Wednesday, October 30, 2013

The structure of the Stirling Castle, seen from a lower level

View of the structure of Stirling Castle as seen from a lower level of the castle
View of the structure of Stirling Castle as seen from a lower level of the castle (More photos at this link)
The structure of Stirling Castle, as seen from a lower level (near the entrance, near the car parking). The Stirling Castle played a very significant role during the medieval centuries, when there was a fight ongoing for the Scots to retain their independence from the English, and there was also fighting going on between the different Scots for power. The Castle is surrounded by a high wall, and is itself located on a volcanic spur, much higher than the neighboring region, making it more

Get a Black and White print of this photo at Fine Art America. Get color print.









Staff with ladders for maintenance of the wall and creepers at Stirling Castle
Staff with ladders for maintenance of the wall and creepers at Stirling Castle (View more photos at this link)
Historical monuments (especially those that are several centuries old) require a lot of maintenance. Just the sheer size of these monuments, and being exposed to different weather conditions, can cause a lot of damage and wear and tear. And with their heritage value, as well as having a large number of tourists visiting them on a regular basis, the need for maintenance is on a regular basis. In the photo, one can see maintenance workers on the wall of the Stirling Castle.

Get prints of this photo at Fine Art America (Color, B&W)










Parking area and ticketing counter at the Stirling Castle in Scotland
Parking area and ticketing counter at the Stirling Castle in Scotland (More photos at this link)
The parking lot near the entrance to the Stirling Castle. Even though the parking lot is as close to the entrance as possible, given the size of the structure, there will be some walking required, and any visitor will need to be aware of that. Having such a parking lot is extremely important because of the number of visitors to the Castle on a regular basis.

Get prints of the image at Fine Art America.

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

The imposing structure of the Eilean Donan Castle in the Scottish Highlands

Structure of the Eilean Donan Castle in front with a dry part of the lake
Structure of the Eilean Donan Castle in front with a dry part of the lake (More photos at this link)
A view of the historic Eilean Donan Castle, located on a small island (which has the same name), located in Loch Duich in the Scottish Highlands. The castle was in the thick of many uprisings and other battles till it was finally overrun and destroyed in 1719. The current structure and the bridge were reconstructed in the early part of the 20th century with the same feel as the older building, and now is one of the most famous castles in Scotland (having appeared in many movies as well) and has been photographed a huge number of times. Right in front of the castle is a Scottish Flag, called the Saltire.

Get a print of this photo in the form of a Digital Oil Painting from Fine Art America.








The Eilean Donan Castle along with the stone bridge in front with a dry part of the lake
The Eilean Donan Castle along with the stone bridge in front with a dry part of the lake (More photos here)
A view of the entire Eilean Donan Castle (located on its own island) along with the bridge connecting the castle to the mainland. The part of the lake surrounding the island is dry, and one can see the dry portion of the lake with no growth on the lake bed (for land under the lake, if it is only dry for some time, then there can be very little growth on such land). There was light coming from the clouds, with the light seemingly projecting onto the entire setting).

Get a print of this photo in the form of a Digital Oil Painting on Fine Art America.






Tourists trying to get a vantage view of the Eilean Doonan Castle in Scotland
Tourists trying to get a vantage view of the Eilean Doonan Castle in Scotland (More photos at this link)
Tourists on a vantage point near the Eilean Donan Castle. The Castle is located close to the Isle of Skye, and is an exceedingly beautiful castle. These rocks provide a great side view of the castle, and these visitors were having a great vantage view.

Get a print of this photo in the form of a Digital Oil Painting on Fine Art America (link)

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Eilean Donan Castle in the Scottish Highlands - very beautiful castle

Structure of the Eilean Donan Castle with a stone bridge connecting the castle and water nearby
Structure of the Eilean Donan Castle with a stone bridge connecting the castle and water nearby (More photos here)
The Eilean Donan Castle is one of the most beautiful castles in Scotland, located on the shore of Loch Duich in the Scottish Highlands. The castle was part of the history of infighting during the medieval ages, but was then blown up in 1719 to prevent any further fighting using the castle as a base. The current structure of the castle was rebuilt between 1919 and 1932, along with the bridge (seen in the current photo) that connected the islands to the mainland, and now allows a large number of tourists to pay the entry charge and make their way inside the castle. The island is a pretty small castle, and at points, the water level recedes enough that anybody can directly walk to the island.

