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I’ve published my first book with a collection of 20 of my best photos from the last couple of years. You can buy it online at Blurb.com or in person at my NEOS exhibition later this month. It’s a softback book, printed in very high quality and for only £20! Tell your friends! An early christmas present perhaps? To celebrate my first solo exhibition as part of North-East Open Studios, I’ve created 5 wallpapers to give away for free. Just click the link below that best suits your computers optimum resolution and either open it with a program such as winRAR or select save as and extract the files later. .zip extraction programs are easily available online for free but if you have any problems then send me a note at david@davidofficerphotography.co.uk and I’ll email you the requested files individually. Also, if your optimum screen resolution isn’t listed here then let me know and I’ll create a new pack for that resolution. This is the first time I’ve made Wallpapers so any feedback would be greatly appreciated. My exhibition runs from 11th to 19th of September at Peterculter Heritage Hall. I’m having a special celebration night on Friday 17th with music from Kitchen Cynics and I’ll be on hand to talk about all things related to photography and more! Woo!
My brother in law Neil has been travelling the world and as a result, decided that he needed to see more of Scotland upon his return. We thought Skye would be a good place to start and headed there for 2 nights camping near Dunvegan.
I simply love Skye. This was the third time I’d been in a year and we found new places with amazing views and more reasons to love the place. We stayed in a camping pod on the shore of Loch Greshornish, near Edinbane. If you’ve never stayed in a camping pod then I can thoroughly recommend it, particularly in rainy places like Skye. We were caught in a torrential downpour walking back from the pub and it would’ve been a big hassle 3 wet people and a dog going back to a tent, but a dry pod which you can stand up in made all the difference. Last year we went to the west coast for a camping trip and managed some Otter sightings, Heather fished out the video for me and put it on Youtube. I thought I’d share it with you as it has lots of potential for making people go “Awwww” I’m currently working on a few ideas for the site and possibly even a redesign, in the meantime I will keep updating as much as possible! I’ve just returned from a camping holiday in France where I attempted to sneak in as much proper photography as possible. Expect close ups of Dragonflies, some lovely Waders and iconic French Landscapes in the next week. I also bought a large amount of Belgian beer so this may be a flexible deadline
So, 3.20 am on nearly the shortest day of the year, I decided that would be the perfect time to get up and go for some sunrise shots. I’d had one in mind for a while and wanted to capture it while the Oil Seed Rape was in full bloom, it would make a perfect summer scene and should work brilliantly with the orange glow of the rising sun. Alas, the light wasn’t quite at it’s best but I did get a couple of shots. I wanted the catch Stonehaven as the sun bathed it in orange light but the sky was stubbornly flat. Thankfully I looked over my shoulder and got a spectacular sunrise over the rape, a tantalising glimpse of what could have been on another day. The Stonehaven shot is still good but just doesn’t have the bang I was hoping for. My Father-in-Law had joined me for this early morning excursion, and after about an hour of being relentlessly attacked by midges we decided a change of location was needed. Off to Dunnottar Castle!
Again the sky wasn’t great here but the opportunity to take summer photos of one of Scotland’s most photographed castles, without any tourists wandering into shot was too good to miss. With such a fine ruin it’s not always necessary to have a spectacular sky, sometimes a simple patch of flowers can help to make the picture. After working the flowers for about half an hour I figured I’d better catch up with Russell. I found him on the bridge over the little stream running alongside the path upto the castle, the stream working as a brilliant lead into the castle. The valley is looking fantastically lush and green just now, adding a real vibrancy to the scene and hopefully a slightly different take on this most photographed of monuments to our medieval past.
6 am came pretty swiftly, I grabbed a couple of butteries as the shop opened and made for home for some well earned breakfast and a few hours more sleep. Refreshed, I made my way back down the hill to the harbour in wonderful summer sun. Again the light wasn’t amazing but it’s not often we get to see Stonehaven harbour looking almost tropical. Naturally, I took advantage of this with a swift pint of refreshment on the harbour wall. Suitably quenched, I headed off to Dunnottar woods to try and grab a bluebells photo before they withered and crept back to the earth. A pretty productive and successful day, I’ll need to push myself a bit more to get out early and ensure I get the best light for photography. The rewards are worth the lack of sleep.
