And A Couple More Weeks...

Pictures of me by Leanne (Glasgow) and Kirsten (cooking) Featuring: a visit to the amazing Aberdeen University library; a talk by a Scottish guy who animates eyeballs for Pixar; Bill Bailey's...

Life/Living

I've mentioned that there's a lot going on in my life right now. So much. I win in whatever "I'm so busy!" competition you want to get into. 99% guaranteed. And one of the things which is keeping...

Six and a Half Weeks

Pictures of me by Steve (Pitlochry) and Lola (Castle Fraser). This is not my glorious return to blogging. This is just Steve telling me off for not having posted anything for six and a half weeks....

Where's Sarah?!

I hate blog posts which start with an apology for not blogging. I don't believe the world is waiting with baited breath for my cat photos (although it should - they're awesome); I'm pretty sure...

The 2013 List: Write a Big, Long List of Things Which Make You Happy

Making Steve double over with laughter while he's trying to brush his teeth. The velvety fur on the back of Gizmo's neck. Big, fat snowflakes dancing slowly down. That Steve always brings me a...

Basic Camera, Brilliant Pictures: Location, Location, Location

This week, you're going to need to rope in a little bit of help - or be brave and use a tripod to take self-portraits! I can't claim that portraits are my strong point, but this year I've been...

365: 67-73

This is the "I'm siiiiiiiiick!" edition. I'm quite proud of having kept the 365 up whilst feeling so sorry for myself. I was too tired to dust that chicken on Tuesday, though...

The 2013 List: Give Up Your Biggest Vice for a Week

This one was a bit of an accident: I was away last weekend and I've been wiped out with bronchitis all week. I either didn't have the time to pick up my laptop or I haven't had the energy. And so:...

Basic Camera, Brilliant Pictures: Finding the Interesting Angle

This week, we're going to practise finding the best angle for still life photography. If you're not used to thinking about how you frame your subject, the tendency is to take all your photos from...

What I Was Doing Last March

Kittybrewster

Every so often, I find myself on a bus zipping past these abandoned workshops in Kittybrewster and I make a mental note to come back some time with my camera. Well, a few weeks ago, I happened to...

365: 60-66

The 2013 List: Do Something on Your Own Which Makes You Feel Self-Conscious

I had an hour to fill before meeting a friend at the cinema (we saw This is 40 which had Paul Rudd in it was funnier than I was expecting), so I sat in a cafe and had a smoothie and a toastie all...

Snippets: 24th February 2013

It's all about the adorable animals this week. You're welcome. I'm away on another weekend adventure (I know and if you get me in the wrong mood I will tell you just how tired I am - but it's great...

Basic Camera, Brilliant Pictures: Photographing Dark Scenes

The whole point of this blog series is to convince you that you can take great pictures with a simple camera, but there is one area where I'll admit that basic cameras (in my experience) really...

365: 53-59

Out the Window of a Train

You know how much I love taking photos out of train windows, right? Well, here are some more, taken as Steve and I shot back up through Scotland, through a sunset, on Sunday:

The 2013 List: Try a New Restaurant AND a New Drink

A new Jamie Oliver Italian restaurant opens in Aberdeen today and I managed to get not one but two sneak peeks last week. I'm making that sound like more of an achievement than it was. Somebody...

Snippets: 17th February 2013

Steve and I are away for a family celebration this weekend so this is going to be short and sweet. The links: Amy writes about her decision to step away from social networks. (via Nova) A long...

Basic Camera, Brilliant Pictures: Shooting In Strong Sunlight

For a fledgling photographer, phrases like "f stop", "ISO" and "aperture" can sound pretty daunting. What they all are are ways of controlling how much light is allowed into the camera and over...

You Mean the World to Me

It's okay, it's okay, this isn't going to be yet another Valentine's Day screed about how perfect a blogger's boyfriend is. I don't need to tell anyone who knows Steve that he's awesome; I don't...

365: 46-52

The Abandoned Emporium

I don't know how long this shop on Marischal Street has been sitting like this, dust gathering, rubber corroding. Several years, certainly; I don't remember it ever having been open. But how I...

The 2013 List: Read a Classic Book You've Never Got Around to Before

Here's the thing: a lot of the time, I find the classics hard going. I read a lot of them when I was a teenager; I've still got no idea what was going on in Tess of the D'urbervilles, other than...

Snippets: 10th February 2013

This weekend has been given over to reading David Mitchell's autobiography, Back Story. That's David Mitchell the comedian, not David Mitchell the author. I started it yesterday morning and have...

Basic Camera, Brilliant Pictures: Strong Lines, Stark Contrast and Touchable Textures

Last week, I talked about how to compose a picture using the rule of thirds. This week, I'm going to touch on three basic ways of adding visual interest to your image: Strong Lines Whether they're...

Chutes and Ladders

I'll tell you right up front: I usually think that motivational phrases superimposed onto photos are naff. But then I got a thought stuck in my head which wasn't big enough for a blog post nor...

365: 39-45

When We Meet for a While

My friend met me at Inverurie train station at 8:42 on Saturday morning. Only Mitchell's Dairy was open. We had cups of tea and pancakes while we waited to scour the charity shops. We talked of...

The 2013 List: Try a Food You Hated as a Child

When I was a child, I hated olives. And I still do; I know because I'm pestered into trying them a couple of times a year. When I was a child, I hated brussels sprouts. And I still do; I know...