St Ninian’s Isle Walks by James Tait

Posts Tagged ‘St Ninian’s Isle’

Posted on July 15, 2010 - by benmullay

Diane and Dan’s Perfect Summer Wedding

Last Saturday I had the honour of photographing Diane and Dan’s wedding at St Ninian’s Isle, Bigton. I flew back on the Friday to meet the bride and groom having been on a short break. I grew up with Diane at Sandwick Junior High School and the Anderson High School; however, this was the first time I’d had the pleasure of meeting Dan. They both live in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. Diane is a Crime Scene Investigator while Dan is a Telecoms Analyst.

Friday’s weather was atrocious with heavy rain putting Saturday’s beach wedding in doubt. However, on Saturday we were treated to the most perfect summer’s day with glorious blue skies and virtually no breeze at all. Diane and Dan were a delight to deal with and were very keen, like me, to take advantage of the photographic opportunites due to the stunning weather.

Diane is extremely creative and made a lot of the decorations herself. The beads on the bow of the shoe are an example.

Ibiza?! No, this is St Ninian’s Isle, Bigton, Shetland!! A toast to the happy couple.

I love this photo. Thanks to the best man, Ben (good name!), ushers and page boy, Harry, for making the effort to get this image.

Diane’s bouquet was also hand-made. She made the bouquet for maid of honour, Amanda, bridesmaid, Heather and flower girl, Zahra – amazing. It must have taken her ages.

We took advantage of the wild flowers which were blooming in the fine summer’s day.

The reception was held at the Town Hall. Congratulations to Billy, Robert and the rest of the team for putting on a excellent function. The Town Hall which was opened in 1883 is a beautiful building, so I couldn’t resist getting some images of Diane and Dan inside.

They are now heading off to spend ten days in Hawaii Big Island for their honeymoon, calling at San Francisco for two nights en-route.

I wish Diane and Dan the very best for the future and thank you for letting us cover your big day.

-Ben

Posted on June 28, 2010 - by benmullay

Make Hay

(click on image for larger view)

Pictured above is my first attempt at HDR photography. HDR stands for High Dynamic Range which basically means that the highlights, midtones and shadows of a scene are captured in separate exposures and then combined to make one image. For more information click here.

I’ve never quite decided if I like HDR as some images I’ve seen have that overly “Harry Potter” look. I’ll admit, this example is perhaps a bit on the extreme side but I think it works. I really like the grungy effect emphasising all the foreground interest.

-Ben

Posted on May 10, 2010 - by benmullay

Shetland Photography – Out & About # 10 (Part 2)

Another image from Friday night’s sunset photo shoot down at the Ireland Beach. I love the colours, different cloud formations and the reflection on the water.

I’ve added this image and the image from my previous post (click here to view) over on my gallery page. By clicking on ‘purchase options’ you can choose from a range of products from canvas gallery wraps to photo mugs. To go over to my gallery page please click here.

-Ben

Posted on May 8, 2010 - by benmullay

Shetland Photography – Out & About # 10

Click HERE to purchase this image

Had a great night last night with the camera down at the Ireland Beach. I had to abandon the car washing in order to have sufficient time to capture the sunset which I knew was shaping up to be a real humdinger with Foula clearly visible on the horizon. Could this be the start of the summer?

Really enjoying the combination of the Canon EOS 5D Mark II with the Canon 17-40mm F4 L lens - great sharpness and the bigger LCD screen is much easier to use than the smaller one on my old Canon EOS 20D.

Thursday was election day and I would like to congratulate Alistair Carmichael on retaining his Shetland and Orkney seat by a clear majority up 10.5% on the previous campaign. It was, however, a disappointing night for the Liberal Democrats overall as they failed to gain ground on their rivals despite a few bouyant performances by Nick Clegg during the live TV debates.

Have another image from last night’s sunset which I’ll post soon.

-Ben

Posted on March 27, 2010 - by benmullay

SMUHA (Part 4) – Procession

A dramatic silhouette of the Guizer Jarl in front of the evening sky

A typical Friday night in Bigton!

Final touches being applied before the procession

The galley with a beautiful sunset in the background

Jarl Squad member Derrick Bradley good to go

Sam Smith and Karen Lobban take it all in

Janet Smith all set for the procession to begin

Let's get this show on the road

Ross Smith on the march

Guizers march through Mews

The Brass Band at St Ninian's Isle

Burning Blaze

Gary Irvine

Dale Smith

Guizer Jarl David Smith

Guizer Jarl David Smith in a dramatic scene

A silhouette of the Guizer Jarl in front of the burning galley

Posted on February 4, 2010 - by benmullay

Shetland Photography – St Ninian’s Sunset

The picture above was taken during the same session as the ‘Cold Snap’ blog entry recently. (Click here to view).

I really liked the backlighting creating a fabulous range of tones and colours on the sea.

Hope you enjoy.

-Ben

Posted on January 12, 2010 - by benmullay

Shetland Photography – Cold Snap

Pictured above is a photo of a dramatic sunset at St Ninian’s Isle during the big freeze (click on image for larger view).

After a hazardous walk down the road to St Ninian’s Isle due to the hard ice, I was surprised to find the sand in exactly the same condition.

It took a little while to get the right angle for this photo, but I love the way the reflection of the clouds on the water creates a circle which really adds to the composition.

-Ben

Posted on August 22, 2009 - by benmullay