Get a print of this photo in the form of a Digital Oil Painting at Fine Art America.







Structure of the Eilean Donan Castle with a stone bridge connecting the castle with a thin stream of water
Structure of the Eilean Donan Castle with a stone bridge connecting the castle (more photos here)
Another view of the beautiful Eilean Donan Castle located on the shore of Loch Duich. There is a small bridge that connects the island to the mainland, and is also the way that tourists can come to visit the island. At this point of time, the water levels are low, and a lot of the surrounding of the castle are uncovered, and the lake bed at this point of time shows that it was under water (visible as the brown surface of the land without any green cover). This very thin channel of water that was visible in this photo, flowing through the greenery was very interesting, since it was just a trickle.

Get a print of this beautiful photo in the form of a Digital Oil Painting on Fine Art America.







Structure of the Eilean Donan Castle with a stone bridge connecting the castle
Structure of the Eilean Donan Castle with a stone bridge connecting the castle (More photos of castle here)
Another close up view of the Eilean Donan Castle in this photo, showing the stone structure of the castle as well as the bridge connecting the castle (and the island on which the castle is located) to the mainland. Way back in 1719, the castle was destroyed to prevent it being the base of any further uprising, and it was only in the early 20th century that the castle was reconstructed along with the bridge in front. Now, this is one of the most famous castles in Scotland and particularly one of the most photographed structures in Scotland.

Get a print of this beautiful structure in the form of a Digital Oil Painting on Fine Art America.

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Stirling Castle located at a height - very significant in medieval times

The welcome plaque for the Stirling Castle at the entrance of the Castle
The welcome plaque for the Stirling Castle at the entrance of the Castle (More photos here)
The plaque near the entrance of the Stirling Castle. Stirling Castle is one of the most famous castles in Scotland, and along with the Edinburgh Castle, played a very strategic role in the medieval ages when there were constant skirmishes between the English and Scotsmen over their independence. In fact, one of the most famous battles during this fight happened nearby, where a contingent of Scots being led by 'Braveheart' William Wallace defeated an English army in the nearby battle of Stirling Bridge. The Castle is located on a height, a natural volcanic height, and has a commanding position over the entire surroundings.








Houses and meadows as seen from the height of the Stirling Castle
Houses and meadows as seen from the height of the Stirling Castle (More photos at this link)
A view of the surrounding scenery and houses, showing the height at which the Castle is located. Of course, given that it is an important tourist attraction for anybody who comes to Stirling or even to Scotland, there is a very good road connectivity to the Castle. In the distance is rolling countryside, with farms and trees. It looks tremendously beautiful, especially on days when there is very clear visibility for long distances all around.

Print available for this image, in the form a Digital Oil Painting at Fine Art America.







Statue of Robert Bruce and the structure of Stirling Castle on the hill
Statue of Robert Bruce and the structure of Stirling Castle on the hill (More photos at this link)
Robert Bruce was one of the leaders who was involved in the constant battle against the English rulers who were attempting to control Scotland. He was from one of the high families in Scotland, and had collaborated with the English at one point of time and fought with them at another point of time. Eventually, when the English were routed from there, he took over as the ruler of Scotland, and his statue is located near the entrance of Stirling Castle. The photo shows the high walls of the castle, and the yellow building in the rear is the refurbished and restored Great Hall inside the castle.

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

The rugged beauty of the Scottish Highlands - rough scenery

Rugged part of the Scottish Highlands with a water body and small hills
Rugged part of the Scottish Highlands with a water body and small hills (More photos here)
This is a stretch of the rugged section of the Scottish Highlands. We were staying near Loch Ness and were moving towards the northern parts of the Highlands, and the highway took us through sections of countryside that were rugged and rough. There was no human habitation for long distances, just this stretch of water bodies moving lazily through this countryside which had stretches of scrubland, with some trees in between. Even the water bodies seemed to move where they wanted rather than through straight channels. And in the distance were these mountains, not very high, but still looking beautiful.

Get a print of the photo in the form of Digital Oil Painting at FAA.






