Halfway down the stairs

The Halfway House, Fleshmarket Close, Edinburgh. 1/60, f/3.2, ISO800

Back to some Edinburgh street photography yesterday, after a long break. There is someting gruesome about Fleshmarket close, and not just because of the Ian Rankin novel of the same name. While it’s right in the middle of Edinburgh’s tourist honeypot, it does come with some noteriety.

The close is named after the meat market that existed here, when it was a close that led down to a slaughterhouse on Nor’Loch. The loch is long since drained and is not Waverely Railway station and Princes Street Garden’s.

It’s a good place to get some subject lighting, from the lights around the pub.

The Smiths

Francis, Andrew and Annie.

This most simple of stones was only 15 – 20 centimetres tall, and sitting on it’s own. I pressume its a childrens’ grave – but there is no sign of any family nearby and no space for dates or ages.

Family Ties

One of the fantastic things about so much infromation being available  on-line is that one can piece together stories of those in cemetries. Perhaps it takes away from just imagining their lives, but personally I find it adds to the story.

Helen Cecilia Thomson, married Benjamin Bell in 1827. Her brother, James Gibson Thomson, married her sister-in-law, Grace Hamiton Bell in 1831. Benjamin died in the Isle of Man in 1843, with Helen living until she was 73 in the 1870’s.

James ran the family’s wines and spirit merchant business based at The Vaults in Leith, now the home of the Scottish Malt Whisky Society.

Warriston Cemetry

Tucked between the Water of Leith and Ferry Road is Warriston Cemetry. It is an overgrown cemetry with many ruinous stones and monuments. This was an unusual stone, simply saying “MOTHER” on a plain cross. It long ago had fallen off it’s plinth and is now embedded in the undergrowth, and there were no other clues of who mother was.

1/250, f/5.0, ISO160

Edinburgh has a few overgrown cemetries. A number of cemetries were created under private ownership in the 19th Century. Many of these fell into disrepair during the 70’s and 80’s – all to be compulrsory purchased by the city council in the 90’s.

Allowing these sites and memorials to become so dilapidated is disrespectul, however I find them uniquely contemplative spaces.

Dreich

A few days ago I used the word dreich in a blog. Not a word your average anglophone, born south of Gretna will know. If you were wondering what this word means – then here it is.

Scots has some fabulous words. If onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it is, then we’ve got words that are emotionally onomatopoeiac.

Dreich is how it feels, glaiket is how they look, a burach is just what it is and mingin has you holding your breath!

Window in the rain

A warm cafe, a window seat, the rain, and a coffee at hand.

1/160, f/9.0, ISO4000

 

Wardrop’s Court

This is an unusual layout for an Edinburgh tenement. Hidden off the Royal Mile, alongside it’s near, and more famous neighbour – Lady Stair’s Close, where Robert Burns stayed.

1/40, f3/5, ISO800

Edinburgh Portal (3)

This portal is onto Victoria Street. There are street lights and well lit shop windows near by, which sets up a high dynamic range once the sun has gone down. This one defintely benefits from black and white, since the lights were causing a very strong orange colour cast.

1/60, f4, ISO2000

Tomorrow will be the last Edinburgh Portal.

Potterow

Potterow Port

I’ve always thought there should be an album cover with a picture of a band hanging around Potterow Port. Maybe there is and I’m just plagiarising! Anyway – this guy was playing the bongos. Amusingly he stopped anytime someone walked through, so I presume he was there for the acoustics.

1/160, f4.0, ISO3200

Portico

The Portico of the Royal Scottish Academy on Princes Street at The Mound. The building is one of Playfair’s legacies in Edinburgh, and one of the buildings that contribute to the tag of “Athens of the north”.

Shot from near ground level with an 18mm lens.1/125, f3.5, ISO400