CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

This is the final day of my 7 Day Nature Photo Challenge for which I was nominated by Tom Hodgetts of Skye Walks and Photography. This shot was taken in November 2011 of a Grey Seal pup at Donna Nook in North Lincolnshire.  The pup was lying just inside the fence that separates the public area and the breach where the seals are.  You have to be careful not to touch the seal pups because if the mother smells a human on the pup she may reject the pup and it will die. The camera was fitted with a wide angle lens and set down on the ground behind the double fence so there was no chance of the pup being touched.  I then used the wireless remote release to take some pictures of the pup as it got curious and went to look at the camera.  It soon got bored and wandered back to mum and on checking the pictures I found this shot. It has to be one of my all time favourite nature photography images and is a nice way to round off this 7-day challenge. The camera ...

In just over two weeks time we will head up to the Highlands of Scotland and visit our friends on the Isle of Skye.  Weather permitting the trip will present some good opportunities for landscape and wildlife photography. This shot was taken in June 2012 and is of 'Bla Bheinn', or Blaven, and some of the other Cuillin peaks reflected in Loch Slapin on the road near Torrin.  The image was originally shot in colour on a Nikon D300S and Sigma 10-20mm f4.5/5.6 ultra wide lens.  The file was converted to mono using NIK Silver EFEX Pro2 software. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MAC...

Here is another image from the MacLean Photographic archives, this time a shot of Tobermory harbour from our last trip to the Isle of Mull in May 2013. We are regular visitors to the Isle of Mull but since we moved to Dunbar in August 2013 we haven't had the opportunity to visit the island, which is something that will need to be remedied in 2015 and was the reason I was searching through my many archive images of Mull. This image was taken late evening and is just typical of the light that can be found on Mull.  The sky had been grey and lifeless but a change in the weather allowed the sun to peep through and add a bit of colour to the scene, which I assisted by using a grad filter on the camera. Tobermory Harbour front is one of the most photographed scenes in Scotland with the colourful houses - the Mishnish Hotel had been repainted back to yellow from a dark grey over the previous winter - and boats moored up, though on this particular day the waterfront was pretty ...

I love a good sunset as much as the next landscape photographer and given the opportunity I will grab my gear and head out to the beaches here in East Lothian and set the camera on the tripod to get the last golden glow of the setting sun. What amazes me is how many photographers pack up as soon as the sun has dropped below the horizon thinking that the photographic opportunities are done.  In fact the best light is often just before the dawn or just after the sun has set and a lot of photographers are missing a golden opportunity (pun intended!) The best way to capture the twilight you need to be set up in good time as the sun is dropping towards the horizon and you'll need to have your camera strapped to a sturdy tripod and to use a cable release as the shutter speeds start to get longer very quickly once the light has gone. Once the sun drops below the horizon you'll notice the colours shift from bright oranges and reds to purple to blue before turning black. ...

I have been delving into the archives once again and re editing some of the shots from previous photoshoots on the new Apple iMac. This shot was taken two years ago on 14 February 2013.  The image is of a farm house up in the Peak District with a dusting of snow on the fields. a quick edit in Photoshop CS and then converted to mono in Silvers Efex Pro2 software and this high contrast image is the result. The image was taken on a Nikon D800 and Sigma 50-500mm f3.5/f6.3 lens, with the zoom set at 230mm.

'Light at the End of the Tunnel' has been listed as one of the best of 2014 by stock photography website Picfair.com HERE The picture was taken in May 2013 at the  Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari  in Imola, Italy.  The shot is of the pedestrian tunnel that runs under the track to the paddock.  I saw the shot and just had to wait for a single person to walk through and reach the perfect point under the lights. Check out this LINK and see the other stunning images that have been placed alongside our shot - it is great to be included alongside such great work! The image was shot on a Nikon D800 fitted with a Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S lens ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY VISITING THE ADVERTISERS ON THIS PAGE By clicking on the adverts you are helping support this blog - thank you. ------------------------------------------------...

Yesterday I received some news via email that four of the images I submitted for consideration for the 2014 Scottish Landscape Photographer of the Year competition had been shortlisted. This is the first year I have entered this competition and I would've been pleased to have one image shortlisted, but to have four is a nice surprise. Two were taken around our new home in Dunbar and two were taken during our trip to the Outer Hebrides in July. The judges will now decide who goes through the final round and looking at some of the past winners I know the competition will be fierce.  If none of the images get through to the final I wont be disappointed, I will endeavour to learn from the winning entries and start preparing for the 2015 competition. We will find out in the next few weeks who the winners are. Here are the four shortlisted entries - Belhaven Bay, East Lothian Eilean Glas Lighthouse, Isle of Scalpay, Outer Hebrides Duntulm Castle, Isle of Skye ...

