Sunday, January 31, 2010 

Loch Nah-Achlaise


Loch Nah-Achlaise, originally uploaded by KWG73.

Saturday, January 30, 2010 

Gone Like the Darkness


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.

Friday, January 29, 2010 


, originally uploaded by krb&nah.

Thursday, January 28, 2010 

Torch parade of the 2010 Jarl Squad

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

Tuesday, January 26, 2010 

Emigration Stone By Night


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."

Monday, January 25, 2010 

mush...


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

"Aviemore Sled Dog Rally 2010

1/500 sec
f6.3
ISO 1000"

Sunday, January 24, 2010 

Loch Maree and Pier


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."

Friday, January 22, 2010 

Balmaha


Balmaha, originally uploaded by Nicolas Valentin.

"Oot fishing catching o !"

Thursday, January 21, 2010 

Bells Bridge


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."

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 

Teàrlach


Teàrlach, originally uploaded by dougiebeck.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010 

glascarnoch rock pile


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."

Monday, January 18, 2010 

Tesco lorry ruined the shot???


Tesco lorry ruined the shot???, originally uploaded by macca_tm.

Sunday, January 17, 2010 

Athmhor


Athmhor, originally uploaded by Ruairidhsollas.

Saturday, January 16, 2010 

The Night Needles - Old Man Of Storr, Skye

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

Friday, January 15, 2010 

Loch Cill Chriosd


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.

Thursday, January 14, 2010 

Iced Falls


Iced Falls, originally uploaded by David Cation.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 

Elgol


Elgol, originally uploaded by Kenny Muir.

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

Tuesday, January 12, 2010 

Rail Bridge over the Avon


Rail Bridge over the Avon, originally uploaded by PMMPhoto.

"Near Hamilton, Lanarkshire, Scotland."

Monday, January 11, 2010 

Veni Vidi V(icy) !


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."

Sunday, January 10, 2010 

Pettycur Rock


Pettycur Rock, originally uploaded by michaelgcumming.

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

Saturday, January 09, 2010 

Taking the Lymphoy Road, in Currie, Scotland

"Such a beautiful spot this."

Friday, January 08, 2010 

356 / 05 - Buachaille Etive Mòr Road

"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."

Thursday, January 07, 2010 

Crannog


Crannog, originally uploaded by angus clyne.

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

Wednesday, January 06, 2010 

Shine On


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 :-)"

Tuesday, January 05, 2010 

Japan1


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."

Monday, January 04, 2010 

The last light


The last light, originally uploaded by Team Jenneson.

Sunday, January 03, 2010 

Swan


Swan, originally uploaded by robinneilly.

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

Saturday, January 02, 2010 

The Co-Driver


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."

Friday, January 01, 2010 

Men's ba stuck in a lane


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

The Flickr Scotland Blog

  • A Photo Blog where photographers from all around the Scotland, and visitors to the country, capture the best of the nation's places, people, history, views, scenery, buildings and architecture, townscapes, cityscapes and culture.

    And of course the quirky....

    The Blog has been featured in the Sunday Herald Magazine and has been highlighted on the Flickr Blog.

    The Flickr Scotland Blog is run by Calum and Victoria, strongly supported by Pamela

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