Edinburgh: Stone, Sky, and Shadows
My walk began from the Edinburgh Train station at the edge of the Old Town, where doors still bear medieval carvings — skulls, bones, and worn Latin reminders that time waits for no one. Walking through Edinburgh, the symbols of faith and mortality intermingle with worn stone stair treads and long forgotten graves marked by weathered headstones. The weight of centuries is in every surface: soot-darkened sandstone, worn cobbles, narrow and winding passageways cutting through the city and suddenly vanishing into expansive boulevards and blinding sunlight.
Inside St Giles’ cathedral, light poured through stained glass in thick beams that illuminated the grandeur of the expansive 14th century nave. The vaulted ceilings, and stone ribs draw the eye upward, always upward, toward the faint outline of angels cut from light and shadow beckoning toward heaven.
Outside again, I pause again to look upward at the great window of the kirk,. Only to be anchored back to the present by (I presume) a “social influencer” appearing to be setting up a phone on a tripod. The kirk remains unmoved — patient as ever, unlike the fleeting appetite of his “followers” and the modern world circumscribing the Old City.
From the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle, the city stretched to the North Sea. A slight, sharp, but welcome breeze foreshadowing, at the edge of my subconscious, the winter to come. In every direction, standing upon the castle walls, was not the ideal of beauty, but rather an effortlessness of persistence; a timeless confidence. Simply, Edinburgh is.
Edinburgh invites quiet — the kind of stillness that lets you hear your own footsteps echo off the past. To momentarily internalize the struggles, celebrations and violence that are rooted and fixed into the stones of the buildings and roads by the countless souls of Edinburgh. To experience a small moment in the stream of history, even as throngs of tourists march by to take the castle – or at least take pictures of their conquest from the ramparts. Pausing only briefly to read each placard denoting a history of that place, while refusing to acknowledge the constant passage of time. Their moments do not exist as part of the history of Edinburgh nor does the stalwart Castle protecting it notice their trespasses.
Gear Notes
These images were captured on a Meyer-Optik Görlitz Lydith 30mm f/3.5, my preferred vintage lens for soft-edged monochrome work. Its slightly diffused rendering brings atmosphere to stone and sky, pulling tones into a painterly midrange. A few of the panoramic shots from the castle were made using a modern Sony 28mm prime, for edge-to-edge sharpness when capturing skyline contrast under changing light.
A Day Above the Channel — Photographing Dover, UK
Dover is a small coastal UK town with a big reputation — famous for its cliffs, castle, and the sense that history and weather both hang thick in the air. I had always wanted to travel to Dover, and I got a short window to hop a train from Victoria Station, London to Dover on a recent Saturday.
I had landed in London at 7am Saturday morning on an overnight flight from Washington, DC to find that all my business meetings for the day had been cancelled. After checking into the hotel, I walked over to Victoria station and found the next train for Dover was leaving in less than 15 min.
My first order of business after arriving in Dover was a quick walk up to the castle. Unfortunately, I did not have the recommended 3 hours to tour the grounds and didn’t feel the need to spend approximately $40 USD to take a few pictures of the grounds, so I headed back down the hill and walked over to the Cliff top trail. From the trail, the fortress looks like it still guards the coastal waters from invasion. Atop the cliffs, perched over the Channel, watching the horizon the way it has for centuries.
From there, I followed the trail out to the White Cliffs. The contrast between the deep greens of the grass and the pale chalk face makes this spot one of the most photogenic stretches of coastline in England. I followed the trail, almost 3 miles, to the lighthouse and Tea Room at the end of the Cliffs trail. Stopping for a cuppa and a scone with clotted cream and jam, while gazing across the Channel toward France, was the first moment I had to take a deep breath since leaving Cleveland almost 4 days before. The experience was everything I would have imagined if I had known there was an afternoon tea at the lighthouse: A beautiful day, warm with a slight breeze, properly made tea served in proper British dining ware.
As I walked back to the trailhead, I noticed a group of people sitting at the quietly near the end of the cliffs. I didn’t get close enough to hear if they were speaking to each other, but the scene summed up Dover perfectly for me: quiet, raw, and endlessly open.
Gear Notes
I shot most of the day with a Meyer-Optik Görlitz Lydith 30mm f/3.5 lens. It is currently my favorite 30mm prime vintage lens, which helped soften the edges and pull more atmosphere from the overcast light. A couple of the castle shots were done with a modern 50mm Sony autofocus prime.
Driv(ing)-By(e): Did you photograph me?
25º50'57.93" N 80º11'49.02" W
When I photograph on the street, I tend to shoot when I am not being seen by anyone that may be in the shot. In general, I find it truer to the moment. There are always exceptions and sometimes people don’t care for the approach which can lead to confrontations.
Driv(ing)-By(e): Dracula
25°48'18.9"N 80°12'26.6"W
I have a habit of conscientiously avoiding the same route home. I dont necessarily go out of my way, but I do change things up a bit each day. I also don’t like take the same route home as I took to get where I was going. I remember when the habit started. I had just started working as an executive protection agent, still in training; still wearing the “FNG” hat during exercises. I was tired and not paying attention and I was followed home by someone… and I didn’t notice. Fortunately, she wasn’t dangerous or malicious, just cute and trying to be cute.
During 2019, video stores aren’t a thing. Blockbuster video, on the other hand, was very much a thing of my youth during the 80’s and 90’s while I was growing up along the western plains. Living in the country, were the nearest stop light was more than a mile away, the weekly trek into town on Friday night with my mom to get movies for the weekend was an opportunity to catch up on the latest buzz; even though the buzz was mostly gone as the movies had been in and out from the theaters by the time I got to see them. But it was exciting nonetheless. Usually, I could select one, if I had behaved all week. Birthdays and special occasions, two or maybe three(!) movies for the weekend!
During all the drives that I have taken home along NW 7th avenue, I never recognized seeing “Dracula Video.” The store sits near on the south side of an intersection and I would always be focused on the traffic light and other vehicles as I approached, particularly because I would often turn right at that intersection. This night I just happen to be stopped at a red light with an unusual amount of traffic in front of me, resulting in a few moment to observe, remember and reflect.
During 2019, I imagine their clientele is largely without high-speed internet access. Which is also without access to banking, shopping, grocery deliveries and any form of education, especially during the pandemic. Early on during the pandemic, there were many memes online about learning a new skill or taking up a new hobby while stuck at home. Just as I did not see this video store, most of their patrons may be part of the invisible “other” without access to online job training or self-improvement but among the most vulnerable of our community.
St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh