Photography Blog - 'Water of Leith'
Welcome to my Photography Blog! My latest photography expedition was to the Water of Leith in Edinburgh. I made three visits to the location. The first on Wednesday 24th September, 2008, the second on 'Doors Open Day', the following Saturday and the third on 28th October 2008.
Dean Village from the Dean Bridge
On my first visit I took an aerial view of the Dean Village from the Dean Bridge (shown left). On this visit I took on camera: my Canon EOS-1D Mark II N. For the shot of the Dean Village I used a Sigma 12-24mm lens set to the long end which, when taking the Mark II N's cropping factor of 1·3 into consideration, gave a focal length of just over 31mm. On Aperture Priority I seleted f/9, I cranked up the ISO to 800; this gave me a safe-for-handholding shutter time value of 1/200th of a second. To achieve a bit more stability I rested the base of the camera on the top of the bridge's parapet. I may use a tripod to take this view again. I should use a tripod more often; it's just that I find it a bit of a chore carrying one around! You can view a larger version of my photograph of the Dean Village on Picasaweb or Panoramio.
Bells' Brae
On entering the Dean Village a yellow building at the foot of Bell's Brae caught my eye. The yellow of the building was a perfect contrast against the blue of the sky. I dialled in f/8 and set my Sigma 12-24mm to the wide end. I left the ISO at 800, and this gave a shutter speed of 1/320th of a second. I took the shot in portrait orientation. I also published this photograph on my Panoramio and Picasaweb galleries.
St Bernard's Well
St Bernard's Well was designed by the famous landscape and portrait painter Alexander Naysmith. It is situated on the south bank of the Water of Leith between the Dean Village and Stockbridge. It can be accessed from the riverside walk that begins in Miller Row in the Dean Village. To photograph this miniature classical temple, I shot wide open (f/4·5), with a shutter speed of 1/200th of a second and an ISO of 320. I set the focal length at 12mm (35mm equivalent = 15·6mm). Again you can see this pic on my Panoramio and Picasaweb galleries.
Sculpture on the Water of Leith
On 'Doors Open Day' St Bernard's Well was accessible to the public from 12:00 pm till 3:00 pm. I arrived a couple of hours early in order to scout the area for photogenic locations. Just upstream from the well, I spotted a sculpture on a rock in the middle of the river. My identification skills of birds being very basic, I couldn't make up my mind if it was a swan, a duck or a goose. After a short conversation with an angler, we decided it was a goose. If you know better I would be delighted to hear from you! When sizing up how to tackle this shot, I started to regret the fact I had left my tripod at home. I had brought quite a lot of equipment with me, but alas no tripod and no cable release. For this second visit to the Water of Leith, I decided to take my two Canon DSLRs, an extra-wide-angle zoom (the Sigma 12-24mm f/4·5-5·6 EX DG Aspherical HSM), a standard zoom (the Tamron 28-75mm f/2·8 XR Di) and a a telephoto zoom (the Canon 70-200mm f/4 L USM). I also had with me two circular polarizers, a selection of step rings and a Canon Speedlite 580 EX II. This shot was crying out for a slow shutter speed to slightly blur the water. In order to achieve this I fitted a circular polarizer, using a step ring, to my Canon 70-200mm. As well as saturising the colours, a polarizer cuts down the amount of light passing through the lens, and therefore allows a slower shutter speed. I attached the lens to my Canon EOS D60 and switched on the camera's timer. I used my Lowepro rucksack as an improvised beanbag, switched the D60 to shutter priority, dialled in ¼ of a second, framed up and got the shot (shown above right). You can see an enlarged version of the goose pic on Panoramio and Picasaweb.
St Bernard's Well Ceiling
For the shot of the beautiful ceiling in St Bernard's Well, I used my used my Mark II N with the Sigma 12-24mm (set to the wide end) and a Canon Speedlite 580 EX II. I set the camera to programme mode, crouched down low and took shots whenever I got a clear view of the ceiling. I didn't get many unobstructed glimpses at the ceiling as it was rather busy with lots of visitors moving around. It was just a case of being patient and grabbing a shot when I could. You can view an enlarged version of my final shot of the ceiling on Panoramio or Picasweb.
Hawthornbank Lane
My final shot of the day was taken in Hawthornbank Lane in the the Dean Village. I came across a row of quaintly old-fashioned cottages. It was like stepping back to a different century. To do justice to this scene, I thought I would try to create a quaintly old-fashioned looking sepia photograph. I set my Sigma 12-24mm lens to the long end and decided to shoot wide open to get a shallow depth of field. I increased the ISO to 1,000 to get a introduce a bit of noise to simulate film grain. I converted to sepia in Adobe Photoshop CS3 by using the Hue/Saturation palette with hue set to 40 and saturation set to 30. If you fancy a look at the end result, have a look on my Panoramio gallery.
On my third visit I took another photograph of Hawthornbank Lane and one of the statue of Hygeia at St Bernard's Well. I also took views from the footbridge and the road bridge and a view of the road bridge. I have added all the new photographs to my 'Water of Leith Slideshow' and to my Panoramia Gallery.
If you would like to visit the Dean Village, the Water of Leith and St Bernard's Well, take the train to Edinburgh Waverley. Leave the station by the Market Street exit, cross the road and catch a number-36 Lothian Bus at the stop near the entrance to the City Art Centre. Alight at the Dean Bridge and enter the Dean Village by Bell's Brae. For further information on exploring this area, read the interesting and informative article entitled 'A walk around Dean Village' on the Dean Village website.