Celestial.

Hey everyone,
It's been a little while since I've posted something on here however I have been concentrating on a lot of things at the moment including a couple of huge blog posts so this one has been slightly delayed which you will notice as it contains shots I photographed of the full moon from a little while ago. However, I still really wanted to get these online, and although I've taken a few photos of the moon before with a long lens and a tripod, I decided to change it up for these shots! I've focused predominately on the clouds rather than focusing on the moon itself as I quite liked the atmosphere this gave the image especially considering the kind of night that I took these photos. What this really means is that I didn't expose my settings for the moon but for the clouds instead, and sadly that does means the moon will look slightly overexposed but I wanted the clouds to be the main feature as they were really noticable and I think this gives a much different look to what could be another boring and dull photo of the moon. I hope that you all enjoy these photos as much as I do, so let me know what you think, it's always great to talk to people that share an interest for photography!
Hopefully I'll be back soon with those two posts that I've been keeping back!

Nicola. x

Lights Out.

Hey everyone, long time no speak...I assure you all that I have been very busy indeed although not necessarily to do with anything photography related but it looks like I'm finally back to business!
First things first I thought I would write a general update post to get back into the swing of things, for starters you're probably all wondering about the photo above which is another shot of the wonderful Edinburgh Castle. I actually took this photo on my way out of Billy Talent's gig back in August last year around the time of the Edinburgh Fringe, I've just got around to editing it now but I'm glad to finally have the opportunity to use it in a post instead of letting the shot go to waste, I love night photography and I rarely tend to dabble in that sort of field but when I do I'm really happy with the photos and they become some of my favourites.
I'm hoping to have some new business cards sent very soon, I can't wait to update the design as the old one is a bit out of style these days shall we say so I'll be making a post about them when they arrive along with some poster prints that I've been meaning to get since Christmas.
Last but not least, I'll hopefully be back to the music circuit so be sure to expect some new shots!
Nicola. x

Happy Boxing Day!

Hey everyone, Happy Boxing Day!
I normally don't tend to write blog posts right after Christmas, but I just couldn't stop myself from working today. If you didn't already know (...I have mentioned it a few times on Twitter, haha) I received a new Manfrotto Tripod as part of my Christmas presents yesterday. It's completely amazing and definitely worth the extra bit of money! It's a piece of equipment that I have been wanting to add to my kit for a long time now but never fully felt the justify of the purchase.
I was really over the moon so to speak...yeah fairly bad little pun there I know, but amazingly enough I noticed there was an *almost* full moon last night, which is a great opportunity to test out the tripod. Of course I didn't exactly have the appropriate lenses for the occasion, however the one I decided to use did the job and I'm surprised it worked!
Anyway before I go off on an excited tangent, I hope you are all enjoying the festive season and the sales today. I myself managed to pick up a new pair of Dr. Martens for a very cheap price, and a navy velvet skirt that I have been longing after for a while now! So to be honest, it's a plus all around.
Also, there's still many more photos to be uploaded from recent adventures, so as always stay tuned...
Nicola. x

Autumn Leaves In Glasgow.

Hey everyone, So I'm back with part 2 of the Glasgow photos from my weekend away. These shots are from the daytime and all combined from over the few days I was there. I decided to go to the Templeton factory late in the afternoon of the first day I arrived. The building was originally built in the 1890's and was designed by one of my favourite architects...as you can see it looks pretty amazing and apparently the Doge's Palace in Venice was part of the inspiration!

When I was leaving Glasgow on the last day, I decided to re-visit the Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery at the University. Back in 2005 I went with my art class, so it was really good to check it out again. I also wanted to go to the Mackintosh House, but it was queue only for the guided tour so I decided to go over to the Museum instead which is in the other part of the University across the road.

Both the Museum and University are literally astounding for photos and definitely a photographer's dream! I didn't take any photos inside the Museum but I did take some shots of the grounds outside because it looked gorgeous in the autumn, aswell as some quick photos of the stairway that leads to the Hunterian Museum which you can see nearer the end of this post. The cloisters are my favourite part about the Universities architecture, it reminds me of the Harry Potter films for some reason, now that I think of it...I guess even the stairway to the Museum could look like the moving staircase scene aswell, all we need now are some talking paintings...

Anyway that happens to be all of my photos from my stay in Glasgow, I hope you all enjoyed looking  through them. I had an absolutely amazing time and I wish I could go back again, the holiday apartment that I stayed in, which was in the centre of Glasgow was literally (as Chandler Bing would say) perfection!
I've also just received some new photography gear so I will definitely be taking more photos soon, in the mean time make sure to follow my Twitter page for lots more updates, www.twitter.com/NicolaSharkey
Nicola. x

Glasgow In The Night...

Hey everyone, the next few blog posts are going to be a series of photos from the weekend of 13th October. I stayed in Glasgow in a holiday apartment for a few days as part of an early celebration for my 21st birthday (the actual date is away in December but I decided to go in Autumn as I love that time of the year...and it also coincided with the Young Guns gig that I was photographing on the 14th). So I managed to fit in lots of must-see things that I had planned out for the few days I was staying there...who knew there was so much to do in Glasgow! Aside from the obvious shopping, going out at night and gigs, I am a total architecture fanatic and I wanted to check out some of my favourite spots for photos, some of which you are probably already looking at right now.

The first place on my list was a little lane in the West end of Glasgow called Ashton Lane, if anyone remembers last year in September I went there to photograph Kai Fish at his gig at the Brel Bar. I decided to go back and take some photos of the lane itself as it looks so amazing, especially at night which is when we went, plus they have lots of good bars, restaurants and an adorable little 1920's-esque cinema.

The picture below is actually where the gigs at Brel Bar take place, it's at the back of the bar in a conservatory area and the space is apparently an 80 capacity, I'm not sure about that though as it looks very tiny once inside and especially with the chairs in rows instead of the table area for meals. Anyway, the left side is actually where the stage is set up and it's so beautiful, the whole look of the gig area has a French vibe, even though I believe the place is actually a Belgian bar/restaurant.

So we left Ashton Lane, and on our way 'home' to the holiday apartment after getting totally lost in the west end, I photographed some awesome spots in the centre of Glasgow which were literally on our doorstep. First up is the GoMA which is the Gallery of Modern Art, I never actually had time to check this out inside but got some lovely photos of its exterior at night, next time I visit Glasgow I will go there for sure.

Then I noticed how gorgeous the City Chambers looked at night which is across the road from the GoMA, so obviously it was my next place to photograph, I believe it was built in the 1880's! Look at how beautiful it is...the black and white photo below shows exactly how much detail went into the building, the sculptures are actually protected with a metal wire which is why the picture looks a little grainy, and slightly newspaper-esque.

Anyway, that's all for now, stay tuned for the next post which will include daytime photos.
Nicola. x