kelvinbridge Railway Station and Tunnel Entrance are unlocked. So we ended up taking the Underground to Kelvinbridge at lunchtime to go underground.
Indeed, the doors were unlocked. We passed fairly quickly through the first rubbish filled section and entered the Kelvinbridge Railway Tunnel for some serious exploration. An amazing place. We walked for quite a bit, losing sight of the tunnel entrance behind us, but seeing light in front of us, likely from the air vents at the derelict Botanics Station.
On our return, we looked at the first section more closely. How did we miss that. It was a gem of a derelict railway station. Heaps of rubbish and rotten tyres, but plenty of rusty metal grils, stairs and remainders of platforms. Pity we ran out of time, but we’ll be back.