Another shot from Sunday morning's run out to Seacliff beach.  This is Bass Rock taken from the top of the Gegan, an outcrop of rock jutting out into the Firth of Forth.  The Nikon D800 and 17-35mm lens were used with a Lee Big Stopper 10x ND filter to give a 2 minute exposure which resulted in the moving clouds and sea.  The image was then converted in Silver Efex Pro2 to a blue toned mono. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION If yo...

My job in motorsport can put a lot of pressure on me and living in East Lothian is the perfect antidote to the stressful environment of my day job.  This morning, with the first race of the 2014 season less than a week away, I woke up before dawn.  Unable to get back to sleep I decided to take my mind off work by heading out to the beach at Seacliff and watch the sunrise.  For a few hours I was able to forget work and enjoy the marvel of nature as the sky grew brighter and the reflections in the sea and the wet sand changed colour.  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------...

Today I will be flying to the South of France for the official tests of the FIA World Endurance Championship (called The Prologue) and European Le Mans Series in my capacity as the Media Delegate for both championships.   Here are a couple of images from last year and I hope to get the opportunity to try out some new ideas during the eight days I am in Le Castellet from the 26 March until the 3 April. Images taken on a Nikon D800 + Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 AF-S -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - thank you for helping ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC...

On Saturday I climbed to the top of Traprain Law for the first time to see what the view was like.  I certainly wasn't disappointed and was also rewarded with some beautiful light. This imposing rock juts out of the East Lothian countryside near East Linton to a height of 221m and is a  Site of Specific Scientific Interest   and an ancient monument because of the prehistoric hill fort that was discovered on the summit and the 5th century treasure that was discovered in May 1919. Looking east towards Dunbar and the North Sea - Looking north towards Bass Rock and Tantallon Castle - And looking west towards the Firth of Forth and Edinburgh - For more information on Traprain Law visit the East Lothian Countryside Ranger Service website HERE . Here is a timelapse video taken from the summit looking towards Dunbar on the Nikon D800 Images taken on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 and Fujinon 35mm f1.4 or 55-200mm f3.5/4.8 lenses -------------------...

A very windy evening produced some interesting clouds in the skies above Dunbar yesterday evening.  I headed down to the Bridge to No Where at Belhaven Bay to provide some foreground interest as the sun began to set.  The promise of an interesting sunset was fulfilled as the sweeping clouds turned orange, pink and purple. As well as taking stills on the Fuji X-Pro1 I set the Nikon D800 on interval timer, setting the camera up for 260 shots at 15 second intervals and over the next hour it captured the moving clouds, people crossing the bridge and the setting sun. Here are some more stills taken on the Fuji X-Pro1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLEASE SUPPORT THIS BLOG BY CLICKING THE GOOGLE ADVERTS It doesn't cost you anything to click on an advert but we get a small fee for every click thru from Google and this helps support this blog - tha...

Almost all DSLRs have a 'Live View' function that allows the photographer to use the LCD screen rather than the viewfinder to compose the scene.  The Live View has several advantages, the most notable is you can see what the camera is 'seeing' - you have a better idea of the exposure and how the different elements in the scene will be rendered in the final image.  With an optical viewfinder your brain interprets what it is viewing, which isn't necessarily the same as the camera. This shot of the D800 taking the shot of the sunrise at Barns Ness on Wednesday morning clearly shows the use of the Live View.  The screen can also be overlaid with other information, in this case I have chosen the artificial horizon to ensure everything is level.   The shot below is the image taken on the D800 after the sun had risen above the horizon. The X-Pro1 has a similar live view system but the advantage with Fuji's premier CSC is the Live View can be transferred to ...

On Thursday I went for a walk along the coastal path near Cockburnspath to find the ruins of St Helen's Church which is marked on the OS Explorer map of the area (OS map no 346). The ruins date from the 12th century and the church was heavily rebuilt in the 14th and 15th centuries before being abandoned in the 18th when the parish of Aldcambus was united with Cockburnspath.  The church was dedicated to St Helen and is also known as  St Helen's Kirk, St Helen's On The Lea and St Helena's Chapel. Access is via the coastal path that runs along the dry stone wall and the ruins can also be seen from the road.  The church yard is set apart from the surrounding fields by a stone wall enclosure and a few head stones and grave markers can be seen close to the ruins of the church.  Only three headstones are still standing and one is set apart from the others, that are grouped together closer in.  Markings are still visible on several of the graveston...