Flickr Scotland

Gone Like the Darkness, originally uploaded by |sumsion|.

You are looking west at the small boat harbor in Balmaha, on the shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland. One of my favorite places on earth, and something that makes we want to get out again with my camera.
My Scotland/Ireland set

I don't know how I missed this one. When I originally processed this image I used a different bottom image. Completely dark, a few boats, kinda boring. This image uses the same sky, but has the original bottom section added.

There are two shots here, taken just around 10:40PM, stitched together to form a vertorama.

Torch parade of the 2010 Jarl Squad, originally uploaded by Helen F H.

"One of the younger members of the Jarl Squad 2010 during the torchlit parade through the centre of Lerwick for Up Helly Aa."

Emigration Stone By Night, originally uploaded by Duncan_Smith.

"Cromarty's famous landmark, with the help of a little off-camera flash, the fog lit from behind by an oil rig.

Strobist: 580EXII hand held high above camera and nearer subject, triggered in E-TTL mode with STE2."

mush..., originally uploaded by David-Seòras.

"Aviemore Sled Dog Rally 2010

1/500 sec
f6.3
ISO 1000"

Loch Maree and Pier, originally uploaded by Zedboss.

"I went walking around some of the West Coast with some very fortunate weather... here are some of the results.

HDR, hand held, 3 exposures."

Balmaha, originally uploaded by Nicolas Valentin.

"Oot fishing catching o !"

Bells Bridge, originally uploaded by Daniel Davison.

"I've been starved of Flickr for the last 2 months, mainly due to the complete lack of customer service at SKY. It feels good to be back."

glascarnoch rock pile, originally uploaded by A MACNEILAGE.

"minus 6 degrees, but it was worth it. so was the day of junk food that followed this chilly early morning shoot."

The Night Needles - Old Man Of Storr, Skye, originally uploaded by David Hannah.

Been on Skye this weekend with Mr Currie. We had a nice bracing stroll up in the deep snow and pitch black.

Loch Cill Chriosd, originally uploaded by scott masterton.

The problem (and the plus) with being a landscape photographer is those early mornings, even in the middle of winter. I was 15 minutes too late for this one because my bed was warm and cosy and outside it was blowing a snowy gale. Still the color was still good, and it was a lot calmer here. Tomorrow I'll be on time :o)

Loch Cill Chriosd with Beinn na Caillich in the centre background.

Elgol, originally uploaded by Kenny Muir.

"The Cuillin from Elgol, Isle of Skye, Scotland"

Rail Bridge over the Avon, originally uploaded by PMMPhoto.

"Near Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland."

Veni Vidi V(icy) !, originally uploaded by emperor1959.

"Ice climbers tackling a frozen " Grey Mares Tail " near Murray's Monument in the Galloway Forest Park, Dumfries and Galloway."

Pettycur Rock, originally uploaded by michaelgcumming.

Rocky outcrop on beach getting submerged at high tide. I liked the orange colour just above the horizon.

Taking the Lymphoy Road, in Currie, Scotland, originally uploaded by Le Fromagier Extraordinaire.

"Such a beautiful spot this."

356 / 05 - Buachaille Etive Mòr Road, originally uploaded by Hee Haw But A Number.

"So the 365 possibly wont be a pukka 365 for a couple of weeks until i'm settled down south, i'm sure that can be excused?

Another from yesterdays excellent excursion with Paul. It's great to see how two minds process a similar photo."

Crannog, originally uploaded by angus clyne.

Ex #10 Misty morning Loch Tay, 30sec exposure.

Shine On, originally uploaded by Chris Sharratt.

"May the light shine on you in 2010.

I know we are a few days into it now, but Happy New Year everyone :-)"

Japan1, originally uploaded by PaulArthurPhotography.

"Ok, not Japan really...

This is my Scottish take on some of Michael Kenna's more stark images. Kenna prefers to have only one strong focus to the image, and perhaps has heavier snow than me, but I liked the relationship between the trees on the left and the main tree so left them in.

I've toned down the strong blue colour of the transparency as I wanted it to be closer to monochrome whilst still definitely being a colour image."

Swan, originally uploaded by robinneilly.

"Another shot from my lunch trip to Lake of Menteth. The swans were very confused with the frozen lake."

