Shiny Happy People
This week's Top 20 from the Edinburgh Clock
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This week’s Top 20 is accompanied by the R.E.M. classic Shiny Happy People for no other reason than it was playing when I started this post and I’ve just wasted 20 minutes reading about it then watching the video. I started by wondering who the female singer was and discovered it was Kate Pierson of the B52’s - OF COURSE - I feel stoopid for never realising after years of loudly attempting to harmonise with it.
Turn the volume up, sing along and enjoy this week’s favourite images from Edinburgh O’Clock
At No.20 is Aberlady Bay with Inchkeith Island behind in the far distance. I’d set up in the hope of getting someone crossing the bridge and these runners appeared right on cue - ta verra much girls. There is a wee car park just on the left out of shot and a walk over the bridge brings you into the UK’s first ever Local Nature Reserve (1952) and a great place to watch birdlife. There are also various wrecks out in the bay including mini X-craft subs from WW2.
No.19 will bring many sheeesh responses I’m sure (suck air in over teeth quickly for full effect) as it features the most recent controversial Edinburgh building, the W Hotel, known by some as the Golden Jobby on account of the whippy-like topping. I actually love the satiny reflections from the building’s exterior cladding.
At No.18 is this favourite Marchmont street - obviously a favourite with others too.
Portobello Sunset Fire comes banging in at No.17. This is a tricky shot to expose correctly if you want to get anything other than a very dark silhouette in the foreground. I usually like to get the shape of the sun in this kind of shot but had to compromise to get that fire scene with any decent light at all. A 500mm lens was used bringing all these groynes together in one shot.
At No.16 we have the perfect example to demonstrate my normal exposure for Big Sun shots which relies on getting the sun’s shape and also something to show scale. So this runner on Salisbury Crags was needed to make this anything other than an abstract shapefest. I needed that wee glimpse of light between his legs to show his movement.
No.15 - and a second Edinburgh tenement shot in the Top 20, this time Harrison Gardens when the sleet looked great in the lights, but not so pleasant to walk in.
No.14 and the The Clock random algorithm does sometimes have a dose of serendipity to its choice. Back to Salisbury Crags and a lenticular cloud filled sky - the higher ones lit up after sunset as they were still catching the sun’s light and the lower ones darkened in the twilight. I probably shot some long exposures on this night, to capture the flow of the sky and smooth it out, but for this shot I wanted the wee figures at the top to give scale.
No.13 and a regular attempt for me to get the moon rising above Edinburgh Castle. This was a frustrating evening as that bank of cloud prevented getting the moon in close proximity to the castle ramparts, but I do like the composition and scale of this shot - you don’t always get what you were looking for but you’ll always get something.
No.12 - Newhaven sunsets are rarely a disappointment, and this one lit up the cumulus cloud as it dipped low on the horizon so I got up really close to fill the frame with Edinburgh’s favourite lighthouse. The tram or No.11 bus will bring you down here (if only this shot had been No.11 in the charts!)
No.11 brings a shiver back to the charts this week with this shot of a bench in Brunsfield Links - you’ve maybe seen this recently as it is one of my greeting card range - check them out over here.
No.10 gives us another moon crooning shot of the castle - sorry, but you canny blame me, Prof Jackson’s wizardry does its magic and then the bluesky folk choose them. I’m completely innocent. Almost.
No.9 and no sooner do I mention Prof Jackson and up pops this one of his backyard - this is a weel kent* scene on Loch Ard in the Trossachs with Ben Lomond in the distance pretending to be Mount Fuji.
No.8 and an image I’d completely forgotten about. I actually prefer shooting crescent moons as they are just more pleasing than a full moon. The newspapers don’t tend to print new moon or crescent moon shots so I have concentrated on the full fat lunes. How beautiful an ornament is that though, just gorgeously delicate.
