Tag: orkney

Orkney 3 – Stromness

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Although it was the ancient sites on Orkney that we initially went to see (along with the Northern Lights, of course) one of my abiding memories of the visit, was the first Saturday we were there and went to see the town of Stromness. We were genuinely shocked that in the week before Christmas, we were walking down the main High Street in town, on a Saturday lunch time and saw just three other people. Two of them were ladies, standing outside the church gates, giving out sweets to children who may be passing – I’m sure there had been others, but we had the only child on the street at the time! Looking down (or up?) the street, I took this as a photograph, knowing that it would make a good, single colour print. It is such a pretty town with cobbled streets and little alleyways and ginnels (or is that just a Sheffield/North of England word?) but has a very definite ‘arty’ feel to the place with a couple of beautiful galleries and an annual folk festival. We are longing to go back there sometime, and as soon as possible.

Orkney 2 – The Stones of Stennes

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This is the second image from our trip to Orkney – the magnificent Stones of Stennes. As with at The Ring of Brodgar, we were completely on our own whenever we visited the stones, again, even at the Solstice. They are in such a beautiful setting, which I’m not sure I’ve managed to capture here, but it acts as a vivid reminder to me.

Orkney 1 – The Ring of Brodgar

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The week before Christmas 2021, we visited Orkney. It was a last minute decision, but to a place I’ve wanted to go for many years; I have always wanted to see the majestic Ring of Brodgar and the Stones of Stennes, amongst many other ancient and magical sites that I’ve read about for so long. It certainly didn’t disappoint and we picked the perfect week – not too cold, no rain to speak of and very few other visitors. I imagine that during the Summer months it gets pretty crowded, but for us it was ideal. I knew I would get some photographs from which I would be able to make some good prints, but what I didn’t account for was a visit to The Vintage Paper Company in Stromness, where I bought some superb, 1957 Whatman paper. It was thrilling to chat to the owner, a person so passionate about paper, and to look at some of what they have there – sheets of paper from 1785 and even from the 1600s!

This print of The Ring of Brodgar is on the 1957 paper which is such a joy to use and takes the ink so well. It’s a two block print and it’s come out pretty much as I anticipated, hopefully capturing some of the atmosphere we experienced. We were there for the Winter Solstice and found ourselves alone.