Water bodies and greenery in the rugged part of the Scottish Highlands
Water bodies and greenery in the rugged part of the Scottish Highlands (View more photos here)
A view of some of the more rugged parts of the Scottish Highlands, well actually, the rugged parts that have a highway passing through them :-). We were on the highway, having proceeded from next to Loch Ness, to the northern part of the Highlands, and came across this region of more wilderness, with water bodies in the region, rough land covered by scrubs and a few trees. The water bodies could be anywhere, with the springs from the mountains contributing to the water. The presence of these rocks and boulders suggested that in times of strong rain, the water moved much more ferociously.







Cars on a road in the rugged wilderness of the Scottish Highlands
Cars on a road in the rugged wilderness of the Scottish Highlands (More photos here)
I like this photo, since it shows the rugged nature of the Scottish Highlands, even though the presence of a highway through the place destroys the nature of wilderness to some degree, This was the highway through which we had just passed, moving through small and higher mountains, and with no great greenery anywhere. The entire area is a hard place, with some greenery, but more of scrub type vegetation everywhere. In this photo, the highway is along the slope of a short hill and with a number of cars on the highway.

Get a print of the photo in a Digital Oil Painting on the site, Fine Art America.

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Cars and others on the road in scenic conditions - in Scotland

Cars crossing a stone bridge over the River Teith, near the town of Stirling in Scotland
Cars crossing a stone bridge over the River Teith, near the town of Stirling in Scotland (More photos at this link)
An old style bridge located near the town of Stirling in Scotland. The bridge, made of stone, is over the river Teith, and looks very beautiful. It was worth it just to be close to the bridge and take a photo of cars crossing the bridge - although it does seem odd, a combination of old times and modern vehicles. The area all around is very green, with trees, grass and flowers all around. Also, there is the sign for the Deanston distillery which is close by; Scotland is famous for its distilleries and for being the birthplace for Scotch.

Get a print of this photo in the form of a Digital Oil Painting at this link.





Car on a road in Scotland, with cycles mounted on the top
Car on a road in Scotland, with cycles mounted on the top (More photos at this link)
Cycling is a popular pastime for a number of people. It is a healthy form of exercise, allows you to travel with a group of friends in scenic surroundings. People in the cities love cycling where they can, but the problem is that cycling is best done in locations that are outside the cities. So, the best solution is, when traveling somewhere, take your cycles along with you. It is fairly easy to install this equipment on top of the vehicle to be taken safely wherever you are going. This is located in a scenic highway in Scotland.

Get a print of this photo, in the form of an Oil Painting on FAA.








Cyclists on a road in the Scottish Highlands with a lake next to them
Cyclists on a road in the Scottish Highlands with a lake next to them (For more photos, click on this link)
I love this photo. It takes a small highway heading from Edinburgh towards the region of Lochs, hills, towards the Scottish Highlands and takes some cycling enthusiasts as they are cycling on the side of the road. The rest of the road is deserted, but the section of road that is on view is also small, since there is a curve right ahead, with the road curving to meet the contours of the Loch. The hills to the right of the Loch provide the basic definition of what tourists view Scotland - lakes and hills.

Get a print of this photo in the form of a Digital Oil Painting on Fine Art America.

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Entrance and cars of the Blair Drummond Safari park near Stirling in Scotland

Parked vehicles and people walking inside the Blair Drummond safari park near Stirling in Scotland
Parked vehicles and people walking inside the Blair Drummond safari park near Stirling (More photos at this link)
A large number of vehicles at the open parking area of the Blair Drummond Safari park near the town of Stirling in Scotland. It is one of the most famous attractions for children, given the various slides and shows for children, but their exhibits of animals can attract people of all age groups - and for the sheer pleasure of getting into controlled danger, you can drive your vehicle through the exhibits of dangerous animals such as lions, rhinos, and the like. You are not supposed to open your windows, but the car shell is all that separates your from those dangerous animals.

Prints of this photo are available in the form of a Digital Oil Print at Fine Art America.






Parked vehicles and a slide for kids inside the Blair Drummond safari park near Stirling in Scotland
Parked vehicles and a slide for kids inside the Blair Drummond safari park near Stirling in Scotland (More photos here)
This is another view of the parking for visitors at the Safari park. The place is well maintained with a good grassy cover where the visitors first arrive, and from here itself, children can start to get excited. There is this wavy slide, with children climbing from one side and coming down on the other side. And further one, there are other rides next to each other; so it can be hard controlling children as come out from the parking.