Yesterday was the first Saturday since the Council passed their motion to support City Square Project and the possible destruction of the beautiful Union Terrace Gardens, in the heart of Aberdeen. It also happened to be the hottest day of the year so far, as a result it was rammed. I was there from 3 till about 6pm and the gardens were still busy when I left, a couple of bbqs had started and people were enjoying this wonderful green space without any real problems arising. There were families, single people reading, a hen party, punks and groups of friends all enjoying the park in different ways. Most were happy to just sit and enjoy the sun, others were practicing parkour flips and moves, some boys were kicking a ball around and others were playing musical instruments, adding a bit of summer songs to the chattering and laughter already being carried round the park by the warm breeze. One group was absent, there was no sign of any Junkies or ne’er do wells, no anti-social behaviour(apart from one kid lobbing a coffee cup into a flower bed, his friend picked it up though) and no sign of any councillors to witness this. This is probably because they are completely out of touch with fellow Aberdonians, mixing only with fellow councillors or businessmen. Maybe because they all have their own gardens, or live in parts of the city well catered for with parks and green space. Space soon to be denied to those who live or work in the city centre, hence why they flock to UTG on a sunny day. They weren’t all there due to some mythical organised campaign(though it soon will be organised) either, one man I spoke to had no idea what was being proposed for the gardens. A young guy from Slovakia, he spends a lot of time relaxing in UTG and was reading a book that afternoon, he asked me about the photos I was taking and we struck up a conversation. I was wary of mentioning City Square at first as I can get quite passionate and ramble on, so we chatted about Aberdeen and Slovakia. I asked what he thought of the gardens, “It is like an Oasis amongst all the grey buildings here” was the reply. Totally unprompted. “That is idiotic and stupid” was the reply when I told him what they planned to do to the gardens. Our Slovakian friend couldn’t understand why you would rip up a park to make a square, particularly one like UTG. We want our gardens, not a huge developed square with landscaped shrubbery. They just need some TLC, working toilets and perhaps a cafe. Peacocks plan would’ve provided this but now that it’s dead in the water we need to focus on saving the gardens. A protest is planned for the 12th of June, we will make our voice heard. This is the post I didn’t want to write, the one I’d been dreading, the words we hoped need never be typed. We lost. Peacock Visual Arts are in dire straits now as their previously approved building, with 75% funding, has been tossed aside by Aberdeen City Councillors in favour of a pipe dream that will destroy our much loved Union Terrace Gardens. I am sick. Two days have passed and I’m still angry, disgusted and feel thoroughly cheated.
It took a marthon debating session and a series of bizarre votes to kill off a wonderful proposal in favour of a bloody awful one. The point at which the Peacock proposal was killed was a 14-14 split vote with the casting vote from Lord Provost Stephen tipping in ACSEFS favour. The news reports stating that Peacock were defeated 20-7 are wrong, that was for the final vote as to which version of City Square the council would approve. They went for the one which would cost us all a lot of money and in doing so have sold out democracy in the north-east, made us a laughing stock nationally and lost all trust they may have had with the creative community here in Aberdeenshire. The Lord Provost even had the gall to turn up at the Aberdeen Artists do the next night, before retreating after having the error of his ways pointed out to him. The council meeting was a sham. Again we were accused of being an orchestrated campaign, spreading misinformation and behaving inappropriatly. A disgusting tactic from our business and civic leaders. ACSEF, the Council and Sir Ian Wood are liars, continually saying whatever they can just to gain favour with the public:
All these lies were reitirated at the full council meeting, by members of ACSEF and councillors. The Lord Provost himself read out a letter from the head of Oil and Gas UK which repeated the other big lie of the CSP campaign, that Aberdeen is doomed if it doesn’t build City Square. This kind of scaremongering and emotional blackmail should have no place in a council meeting and to be read out by the Lord Provost himself was disgraceful. Clearly something is rotten at ACC, unfortunately we must wait 2 years before we can gut it to it’s core. As a result of the problems at the last local council/scottish government elections, local elections were postponed for a year giving the councillors an extra year in office. Worst in all this has been the coverage from our local press, not normally known for the quality of their journalism I know but this time they have really outdone themselves. They have worked closely with ACSEF throughout the campaign to discredit the opposition and promote CSP as much as possible, even launching an audacious story the day before the vote. This fantastical piece of journalism portrayed Stewart Milne as a desperate deal broker with the best interests of Aberdeen at his heart, offering a prime piece of his real estate empire to Peacock as a new home if only they’d agree to CSP. Which is fine, had it actually happened. Instead ACSEF just told the press that this had happened and they published it anyway, at least the Press and Journal had a quote from Peacock explaining they had received no such offer but they still portrayed Milne as peacemaker. All the time ignoring the fact that Triple Kirks, the site in question, had been discounted right at the start of Peacocks design process as far too costly to convert. They also ran a story alongside the news that the Council had approved the Square, about the shock closure of 4 schools due to lack of funding. I mean, really, it’s like they’re just gifting us ammunition sometimes. The news stories were side by side! At least make us look for it otherwise it’s no fun! And today, as news broke of the first post-vote casualty at Peacock – Elly Rothnie, Campaign Director, being made redundant as there is no Campaign left to run – the Press and Journal article sounded almost sympathetic and surprised. Pretty rich considering they were a key factor in her redundancy. Peacock need help, so please get over there and do what you can. The press and council also appear a little surprised that we’ve taken this badly. Trotting out the same tired nonsense about personal attacks and vitriolic arguments. Well it shows we care. I think allegations of outright corruption are dangerous, but it’s clear that logic was left at the door that day. They didn’t make a decision based on fact, evidence or intelligence so it must have been based on something else. So, what happens now? A few days of reflection I guess. Lots of letter writing to councillors, either thanking them or berating them, letters to MP’s and MSP’s and to government ministers. Oh, and we fight. We keep fighting. If ACSEF thought there was an orchestrated campaign before then they’re in for a shock now, we will campaign tirelessly, we will lobby and we will march. This won’t end until they cut the chains off us and tear us from the gardens. There will be an official protest announced soon, until then we gather in the gardens and have a good time. Talk to your colleagues, friends and acquantices. Get angry, get other people angry. They will bankrupt this city for some crazy crazy pipe dream that has no proven economic benefit to the area, that we don’t want and which has been laughed at by respected architects all over the country. They are closing schools, not fixing roads and laying people off yet apparently can afford to spend £150 million(at least!) on a big new square. GET ANGRY! WE VOTED AGAINST THIS AND THEY IGNORED US, WE ELECTED THEM TO SPEAK FOR US YET THEY SPEAK FOR AN ELITE GROUP OF BUSINESSMEN INSTEAD! WE WANT DEMOCRACY! WE WILL FIGHT FOR OUR GARDENS! It’s been a long hard winter in the north-east of Scotland. With snow on the ground for almost 3 months solid, record low temperatures and snow showers right up till May, every industry in the country has felt the effects, but perhaps those who felt it hardest have been our farmers. Few others feel the winter at it’s harshest each and every day. Farmers have no choice but to get out there and tend to sheep, clear snow and ensure equipment is safe and secure in all but the absolute harshest of conditions. The NFU in Scotland is currently counting the full cost of winter on Scotlands farmers, asking them to complete a survey in order to plan future support for this crucial industry. Farmers in the north-east have reported scores of deaths, not just in lambs but in adult Ewes, unable to cope with the extreme temperatures of 2010. The impact varies considerably from area to area, certainly some farms were better equiped than others, while some just got off lightly.
