The Doon, Arran

Arran is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh largest in Scotland. The King’s Caves are a series of natural caves on the western shores of Arran and are associated with Robert the Bruce of Scotland. Legend has it that he took refuge in these caves while on the run and had his famous encounter with the spider. For more on this legend see here.

The following photograph was taken on a hike to the King’s caves and shows the Doon in the distance. The Doon is a geological formation known as sill – which is formed when magma extrudes through older rocks and solidifies. The Doon seen in this picture is formed of sheer vertical columns of rock.

View of the Doon, Arran
View of the Doon and the western shore of Arran (Click here to see a larger version on Flickr)

Technical Details

Nikon D750, Nikon 28-300mm lens, 3-shot bracketed HDR processed in Photomatix Pro.

Hawker Hurricane Mk IIB

The Hawker Hurricane was the workhorse fighter plane in the Battle of Britain. This particular plane on display at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford, England was recovered from a crash site in Russia in 1941.

Hawker Hurricane Mk IIB

The Hurricane the first single-seat 8-gun monoplane fighter that entered service in 1937. In 1940, Hurricanes shot down more enemy aircraft that all the other defences combined. Source: IWM, Duxford.

Colourful!

I have been tardy lately and not been near a camera. I suppose the weather here in Britain isn’t particularly conducive for outdoor activity! Going through my collection of pictures I found this one which to me provided the much needed warmth in these cold, dark and grey days.

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Originally shot at the Eden Project and more recently processed in Adobe Lightroom.

Audley End House, Saffron Walden

Audley End house is a magnificent example of a 17th century stately home near Saffron Walden in Essex. The property was also once a royal palace in the time of Charles II (1668) who purchased the property for £5 in order to be able to attend races at Newmarket. Audley End is now managed by English Heritage but all paintings and period decorations are from the original time and form part of a private collection. 

Audley End House. Essex
Audley End House. Essex

HDR composed of three bracketed shots at -2, 0 and +2 exposures and processed in Photomatix Pro. Please click on the photo for a larger version.

The reality dysfunction

Spot the reality!! With due apologies to Peter F. Hamilton for his fantastic book of the same name as the title of this post..

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Can you spot the difference between the real and the painted? Check out a larger picture on Flickr by clicking on the photograph. In Belgrade, Serbia