Get prints of this photo in the form of a Digital Oil Painting at FAA.






Cars at the entrance near the Blair Drummond Safari park in Scotland
Cars at the entrance near the Blair Drummond Safari park in Scotland (More photos at this link)
This photo is actually a precursor to the images above. It is near the entrance to the Safari Park, which is located at a side road from the main road. This sign just shows vehicles heading towards the actual entrance of the park, from where you can enter the park.

Print of this photo available in the form of an Oil Painting at FAA.

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Children and their rides inside the Blair Drummond safari park near Stirling in Scotland

Children and adults at the Merry go round inside the Blair Drummond safari park
Children and adults at the Merry go round inside the Blair Drummond safari park (More photos at this link)
A merry go around inside the Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling in Scotland. This is part of the rides located near the entrance of the park. Once you enter the park, there are these rides for children near the entrance, with some of these being slides and the other being rides such as this merry-go-round and other slides which also take people in a circle. When you looked at these rides, you could see that these kids were having a great time, with many of these children being accompanied by their parents or somebody else who was an adult. And there were these parents standing outside the ride, watching their children go around and enjoy.

You can get a print of this photo, converted into an Oil Painting at Fine Art America.







The dragon ride with children in it in the Blair Drummond Safari park near Stirling
The dragon ride with children in it in the Blair Drummond Safari park near Stirling (View more photos at this link)
Another wonderful ride for children inside the Blair Drummond Safari Park near the town of Stirling in Scotland. The ride is very colorful and takes children on a ride that goes up and down at a fast clip. In the photo, it is not clear whether all of them are enjoying it, since the girl in front seems to be just taking in her stride but the kid behind her seems more excited about the ride. As with the other rides, there are adults in this slide, accompanying the young kids.

Get a print of this image in the form of an Oil Painting at Fine Art America.







The dragon ride with children in it in the Blair Drummond Safari park near Stirling
The dragon ride with children in it in the Blair Drummond Safari park near Stirling (View more photos at this link)
Another view of the same ride as above, just a different perspective. The ride is in the form of a dragon with seats down the line, and with almost all of the seats occupied. The fence surrounding the ride seems in a strange shape though, with the fence tilting at an angle. A man with his child is waving to his other children who are there in the slide.

Get a print of the photo in the form of an Oil Painting on FAA.






A slide with kids and parked cars inside the Blair Drummond safari park near Stirling in Scotland
A slide with kids and parked cars inside the Blair Drummond safari park near Stirling in Scotland (View more photos)
This is another slide, catering to children, near the entrance of the Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling in Scotland. The slide consists of a wavy slide down, with going up on the other side of the slide in an orderly queue. They climb to the top of the slide and come down in twos and threes.

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Scenes inside the Blair Drummond Safari park near Stirling in Scotland

A large bird flying as part of the Birds of Prey show in the Blair Drummond safari park
A large bird flying as part of the Birds of Prey show in the Blair Drummond safari park (More photos and sizes)
A large bird in the Blair Drummond Safari park. These are part of a show called the Birds of Prey show where large birds (sometimes very large birds fly with the coaching and experience of their trainers - sometimes they even fly over the visitors who are seated on benches, leading to a lot of oohs and aahs from the visitors). The Blair Drummond safari park provides visitors glimpses of many different animals, including allowing one to drive their own vehicle through enclosures in the park where wild large animals such as lions and rhinos are moving around freely. In this photo, if you look closely, you can see a red tag near the rear part of the bird, trailed by a wire as well.

If you want to purchase prints of this photo, you can get an Oil Painting version at FAA.






People on wooden benches at the Birds of Prey show at the Blair Drummond safair park
People on wooden benches at the Birds of Prey show at the Blair Drummond safair park (View more photos here)
In the photo above, there was the view of a large bird at the Birds of Prey show. This is the seating of the people at the Birds of Prey show at the Blair Drummond safari park near Stirling. At this location, you have set timings for the show, and there are a number of people who enjoy the show. We got there just in time, and were able to enjoy the show, along with many other people who were sitting there and enjoying the show.

If you want prints of this, get an Oil Painting version of this photo at Fine Art America.







