Monday, July 28, 2008

Highland Games







This competition was all that is man, except for the highland dancing. It was a fun day and got me out of my funk i've been in. The first couple days of the weekend were pretty much pointless, i got nothing done whatsoever, but i did all i could. still waiting on people to start my stories...

Friday, July 25, 2008

Scenic Scotland


Glasgow subway

Dunbar harbor
Dunbar at low tide
Dunbar again
A climber from the British Climbing Team, one of the best and unknown climbers in Scotland
North Berwick
Climbing Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh
The view from the top
Italian tourists

I realize these aren't all the best pictures, as I feel that scenery shots can only say so much, but this is where I am and it's beautiful. I feel like I'm in a visual rut, and I've gotta figure out a way to get out of it. I'm making good pictures, but I'm not making any improvements and that's what I need to work on. I'm trying my hardest to stay away from my wide angle and getting more competent with my longer lenses. Hopefully by the end of this trip I will make improvements. And I'm also getting worried about all my stories. I have two weekends, and 3 stories and a documentary to shoot. Most of my stories are going to be at least an overnight stay somewhere, and I have a feeling that everything is going to fall on the same weekend. Even though I did my planning and research, and made contacts with everyone, I have to wait on the people to find the time and good weather to allow photographing. Lets hope everything works...

Monday, July 21, 2008

Kilts and Rain





Just some more stuff from the week. It's been raining a lot but this week is supposed to be sunny skies every day! The black and white is a picture of some of the locals we met in Dunbar. The one with the beer is on house arrest at the moment and a pretty goofy kid. That's all for now...

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Getting Moving








Well we've been keeping busy here and it's starting to wear on me. I have been traveling every day, walking throughout the day, climbing, shooting, hauling bunches of lenses, have a terrible cold and can hardly sleep, and have been having an awesome time. Thursday we went to North Berwick and were told to go out and find stuff to shoot. I met a ton of nice people and made some pictures I'm happy with. The places I am seeing are absolutely breathtaking. We climbed a mountain the other day as well which was a lot of fun and the view was serene (we also climbed it in the rain).
Friday I ventured off and found one of the rock gyms and met some cool people. I will hopefully be going out with a couple people i met and doing some trad climbing. There was also a 15 year old girl that was climbing a grade or two above my level and really put me in my place haha. It's funny seeing the cultural differences here. The fact that instead of taping routes on the walls, they just use holds that are all the same color (which seems like it would be a pain, and expensive), the climbers are almost like tough guy football coaches as well and don't like excuses (go big or go home type deal), and they drink tea and coffee when they are resting.
Today we went to Dunbar for a Lifeboat fundraiser and met some interesting kids. We met the town "hoodlums" that were big drinkers. We asked what they did for fun and they said, "drinking and fighting." It was not as much of a surprise to find out that a few of them had already been in jail, one was on house arrest after being let out a few weeks ago, and some were on probation. They were later ticketed and kicked out of the event for open container charges. They were very nice and welcoming to the American photographers though... I also found some hanging draws and anchors for climbing on some cliffs above the water! More to come soon... Cheers!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Getting to Scotland






Well I'm finally in Scotland. It took a day layover and then a full day spent in the Newark airport between flights which was miserable. It's been so much fun since we've gotten here though. We've spent every day exploring the city, shooting pictures, getting to know the community, and shedding/adding layers of clothes due to the amazingly fickle weather. We spent the last 2 days in Edinburgh and then today in North Berwick which was one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. I climbed a mountain as well! I'll be adding pictures from that hopefully tomorrow but I have class at 9 in the morning so i need to get some sleep. My legs and back are really sore and it's a good feeling. I should be updating this at least twice a week so please keep up! Drop me a message if you get a chance it will be good to hear from back home once in awhile. Take care everyone!

Saturday, July 5, 2008

'Merica Day




had a fun 'Merica Day this year. we ended up taking like a 35-40 mile bike ride on a whim, we just kept pwning asphalt and then playing with my homemade napalm. summer has been a little better as of lately thanks to my bike. i've been riding somewhere around 20 miles most days so i feel great. and i'm getting excited/nervous for scotland coming up. i haven't had as much time as i'd like to study for it and try to find stories. i have a few ideas in my head and i'll have to see how they turn out. until then...just more friend pictures, but with great light.