I spent a morning on Jim and Bryony Smiths farm near Banchory to find out how the lambing season was going, and just how tough it had been during our harshest winter for years. They’ve had plenty of challenges in the last year, Jim was diagnosed and treated for cancer, while Bryony’s father Frank – also a popular farmer in the area – sadly passed away, but their neighbours and family rallied round to see them through those times. The Smith farm certainly didn’t need a harsh winter on top of that. Thankfully, they’ve got through the worst of the weather (despite hailstones while I was there, it surely can’t snow again) with only small losses which have been offset by a higher than average breeding season. Jim told us that they were sitting at around 1.7 lambs per Ewe, just above where they would normally be in a season, and another two were born that evening. The main challenge was getting out to all the fields to make sure the sheep were fed, while watching for the Ewes giving birth and getting the newborn lambs inside as fast as possible. Keeping hundreds of tiny lambs warm in sub-zero temperatures isn’t an easy task.
There are more challenges ahead, a new system of tracking is being introduced whereby each lamb must be electronically tagged to keep track on it’s movements within the market. A costly addition to an industry whose profits are already squeezed tight, and not the most practical arrangment for animals bred to be slaughtered within 8 months. A similar system was introduced for cows, though this is on paper, after the BSE crisis and does seem to work well, so time will tell if this will be a benefit or hinderence to our sheep farmers. Jim and Bryony are lucky to have help, aside from farm hands and laborours, they have family on hand to chip in. Daughters Maureen and Lorinda are keen helpers, with no fear of getting dirty and doing their bit during the busy lambing season. Grandad James still works on the farm daily, despite hip and knee replacements, and still takes obvious delight in tending the animals each day.
Most of the lambs and cows bred on the Smiths farm end up on shelves around the country, from M+S to Morrisons and the local shop down the road. It’s high quality produce, with the beef produced on farms like this being in demand around the world. All the animals are grass fed and enjoy as much time outdoors as the Aberdeenshire weather can allow, only Wagwu or Kobe beef could give Aberdeen Angus a run for it’s money and they’re fed beer and given massages.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for our farmers isn’t the weather, it may even be something other than modernisation and red tape, it could be something worse than disease. As we got warm by the fire, full up on butteries and scones, we spoke about the farm and it’s future. Bryony isn’t sure her kids would want to take on a farm, and all it’s responsibilities. They have other interests and careers, ones with more reasonable working hours and less time in harsh weather, though perhaps no less stressful. This is a symptom of wider Scotland, a generation lost from farming and traditional industries as oil and the service sector tighten their grip on the Scottish workforce. It’s hard to compete in Aberdeen with the massive wages offered by oil companies, not to mention their attractive benefit packages and the advantage of having two weeks off regularly. The wages paid by oil has resulted in Aberdeenshire having one of the highest standards of living in the country and has cushioned it from the worst aspects of recession, but at what cost? Our traditional industries are dying and we are a region in thrall to oil tycoons and the threat of this precious fuel running out. Fishing ports which previously hustled and bustled with thousands of boats are now ghostly shadows of their former lives, farms are sold up to bigger estates and amalgamated into larger farms as their owners retire, and the sons, who would traditionally inherit the farm, are earning vastly superior wages offshore. We constantly hear about losing skills when the oil runs out, shifting our focus to renewables to take advantage of the vast engineering and energy talent in the north-east but we rarely hear such ideas concerning the agricultural and traditional industries which gave this area our character and culture in the first place. We should cherish and celebrate our producers, encourage investment and training in these areas and make sure we’re producing world class lamb and beef for generations to come, no matter the weather and through small family run farms at the heart of communities.
Small things are more interesting when you stop and take a closer look:
I’ve been playing around with a bellows extension this week which allows me to get greater than 1:1 ratio photos. It opens up a new range of interesting bits and pieces to take photos of, such as the sycamore helicopter and the pine cone at the bottom. The Bumblebee was injured otherwise it would have proved pretty tricky to photograph. There has been no cropping on these images, bar a slight crop on the sycamore pod for aesthetic reasons. I’m going to continue exploring this theme over the summer and hopefully some of the pictures will feature in my NEOS exhibition in September. |
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