CAPTURE NEW HORIZONS

One of my favourite spots on Mull.  Loch Na Keal is a sea loch on the west side of the island and the scenery is stunning.  This was taken very early, just before sunrise but the clouds had spilled in over Ben More on the right.  It was also starting to rain so a moody mono shot was the order of the day. ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION. MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON   FLICKR

Sometimes the most unusual of objects can yield some interesting pictures.  During our last trip to Mull in April I went on an Islandscape Photo Tour ( http://www.islandscapephotography.co.uk/ ) with resident photographer Sam Jones.  The day started out very overcast and raining so Sam decided to take us up to an old chicken shed outside of Tobermory.  Luckily the rain had stopped by the time we got there but the overcast sky produced a very flat light that brought out the colours on this old corrugated iron shed.  The trick in these situations is to find something different and I came away quite satisfied with the results, I hope you agree. ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION. MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON   FLICKR

In the late 1980s and early 90s white cars were all the rage and I admit to owning two such cars.   The first was a 1987 MG Metro with grey seats, complete with MG logo, and red   piping, with matching red carpets and seat belts, and the second was a 1993 Renault Clio 1.4 RT. I loved these cars but both suffered the indignity of being written off in accidents, though I hasten to add that I wasn’t to blame for either incident.  Perhaps the colour was unlucky for me? Fast forward to 2012 and the car sat outside the house ready for the trip to the FIA World Endurance Championship race at Spa-Francorchamps is an Audi A4 Saloon 2.0 TDI 143PS S Line in Ibis White.  Since the Renault was sent to the big scrapyard in the sky in 1999 I have never considered white as an option, preferring to stick to more traditional silvers and blues, but there was something quite striking about the Audi in the S line body kit and large 18” 5-twin-spoke alloy wheels. Behind the wh...

This was taken this evening near the village of Bitchfield which is located between Grantham and Corby Glen. ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION. MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON   FLICKR

I have to apologise but I have been busy for the past few weeks and I haven't been able to post anything new in April. I had a good bit of news though, one of my shots from Mull taken just after Christmas won the Jessops UK in Pictures Scotland award and is now being produced in a 70cm x 50cm canvas.   Tobermory Harbour front - Winner of the UK in Pictures Competition We also made another trip to Mull at Easter, more on this in the coming weeks, and I have also been to Spa-Francorchamps for Round 2 of the FIA World Endurance Championship.  Not only did Audi lend me an A4 2.0 TDI S Line for the trip (report coming soon) I had to act as the championship official photographer for the morning when Toyota brought their Hybrid TS030 LMP1 Le Mans Challenger to the circuit for a picture with the Audi R18 e-tron Quattro hybrid sportscar.  The shot was used by most of the major motorsport magazines (Autosport, L'equipe, Motorsport Aktuell) and the shot also appeared in The...

When someone starts talking to me about hybrid cars my eyes start glazing over but when Audi recently unveiled their new Audi R18 e-tron quattro I started to think hybrids can be interesting.  This car was seen at Sebring in Florida and it will make its racing debut in the FIA World Endurance Championship at Spa on 5th May.  Toyota will also be at the event with their TS030 hybrid challenger and here's hoping that Audi and Toyota will make performance hybrids acceptable in the same way that performance diesels have now become the norm thanks to endurance racing.    The Audi R18 e-tron quattro at Sebring ALL IMAGES ARE THE PROPERTY OF MACLEAN PHOTOGRAPHIC AND CANNOT BE USED FOR ANY PURPOSE WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION. MORE IMAGES CAN BE VIEWED ON   FLICKR

The first FIAWorld Endurance Championship race at Sebring was a huge success, with a large, enthusiastic crowd witnessing one the best 12 Hours of Sebrings in the sixty year history of the event.  Because I didn't finish until 3:30am on Sunday morning I decided not to try and get a Sunday flight from Miami but opt for a Monday trip back to the UK and visit Miami Beach and Key Biscayne. Miami Waterfront from Key Biscayne The first stop on my Monday lightning tour of Miami was Key Biscayne.  Driving my rental Mustang over the bridge to the Key I was greeted with clear blue skies and white sandy beaches. I headed to the southern most tip of the Key, Cape Florida located in the Bill Baggs State Park.  $4 entry was duly paid and I headed to the car park next to the beach.  As it was early on Monday there were very few people around, which suited me down to the ground, and I went for a stroll down the beach towards the Cape Florida lighthouse. The Beach at Cape F...