The Co-Driver, originally uploaded by Tina-Pina.

"Would have liked to drive the car here (being a control-freak at times, especially when she suspects that lives might be at risk), but was reduced to taking pictures through the windscreen instead."

Men's ba stuck in a lane, originally uploaded by joeri-c.

Every Christmas Eve and Hogmanay, householders and shopkeepers along Kirkwall's winding central streets can be seen barricading doors and windows in preparation for the following days' ba' games.

The Kirkwall Ba' is a mass-football game played out in the streets of the town every Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

The game pits two rival "factions" against each other in a battle to secure a goal and win the game.

The men and boys of Kirkwall are designated either "Uppies" or "Doonies", or "Up the Gates" and "Doon the Gates". This is thought to be a corruption of the Old Norse gata, meaning road.

Whether you were an Uppie or a Doonie originally depended upon the individual's place of birth. Those born to the north of the Cathedral were a Doonies, with Uppies being those born to the south.

These days, however, family loyalty is usually more important than the place of birth, with stalwart players playing for the same side as their father, grandfathers and great-grandfathers did before them, regardless of where they now live.

The ba' itself is a handmade, cork-filled, leather ball. Each game is played with a new ba', each one handmade by one of a few Orcadian ba' makers.

A finished Men's ba' weighs about 3 lbs with a circumference of approximately 28 inches. The Boys' Ba' is slightly smaller.

Two ba' games are played every Christmas and New Year's Day.

The first, the Boys' Ba', begins at 10.30am. If the battle for the Boys' Ba' is long and hard, it is not uncommon for it, and the Men's Ba', which starts at 1pm, to be running concurrently.

The game begins on Kirkwall's Broad Street, in the shadow of St Magnus Cathedral.

The Uppie goal is to touch the ba' against a wall in the south end of the town, while the Doonies have the unenviable task of getting the ba' into the water of Kirkwall Bay, to the north.

There are no hard and fast rules. Although the game is fairly rough, tempers are usually held in check and foul play, or "inappropriate behaviour", is not tolerated. Surprisingly, given the nature of the Ba', serious injuries to players are fairly rare. More often than not it is usually unfamiliar spectators who are hurt. When the pack breaks, there is often not much room to run!

As the cathedral clock strikes 1pm, a specially chosen individual, usually someone with a long association with the game, throws the ba' from the Mercat Cross into the gathered crowd of players. As soon as it lands in the pack, the fight for possession begins, with each side trying to gain ground and carry the ba' towards their territories.

A tight scrum forms around the leather trophy, while players on the outside brace themselves against any nearby buildings to prevent the opposition capturing ground. With the streets now their playing field, a heaving throng of men push and pulling to try and gain a few metres nearer their goal. In the cold, winter air, steam hangs above the pack.

But when the pack breaks, chaos erupts, as those in possession of the ba' try and get as close to their goal as possible before being stopped. As soon as they are intercepted, however, the scrum quickly reforms.

This struggle to gain ground means that a typical game can last for hours. Based on recent years, an average Men's Ba' lasts about five hours, but this could be anything up to eight hours, or more.

Throughout the game, numerous tactics are used to achieve the goal. Very often, the majority of players have no idea where the ba' actually is. This leads to numerous attempts to smuggle the ba' out of the pack or create fake "breaks" in the hope that the opposition will follow the wrong players.

A successful break allows players to sprint towards their goal, making the most of Kirkwall's winding lanes to slow down pursuers. Players have been known to attempt to reach their goals via the rooftops.

When the goal is finally reached, the ba' - itself a coveted trophy - is awarded to a player in the winning side who has been a notable participant over a number of years.

"It breaks out twice a year at a time when peace and goodwill might be ex­pected to prevail, the warring armies engaging in close combat with a ferocity that precludes respect for person or property.

"Even the law has been known to stand impotent as combatants surged and counter-surged through the environs of the police station, and memory has hardly dimmed the occasion when the local manse was invaded and despoiled. Casualties are high — but who cares?

"Crushed ribs and broken limbs are never enough reasons for the enthusiastic par­ticipants to desist from this traditional orgy of Orcadian violence which not even a sheriff's edict could ban — the Kirkwall Ba' Game."

BBC Spectrum Programme 1982