Photography

Image 018 0377 Sculpture by Andy Goldsworthy, Scaur Valley, Dumfries

Goldsworthy was born in Penpont. This construction of flat stones is hidden in the woods above the tumbling Scaur River near the village. A Border Collie peered around from behind it to see what I was doing.
070 6687 Run out of petrol
Image 018 9943 Headstone and plaque, Kirkpatrick Macmillan d. 1878

In this unkempt out-of-the-way graveyard at Keir, Dumfries is an understated memorial to the inventor of the pedal-driven bicycle, the modern bicycle as opposed to the Hobby Horse. Kirkpatrick Macmillan was the local blacksmith. In 1840 he fitted an iron-wheeled, wooden-rimmed contraption with push rods and powered his way in triumph the 120 or so miles to Glasgow and back. It is reported his average speed of eight miles per hour, on dirt roads, was quicker than the mail coach. Half a mile from Keir is his smithy looking the same as it was a century-and-a-half ago, though now a private house. Next to the memorial is an electric bike, a development that would also have taken his breath away.
070 6754 A Mon Patron
Image 018 0170 Kite surfers, Luce Sands, Dumfries

Luce Sands is a magnificent beach of seven miles in South-west Scotland. These guys checking their lines were here because of forecast high winds. The beach's record for a kite surf lift is 9.7 metres. "Terrifying," said one of them before attempting 10 metres and succeeding only in cracking a rib on landing. Hitting the surface at speed can be like landing on concrete. Another of their party nearly drowned as the kite hit the sea and began twisting, tangling him and dragging him down the coast mostly under water for several hundred yards.
070 6396 Traditional Baguette
Image 018 0100 Luce Sands, 9.2 metre jump
 
070 6232 Big Waves
Image 018 0081 Wheelies, Luce Sands
On a calmer evening at Luce Bay was a group of trials bike riders, Team 911, obliging me with a show of their prowess.
 
070 5770 Beach Yoga 2Image 018 0622 Blackbird and fledgling
This shot in a sequence of six shows the mother blackbird eying me warily and dropping the pellet she has just gleaned from the henhouse. She bends foward to regurgitate more kernels of grain and in the next shot shoves it down the fledgling's throat. She picked up enough grain to do this three times.
 
070 5783 Maman yogaImage 018 0625
The baby followed its mother around the garden to be fed like this for about three days.
 
Galleries
The galleries below show a handful of pictures that are free to use non-commercially. Credit where possible. If you need higher resolution or permission for commercial use contact me. 

My current camera is a Nikon D810. It's getting there with its 37 megapixel resolution. The full-frame Nikon 28-300 lens is not up to quality work but I like its flexibility. I tend to shoot in the middle range, the better focal length for the lens, and crop for the picture I want. As with all digital cameras it gives best results when placed on something firm.
There are five galleries.