Edinburgh Photography: Kirkyards on 35mm Film

Avoid Jetlag like the Plague

A hard lesson learned for me when I started traveling abroad is to squeeze in leisure time between all the itinerary items. The flight from the middle of the US to Scotland took 17 hours: (Kansas City > Atlanta >Amsterdam >Edinburgh). Either get plenty of rest on the plane ride there or just bypass the jetlag and push through after you land until you are caught up in real time. It’s easy getting from the airport to Princes Street. The tram takes 20 minutes. It’s interesting to see the scenery transition from modern economic dwelling to old tenement structures. It’s like a time capsule. Stop somewhere for food and a drink. The best whisky in the world is just a few steps away once you step off the tram. After a long flight with 2 delays, a dram of Laphroaig will hit the spot.

This is when I realized I needed rest. I wanted to ignore my tired eyes and just go exploring until it got dark but some rude person barged their way into the seat next to me uninvited. Rude. I said, “Can’t you find some other barstool, friend?”. Really though, it was a close friend of mine that just moved to Sweden the previous year. I told him a while back I’d be here and came to surprise me. I put my SLR away. Photos can wait. This was better. Walking around with a friend and not trying to be “creative” is definitely how I wanted to wind down before heading to my airbnb in Deans Village.

Photograph your ideas: Previsualization

I keep many journals of pre-conceptualized photography ideas. Soul searching aoubt the way I want to photograph and how to execute the finished look is my way of not producing images everyone else seems to be doing. After years of studying what types of subject matter I am drawn to as well as studying photography history (especially pictorialism), I noticed the successful photographs that stand the test of time almost always encapsulate a sense of drama that is executed with visual balance. When you find drama, then you usually have a visual narrative. I think drama can stand on its own without narrative sometimes. They say a good picture is worth a thousand words but I see it differently. Personally my objective for creating an affective abstract photograph is finding visual elements that triggers emotions that cannot be expressed in the very words or vocabulary that seem to only place restrictions on expressive communication. But if you are traveling it is easy to become over stimulated. For me this hinders creativity and makes it difficult to think in the moment. I have learned that the images I like to create can be boiled down to some kind of formula. Or a set of rules I have laid out for myself.

3 essentials for creating atmosphere:

• Dramatic Lighting – I look for lighting before anything else. No lighting, no photo.
• Subject Matter – symbolism is everywhere and it is can be fun looking for it.
• Visual Balance – Use Rule of Thirds or the Golden Ratio to create composition.

Those are the creative steps with the assumption that the technical settings are already taken into consideration. Camera techniques are only used to manipulation the overall execution of the final image. Example techniques such as Equivalent Exposure settings, anticipating Light Fall-Off (inverse square law), or my new personal favorite, Prismlensfx filters. That last one is a lot of fun. These are fairly easy concepts and do not take long to learn. The photography I enjoy doing these days is more creative than technical. Being able to create from an artistic approach and discovering your voice of identity is not so much discussed in photography school. Realistically, the “message” I try to incorporate into my own photography aesthetic probably doesn’t translate to the final image a lot of times. I just use it to drive my aesthetic. The message I look for is based around human conditions of ‘Uncertainty’ and learning to embrace significant change as a metaphorical window for discovering a new vantage point of self awareness. It’s just something I spend a lot of time thinking about. Ultimately, the photo is open to interpretation by the viewer, as it should be. And we, as creators, might find it more wholistic or fulfilling to lose all sense of time in the creation process itself rather than seeking validation from the final result…or at least that’s what I like to tell myself.

Benefits of Photos before Dawn

Earlier I mentioned the importance of getting as much rest as you can when traveling. Since learning to wake up early with less effort these days, I find venturing out before dawn to be so much more beneficial when making these types of photographs since there’s not much foot traffic to get in your way. Since I am quite the introverted fly on the wall, it is easier be observant and find stillness in during the wee small hours of dawn. I even find it therapeutic to walk through a quiet cemetery this early. After I was done taking photos on this particular morning I messaged my fiance as she was just waking up. Just in time to meet at a breakfast bistro near Dean Village, called Caffè Nero.

Dean Village

I chose to book my Airbnb next to the Water O’Leith. Mainly because it’s picturesque quality but also because it is secluded yet it is also located right in the heart of the city. Water o’ Leith’s history of being a powerhouse of Water Spires (water wheels) before the industrial age is also worth mentioning.

Photo taken of Bell’s Brae Bridge from just outside of my room in Dean Village.

After I took a few cinestill shots of the Leith Bridge with with airbnb in the shot (which was carefully chosen for that reason) I made my way to the Kirkyard. On the way I took the time to notice the cafes, murders of crows, clock towers and bells, the beautiful architecture of Old Town Edinburgh, this city has really maintained its historic character very well. It was the perfect place to feel inspired, yet, I was not feeling creative. Probably because all my focus was set on learning how to look right instead of left before crossing the street or I might die. So for a lot of the walk I took mostly mental snaps so I wouldn’t waste too much film before getting to the kirkyard. The silent eeriness of cemeteries are one of my favorite places to spend alone. And the one I was going was at the bottom of a volcano with Scotland’s most important medieval castles sitting on top of it.

Princes Street

Last photo taken on that morning before getting coffee