England & Scotland, 2023
The Shambles
This small street of medieval buildings is in York, England with architecture dating to the 14th century. Though it has long been a tourist destination, the street is now famous (and utterly mobbed!) since it became the inspiration for Daigon Alley in the Harry Potter series. The street is now best photographed late at night after the crowds fade using a tripod and a very long exposure (13 seconds for this shot) that ghosts any stray people on their way back from the pub.
Fuji XT-30 16 mm f/7 1/50 sec ISO 160
Fuji XT-30 20 mm f/10 13 sec ISO 160
Fuji XT-30 21 mm f/10 13 sec ISO 160
Edinburgh Castle
Late afternoon image of Edinburgh Castle taken from Princess Street Gardens below. The castle was built in the 12th century and towers over the entire city. Over the years, the castle has played important role in Scottish history - a royal residence, an arsenal, a treasury, a national archive, a mint, a prison, and a military fortress! The 1:00pm cannon - a old time marker for ships in the distant harbor - still fires every day.
Fuji XT-30 35 mm f/14 1/50 sec ISO 160
Churches at Sunset
This sunset image in Edinburgh, Scotland was taken at 9:32pm as shown on the clocktower of St. John's Scottish Episcopal Church in the foreground. In the background, the bell tower of St John's Scottish Episcopal Church bears the Ukrainian flag, a gesture of support seen throughout England and Scotland. Notice also the weather vane on the old clocktower still functional and showing the direction from which the wind blows the flag.
York Minster
Tucked in amongst the old English architecture in central York, this image of York Minster was taken from just outside of the mediaeval wall (seen in foreground) that circles the central city.
Fuji XT-30 65 mm f/4 1/30 sec ISO 3200
Fuji XT-30 72 mm f/14 1/60 sec ISO 160
St. Mary’s Abbey, York
In 1525, King Henry the VIII became increasingly frustrated that he couldn’t have a male heir with his wife Catherine of Aragon. Hoping to marry 25-year-old Anne Boleyn, a divorce was needed – but not allowed! A small problem for a king, who launched the English Reformation thus creating the Church of England of which he appointed himself Supreme Head. Many catholic institutions in England soon met their end during the “dissolution of the monasteries” in the mid-1500s. Here, the haunting remains of St. Mary’s Abbey in York, England. First built around 1055, then destroyed in 1539. A wide angle lens allowed me to stand up close, put the sun right behind the arch’s crest while capturing the gritty detail in the worn stone and the arches towering overhead.
Fuji XT-30 60 mm f/7 1/50 sec ISO 160
Smokestacks
Instantly recognizable, the classic English ‘chimney pots’ (in this case, over the skyline of Edinburgh, Scotland) are seen nearly everywhere. Dating back mostly to the 18th century when individual rooms were heated with coal-fired stoves, they are still a prominent feature of urban architecture throughout England and Scotland.
Fuji XT-30 60 mm f/8 1/30sec ISO 500
Interior Detail, York Minster
The current structure with its gothic architecture was completed in 1472 following several centuries of building, but prior constructions date back to 627. Unfortunately, I did not have my tripod with me (was on a tour, so this image was hand held. The lens has image stabilization, but still had to use a high ISO for an appropriate shutter speed in these circumstances.