Cement Boots

It occurred to me the other evening that I've been busy busy busy with a number of projects and as such we're behind a story or two. The past few months have seen me sheparding my long-term baby to completion while moonlighting as a photographer and getting very little sleep. However, all this effort is paying dividends this fall. I have entered two photography contests, one of which I was shortlisted for. Very exciting, in deed. And, I'm happy to report that evenings are now a bit freer so service shall resume shortly.

I hope you'll take this opportunity to voice your opinion on which three of the following six images best immortalize travel photography to you. (Images are posted in order shot over the past 8 months, NOT my personal preference.) As you can see, I've stuck with Scotland as my destination and tried to choose one iconic image, one human interest image, and one landscape (although most know I excel at landscapes).

Edinburgh Castle after the Storm, February 2007

Speyside Steamer, Glenlivitt Distillery, May 2007

Steel Drummer from Edinburgh Military Tattoo, August 2007

Ben Lawers, Killin, August 2007

Gullane Point, East Lothian, August 2007

Eyemouth looking towards Coldingham and St. Abbs Head, August 2007

160-miles

25 May 2007

I was starting to think I'd never get out of town! When I picked up the hire car, I fully intended on stopping in Queensferry for a few pictures of the Forth Road and Rail bridges. Unfortunately, road rage and the 90 minutes to get out of town got the best of me - I hit the bridge with a lead foot! Get outta my way!

I headed north with nothing more than a mental map of Scotland. Once I passed Perth, the majority of the drive was along B-roads so I could take it all in and stop for a wander.
No trip is complete without Heamus and Seamus, the highland cattle. Did you know, originally they were black but, Queen Victoria preferred the ginger ones hence their modern abundance?
I stopped in Pitlochry to enquire about the weekend weather and distance to Aviemore before rejoining the highway. A few miles outside Bruar I found this wonderful vista – windswept and ever changing due to the impending hailstorm. What I wouldn’t give for a quiet retreat such as this.

After winding around the River Spey and over the steep Northern slopes of the Cairngorms I arrived in Tomintoul, exactly 160-miles from my front door, just in time for dinner. Hidden in the Cairngorms at an altitude of 354m (1160ft), it is the highest village in the Highlands - a tranquil, one-horse town perfect for exploring Speyside.