Unashamedly geeky!!

I don't see what's wrong with being a geek. I've been called it many times over the years (well, since the word 'geek' was invented anyway, I just used to be a plain old 'weirdo' before that!), and where I used to be embarrassed, now I am proud. I am a geek, oh yes I am.

Let's look at the evidence. My favourite sandwiches are cheese and pickle. My favourite subject at school was geography, closely followed in joint positions by chemistry and biology. I am a photographer with a do-it-all camera, yet I choose to use it in full manual mode every time, including focusing. I like real ales, I hate lager. I can spell fashion, but after that I am left clueless. I get a nose bleed and altitude sickness if I go anywhere near a pair of stilettos and as for hair-do's, well, mine just doesn't.

So, where would an unashamedly geeky photographer go to with a picnic on a sunny weekend? To the beach of course! Ah, yes, not any old beach, this was Tentsmuir and it was the day of the Leuchars Air Show. Hurrah!!!



And what a beautiful day it was too. I started it in Dundee to capture sunrise over the Law from Balgay Hill,



then headed down to Clark's bakery for a coffee and an apple slice before nipping over the Tay Bridge into Fife. I parked at the edge of Tentsmuir Forest in Tayport to get some early morning views across the estuary and to do a spot of birdwatching (more evidence of very geekiness), and was well rewarded with some smashing views of a kingfisher as it darted along the shoreline. My day was already complete at that point, but it just kept getting better!!

Moving into Tentsmuir and around the headland, I found Lapland Bunting on the sea-buckthorn bushes as well as seals sunning themselves on the sands and a huge expanse of smooth soft sand all to myself. Wow.



I made my way down the beach to the perimeter fence of the air field at Leuchars and sat down to eat my cheese and pickle sandwiches, my plain crisps, and slurp on my coffee. Just perfect.



So why wasn't I in the airfield to watch the show? Well, I had thought that I was to be looking after the dog that day and so I couldn't take him in to the show, but it turned out that his dad was home and so he took him instead. Too late to try and get organised for the show, plus I'd already made up my mind that I was going on a photo foray round the beach, so I'm afraid I didn't go in to the show. But I have and I will again. It's a fabulous show, a great day out and more magical metalwork than any seriously serious geek could possibly need for a truly awesome experience.

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

Tentsmuir

There is nowhere I like better for a stroll at sunrise than Tentsmuir in Fife. I think it is the most stunningly beautiful place on the east coast of Scotland, maybe even the east coast of Britain.



It is a nature reserve on the Fife side of the Tay estuary comprising pine woodland, ever-changing dune systems, incredible dune slacks, miles of smooth sand, and breeding grounds for birds and seals and all sorts of butterflies and insects.



There are also many relics of the war, including sand-covered pill boxes and a line of concrete blocks that were put in place to prevent enemy landing craft from coming ashore here. You'll also see a few posts still visible in the estuary that were positioned to prevent enemy seaplanes from landing.



A fascinating place, Tentsmuir is without doubt worthy of nature reserve status and I actually kind of hope nobody reads this as I rather selfishly want to keep the secret that is Tentsmuir to myself! I've got a massive folder full of photos from Tentsmuir but shall I post them, or shall I just keep it to myself a little bit longer? No, I'll do a longer piece another time, so will just leave you with three photos today and a promise of more to come.

Rebecca,x

http://www.rtphotographics.co.uk/

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk

An Afternoon at the Seaside... Brrrr!!

Last weekend saw me heading off to Tentsmuir beach with my dog, my camera, but most importantly with my new pal Niaesha who has very kindly agreed to work with me as an assistant.

Perhaps I should have asked if she liked dogs first, as I quickly found out that she has a bit of a phobia about German Shepherds. Guess what sort of doggy we've got?



Thankfully Hogan is nothing more than a great big soppy bundle of fluff, and Niaesha soon decided that not all German Shepherds are bad :) In fact it's worth saying here that German Shepherds are probably one of the most misunderstood of all dogs, as the vast majority are as soppy as anything! Anyway, I digress...

So, we decided to go to Tentsmuir for our first day oot and get to know each other and have a natter as we wandered about taking photos.



What a day!! I haven't seen that much rain since... er, last week actually, but, this is Britain, it's to be expected. Tentsmuir is an absolutely fantastic place to go, and if you are ever anywhere near Dundee or Tayport and you have no idea what to do for the afternoon, there's your answer!



Niaesha is fairly new to DSLR photography and wants to learn how to use a camera properly, so we had a bit of a tuition session while we were there.



The dog was a huge help, leaving extra interest for the general scene and composition... hmm, thanks Hogy but we'll probably manage ok next time!! The worst of that was a lack of dog bins, which meant carrying a bagful of unpleasantness around for the rest of the afternoon. Quite delightful, as you may imagine.

Anyway, we carried on in spite of the rain and in spite of Hogan's 'help' and found a couple of places that we are definitely going to go back to when it's dry and explore a lot further.



The beach hut is certainly going to get another visit, and it'll be lovely to do more with the dunes as well.

Definitely a fantastic place for a model shoot too... maybe with umbrellas and wellies, as it doesn't look like it's going to be bikini weather any time soon!!

So, there we are, an afternoon at the seaside, I hope you enjoyed it, we certainly did :)

Rebecca, x

www.rtphotographics.co.uk

rebecca@rtphotographics.co.uk