CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

Before we attended the Torch Parade yesterday evening we paid a visit to the Christmas Market and entertainment area in East Princes Street Gardens by the Scott Monument.  We did visit it before Christmas but it was so busy you could hardly see anything.  On Tuesday evening the area was busy but not so you couldn't enjoy the atmosphere, see the stalls and have a drink and a bite to eat. Edinburgh's Christmas is a spectacular, six-week season of festive entertainment in the heart of the city. The festival features a host of shows in the beautiful Spiegeltent, as well as ice skating, markets and rides, including the Big Wheel and the 60-metre Star Flyer, with breathtaking views over the city. The festival gave me plenty of opportunity to indulge in a spot of Street Photography to finish off 2014 nicely. Edinburgh's Christmas festival is on until January 4th - more details HERE ----------------------------------

Do you like the pictures on this blog?  Do you want to know how to take pictures just like them?  Would you want to explore East Lothian with a photographer who knows his way around one of the best counties for landscape photography in the UK?  Well we are launching the MacLean Photographic Tours and Workshops for 2015 which are suitable for photographers of all ages and abilities. We are also launching a one day Beginners in Photography workshop in and around Dunbar aimed at novice photographers who want to get more out of their camera, whether it is a DSLR, Compact or Smart Phone.  At the end of the workshop you will have a better understanding of how a digital camera works, getting the right exposure and being able to arrange the elements within the frame to improve the overall composition.  Prices start at £75 for the Beginners in Photography workshop, with the Tours and more advanced workshops at £150 per person.  The beginners workshop is limited to six people while the

This evening we headed to Edinburgh to see the start of the three day Hogmanay celebrations in the Scottish capital city. Over 35,000 participants and spectators took part, joining the Up Helly Aa’ Vikings, massed pipes & drums and thousands of torch carriers as they illuminated the city from the start position on George IV Bridge to the finale viewing areas at Waterloo Place and Calton Hill. The Torchlight Procession was concluded with a fireworks finale. We viewed the procession from the steps of the Scotland National Gallery as the pipes and drums led the way down Princes Street towards Calton Hill.  As the parade progressed more and more torch bearers joined the throng.  The sight of so many torches stretching the length of Princes Street was an awesome sight. The fireworks began at 8:30pm an lasted for around 10 minutes.  They acted as a precursor for tomorrow nights display as Scotland joins the rest of the world in celebrating the s

Sunset in Glen Lyon Yesterday's blog was about climbing Ben A'ag to capture the pre dawn light over the Trossachs National Park.  We arrived back at the car park at the bottom of Loch Achray around lunchtime and after a coffee and a bite to eat we set off for the next stop at Loch Lubnaig on the A84. Loch Lubnaig is around 5 km long, and has depths of up to 44.5 metres. The loch nestles in the space between Ben Ledi and Ben Vorlich. The name is derived from the Gaelic Lùbnaig, meaning crooked. When we arrived we noticed the near shore was frozen while the hills on the opposite bank was still covered in snow.  We pulled into the car park opposite a boat house on the far shore and used the frozen reeds on the bank as foreground interest. After 30 minutes we carried on heading north up the A84 before turning west on the A827 through the village of Killin and the famous Falls of Dochart.  We decided not to stop to capture the falls as there