Eating and drinking at tables inside the Blair Drummond Safari park in Stirling in Scotland
Eating and drinking at tables inside the Blair Drummond Safari park (more photos at this location)
As you step inside the Blair Drummond Safari park located close to Stirling, the park management has attractions for children right next to the car parking and entrance. There are some slides for children and other rides such as this merry-go-round and other such rides, and in between all of these, there are some small eating areas. With children here, there are eating places that offer a number of different child friendly options and metal tables and children, right between all of these attractions.

Get an Oil Painting version of this photo from Fine Art America (link).






A table along with the Dragon Coaster at the Blair Drummond safari park near Stirling in Scotland
A table along with the Dragon Coaster at the Blair Drummond safari park (view more photos at this link)
A Dragon Coaster near the entrance of the Blair Drummond Safari park near Stirling in Scotland. Children are very excited with these rides and you can see a number of parents standing outside the ride. In front, there is this table and with other equipment related to children such as a pram, and in addition, there is this garbage bin right at the side.

Get an Oil Print of this image at Fine Art America (link).

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Tourists at the Stirling Castle in Scotland

Tourists inside the Stirling Castle in Scotland near the entrance gate
Tourists inside the Stirling Castle in Scotland near the entrance gate (photo sizes and more photos)
The Stirling Castle in Scotland, located near the town of Stirling, is one of the most important marks of the Scottish medieval ages history, the time when there were constant skirmishes between the Scots and the English (which ended when they got a common king in 1603, and then they were merged around a hundred years later). Close by, one a bridge over the Stirling river, one of the important battles of this fight for retaining their independence was fought, celebrated in the movie "Braveheart".
This is a photo near the entrance to the castle, and if you look through the entrance, you can see the gardens and even a hint of the river at lower levels (like most castles), the Stirling Castle is located at a higher level as a part of good defensive strategy. Over the entrance, you can see some flags, with the central flag being the Saltire, the Scottish Flag (as distinct from the Union Jack (the British Flag)). There are ongoing efforts to gain independence for Scotland, and the Saltire plays a key role in that.

If you want a print of this photo, available at FAA.





Van approaching the entrance of the Stirling Castle
Van approaching the entrance of the Stirling Castle (more photos and sizes here)

The Stirling Castle is located at a height over the surrounding, at a natural volcanic height called Castle Hill (the name sounds so appropriate, right?). The height and the natural beauty and greenery of the surroundings gives a beautiful look to the location, with houses and rolling meadows seen below. Vehicles are allowed upto the car parking which is located close to the entrance, but there will be some walking involved to the entrance, and of course, inside the castle, there will be more walking involved. The spot from where this photo was taken only allows vehicles belonging to the castle to go through, everybody else needs to park their vehicles in the car parking. From this location, there are also some view finders that allow you to see the landscape.

Prints of a version of this photo that has been converted into an Oil Painting available at FAA.






The depth of the moat, now covered with grass at Stirling Castle
The depth of the moat, now covered with grass at Stirling Castle (more photos and size here)
In addition to the huge advantage of being at a height from where you can see approaching enemies and try to pick them out as they climb up to reach the castle, there was the always the moat to deter attackers. This moat, now empty and looking beautifully green, would have been full of water and maybe some pollutants to deter people from trying to cross the moat other than through a narrow bridge (which could have been pulled up), all the while defenders from the top of the castle walls would have been attacking those who were attacking the castle. It looks so beautiful now, but is deep and would have been dangerous at those times.

Prints of a version of this photo that has been converted into an Oil Painting available at 500px.





Furled Scottish Flag at the top of entrance gate of the Stirling Castle
Furled Scottish Flag at the top of entrance gate of the Stirling Castle (more photos available here)
In the first photo above, visitors could be seen near and at the entrance to the Stirling Castle. This is a photo of the flags and flagpoles above the entrance. It was always interesting for me to see whether it would be the Union Jack (the official flag of Great Britain) or the Saltire (the Scottish Flag) at the various castles and other historical landmarks. In this case (and even at the Eilean Donan Castle), I could see the Saltire while the Union Jack was in a prominent position at Edinburgh Castle. I was hoping to get a photo with the flag fluttering, but there was no wind and hence no flutter.

Want to improve your photos? Buy Photoshop and see how your images come to life. Click to buy.

Want to get tips for improving your photography ? Get Photo Tips from this blog.

Facebook

Subscribe to my feed

FeedRSS