A Road Trip, the Night Sky, and the Bass (and the May)
Maria showed us images from her inspiring road trip out west - Dumfries and Galloway, including a few from Karen. It's a very interesting region that can be a little overlooked considering the wonderful beaches, lighthouses, sunsets, dark skies, wildlife (Red Kites...), bookshops, cafes and arts. All that, just three hours or so easy drive - plenty to attract us out of East Lothian. I fancy the sound of a Cally Pally breakfast !
Next Fran took us further along her 'Night Sky' journey, and kindly sent over this week's featured image. We've been fortunate recently to have some good aurora opportunities - sobering to hear that these may be on the wane soon, until the next sun cycle. Lesson to me - get out when they're here. Fran showed us images from Australia and other locations too, and underlined the aesthetic of including an attractive foreground to balance the stars. It seems the technical challenge is a familiar one - the balance of movement, camera noise, composition, field of view, and sharpness - but with extra challenges. Stay safe out there too !
And after the tea break and a chat, Rudolf took us to the Bass Rock and the Isle of May. His images are so inspiring, many of us want to go on a photo trip to the islands and develop our own Gannet photography skills (and if you're lucky, Terns, my favourite). The images, and the stories, covered such a lot of ground quickly, and left me in no doubt - skills are earned not given and require patience and dedication. My New Year's Resolution - get out there.
So a great evening reminding us of the beauty of Scotland and how priviledged we are to be able to (try to) turn what we see into art.
Next week - zoom, and the judging of the annual Monochrome competition. Watch out for Grace's email with the zoom link.