Rosebery Reservoir

Today was another glorious day in which Scotland looked more like a tropical isle. It seemed criminal to waste such a photo opportunity and this afternoon we took a short trip to Rosebery Reservoir, which is part of the water supply for Edinburgh. I knew there would be wonderful reflections in the water and indeed there were. 

The pictures are a bit deceptive about the real temperature as the parts of the reservoir that didn't get the sun were still covered in a layer of ice and of course only the evergreen trees have leaves at the moment. But wandering along there was real warmth in the air.

I must admit that since starting to take a daily photograph for my Blipfoto journal I have done several things that before that time I wouldn't even have contemplated. I regularly climb fences however much they tell me there is No Entry, lie flat on my stomach on the frozen and/or wet ground and park the car in questionable places, all in the hunt for the "perfect picture". Today I had so many of those that once again the choice of which one to blip is going to be agonizing. Fortunately on this blog there are no restrictions and I can share all the best ones. You might disagree with my blip choice! I try and go for the picture that makes me say: "WOW", when I see it appear on the LCD screen of the camera or on the computer screen. And since becoming a blipper I have come to realize more and more that such a reaction is deeply personal. That what I love would not necessarily be someone else's first choice.

And that's fine! We are all different and we love different things, influenced by our upbringing, education and most of all our very personal tastes. On Blipfoto there is the possibility of handing out a heart to a picture by someone else which for you is a favourite and there are 3 hearts to donate every day. Still most days I run out of hearts too fast as there are so many gorgeous pictures coming from all four corners of the globe. Other people do the same and it's always thrilling when my pictures receive hearts. But the most interesting thing is how people donate their hearts. It's a clear demonstration of just how much tastes differ.

Occasionally I have a look at all the pictures that I favoured in this way to see if I can detect a common denominator among them. I love landscapes and strangely for someone who is a colour addict I have a soft spot for black and white in those landscapes. Sunset and sun rises are also among my choices. Just adore those hot colours.  I also love detailed flower pictures (no surprise there!) and images of adorable creatures, be they pets, wild animals or birds. I love images that have emotional content but of course how to define that? What I mean is pictures that invoke an emotion in me; that make me feel sad, nostalgic, full of "heimwee" (an untranslatable Dutch word), Weltschmerz and nostalgia. I'm far less inclined towards happy pictures. The dark side of life attracts me in imagery. And I don't think I've ever favoured a photograph featuring a single human being.

All that says a lot about me, maybe too much! I have very occasionally (twice I think!) photographed a person myself but tend to steer clear most of the time. I also dislike being photographed, which maybe explains it. I do usually love the results so have no idea where that aversion to being portrayed comes from.

I've been rambling merrily away here but have still not settled on a blip! I have to keep telling myself (as I used to do in all my classes when I was still teaching) that this is not a life changing decision nor is it a matter of life and death. Nevertheless I sometimes waste way too much time on it. Check out my blip page soon to see which way the die was cast today!