Last time I went into London for a day of photography (see ), I moaned about the £22 cost of the travelcard. Now, it's an even more shocking £29. I can't believe that it's gone up by that much in a year, so I suspect that the ticket machine that has replaced the person in the now closed ticket office is programmed to sell the most expensive tickets going. I also think they have extended peak-time to weekends, as another way of increasing prices by stealth. Either way, I felt like I'd been mugged. My first stop was Canary Wharf, where there's another colourful tunnel that was worth a few pictures both inside and along the outside (it's actually above, not under the ground) looking towards all the other buildings. Similarly to last time when I ... read more

It was another night of wind and rain, so we were not sure if it would be worth it when we got up early to head out for the sunrise. Our plan today was to go back to the Eilean Glas Lighthouse on Scalpay Island. There was a break in the rain as we were driving, but it started pouring again as soon as we got there, so we waited in the minibus for a while until it stopped. We knew that once we got to the lighthouse, there would be no shelter and it would be too far to pop back to the minibus for shelter. There were intermittent rain showers and, again, the constant wind, which kept blowing our tripods over. It’s a rooky mistake turning away from your tripod in the wind, particularly ... read more

As is normal with these photography workshops, we were up early and were planning on heading back to the same beach at Seliebost, which we had gone to previously for the sunrise (see ) as it can look very different depending on the sky. As we were on the way, however, we changed our plans and got diverted as the water in a bay on the way was dead still and we thought would make better photographs due to the potential reflections. We parked, climbed over a fence (being careful of the barbed-wire) and headed down towards the bay. It soon became clear that this was a huge mistake as the ground was beyond uneven. The long grass that we could see was bad enough, but the ground underneath, which we couldn't see, was even more ... read more

As with all these photography workshops, it was an early start as sunrise is almost always the best time of the day for striking photographs. It wasn’t too antisocial though as we met at 6.20 to head off to the nearby Seliebost Beach. Sadly, it was pouring with rain, so we left in a cloud of pessimism concerning what it would be like when we got there. As we headed there, however, that pessimism turned to optimism as the weather started to clear and there were some gaps in the cloud. Stormy weather actually makes great, dramatic photography, but rain is an absolute pain as all those dramatic pictures are ruined by the spots of rain on the camera lens, no matter how often you try and wipe it. We got there and got set-up and ... read more

Following on from the previous photography workshops to Rannoch Moor and to Dartmoor (see and respectively), I'm indulging in more photography, this time to Harris and Lewis in Scotland. I had booked my flights well in advance and everything seemed to be sorted nicely. Heathrow to Glasgow, Glasgow to Stornoway and then returning the same route in reverse. Perfect. Then all the planned cancellations started (to relieve all the capacity issues at Heathrow) and, understandably, the domestic flights were the first to go. At least it happened well in advance so it gave plenty of time to find an alternative. That alternative was going out via Edinburgh. Sigh of relief, relaxed and everything is all still sorted again. But then, a few weeks later, that flight was cancelled as well. Ok now it's maybe time to ... read more