Bernard Street reflecting

This photo is available on Redbubble: Hanging buildings, strange sky.

Strange sky: the Shore

This photo is available on Redbubble: Strange Sky.

It’s Edinburgh, but is it art?

Well before I started this blog, I opened an account on Redbubble, and there I have mostly stayed – some of the photos (especially those with the Current Events tag) are saved elsewhere, but mostly, when I take photos of Edinburgh, I’m trying to take a picture that – however pretentious this may sound – I can think of as art, as a picture worth looking at in and of itself.

(to see a different set of photos, just hit Refresh)

I feel this is pretentious, quite frankly: I like taking photos. Perhaps a better word for it is ambitious: I am a photographer – I’d like to be the best photographer I can be, and one way of continuing to aim in that direction is to keep associating with the many fine photographers on Redbubble, who remind me constantly how much better I can aim to be.

I’ve sold a few items off Redbubble since I started, but, I freely admit, not many, and I don’t have strong ambitions in that direction. The great thing about sharing photos on the Internet is that you get to look for free and I get to share for free. (Thank you, WordPress and Redbubble!) But, should it happen that someone here has been thinking “Well, I’d like a print or a card from Redbubble, but the shipping costs, oh my god…” Redbubble is celebrating their 100,000th anniversary (100 000 pieces sold and shipped!) by offering all buyers free shipping for the next week… and all sellers twice the money they normally receive.

The coupon code to receive the free shipping offer is 100000masterpieces – you just enter this during the checkout process to receive the free shipping offer. Click on this red button to go directly to my Redbubble profile – but the free shipping applies whoever you buy from, until one minute to midnight on Thursday 30th October.

Special offer to readers of my blog: one thing I can do on Redbubble is put together 13 photos into an illustrated calendar – cover and 12 months. (I’ve only done one so far: Strange Sky.) If you’d like a calendar from Redbubble made up of photos from this blog, or any of my photos on Redbubble, post below with your request – let me know what photos you’d like, even what months you want which photo to go with. If you include a contact e-mail (can be in the e-mail field of your comment) at which I can reach you, I’ll put the calendar together and let you know I’ve done it before 30th October. Bear in mind the photos have got to be of a given size to be included: if Redbubble only offers them for sale as cards, they won’t go on a calendar. You then order it via Redbubble, and pay no shipping. (I don’t control the price of the calendar. Sorry.)

Commercial Street Bridge: Strange Sky

This photo is available on Redbubble: Dirty Leith: Strange Sky.

The Clock in the Sky

The clock above the old Job Centre at the corner of Duke Street and Leith Walk, reflected in a large puddle on Constitution Street.

This photo is available on Redbubble: The Clock in the Sky, and in a 2009 calendar: Strange Sky.

Dirty Leith: Strange Sky

The reflection of a flip-top bin (domestic waste) in a puddle caused by a blocked drain in Dock Place well over a year ago. The dirt-clotted cobbles and remnants of a double-yellow line can just be seen.

This photo is available on Redbubble: Strange Sky:Dirty Leith.

Strange Sky: red ball

The Water of Leith below the Great Junction Street bridge: very still, reflecting a grim and clouded sky.

This photo is available on Redbubble: Strange Sky, Red Ball and in a 2009 calendar: Strange Sky.

Strange Sky: Dirty Leith

This photo is available on Redbubble: Strange Sky: Dirty Leith and in a 2009 calendar: Strange Sky.

Strange sky, the Shore

I took this photo here. It’s available on Redbubble: Strange Sky, 4 and in a 2009 calendar: Strange Sky.