Boom! In at No.7 is this shot from last year of the Northern Lights appearing in the south. Mrs D and I ran around various locations but the funniest one was here where the entire population of Pollock Halls had emptied onto the grass at the base of Arthur’s Seat in their baffies** and jammies to get an iphone full of aurora. The path up to the top was confettied with the torchlights of those convinced that getting really high up would improve their view of the sky. Probably not science students those.
This would have been the view for some of them however - albeit a totally different evening and at twilight after sunset. It takes your breath away sometimes when you stand and look out at this kind of scene. Honestly, I do NOT have an Air BnB I’m trying to fill but do come and see for yourself if you’ve never visited Edinburgh. This is No.6 as picked by pop pickers worldwide.
No.5 and a view of the Old Town from the Museum of Scotland - a 30 sec long exposure this one. We are in danger of this becoming a “20 different views of the same boring castle” event but something tells me most people would quite like that.
No.4 and it’s just not fair, as it would be super magical if this one was at No.3. When I do composition tutorials I use this shot as an example of the “Odd not Even” rule often modified to “three, choose three” if you have a choice of how many objects to place in your shot. It’s Newhaven harbour again at full tide.
No.3 and one of my favourite shots of the Bass Rock (do I say that every week?) and a result of frustration at the weather not going to plan for much colour at sunrise. Looking for alternatives I walked a fair way to put something else in the frame and used quite a long lens to bring them together. Getting the shot timed to include one of the flashes on the lighthouse was an extra challenge.
No.2 is shot in Fife at a rarely photographed Lochgelly and was grabbed on the run when driving back from a family basketball trip to Dundee. Seeing the sky begin to blossom I drove off the road at a spot I knew we could see along the loch for a reflection to double the colour. You can see the Mossmorran plant on the left belching out burps and farts. By the time I got back to the car Mrs D was pulling her hair out with the kids’ moans. Whoops.
No.1 this week is this early morning shot of Loch an Eilein in Rothiemurchus near Aviemore. There is a wee castle on the island you can see in the middle of this shot with much history and legend attached. This is one of the best family walking spots in the world (add cycling or swimming too) and you should visit if you’re ever in the area. Have a wee deek*** at this website for loads more information and some cracking images too.
My favourite memory of the morning I took the above photo was when I first arrived near the lochside in the dark and realised I wasn’t alone - I could hear breathing and snorting somewhere between me and the water. As I carefully got my camera out, trying to be quiet, a red deer hind raised her head and sniffed the air…and Eau de Duffin was obviously not her favourite scent. I got a shaky result before she bolted but I love it just for the memory.
That’s your Top 20 this week and a great wee reminisce for me. I hope you enjoyed it too. Tomorrow I may bring you “Kiss in the kirkyard” if I have time. If not, then later.
Maybe see you out there.
TD
*weel kent: well known (Scots)
** baffies: slippers (Scots)
*** deek: look at, peek, glimpse (Scots); eg “gies a deek at yer jotter”: can I copy your answers please ya wee swot.
Tom, thought I’d share the believed origin of “shiny” happy people.
It’s likely American (sorry), and means under the influence of moonshine (white lightening), illegally distilled even today up in the quiet “hollers” (hollows, small valleys) of Appalachia. The area was initially settled by Scots/Irish displaced by the Clearances and Famines.
We lived in West (by God) Virginia for some years, and eventually worked out why so many home gardens had a disproportionately large corn plot. A true Appalachian reliably informed us with a knowing tap to the side of his nose….”shine”!
Thank you for popping Shiny Happy People in my head just before nightie-night. It will be a fine soundtrack to my dreams 🤩. I actually wanted to say, first, that I really love the clouds around that big moon over the castle. I think it makes the shot all the more unique. And, second, I had to smile when you talked about getting your fab Aurora shot looking to the south. I had the same experience in May last year and it was such an odd thing to be looking in the complete opposite direction to where I would normally find the Lights. (Always look behind you — truer words…). Great set of images!