Standing up on the plug of an extinct volcano, and dominating the skyline, the Edinburgh Castle captured my imagination when I first visited Edinburgh 12 years ago. The building casts a protective eye over the city, and has the sense of playing a part in Scottish history.
When I visited the city again about 7 years ago for the Edinburgh Festival, I knew I wanted to photograph it, and found a shot of the Castle overlooking Princes Street Gardens.
The weather for the few days I was at the Festival were spectacular, and I had chosen to shoot with Fuji Velvia 50. I had been experimenting with the film at the time. I am glad that I chose to photograph with this film as it gave the richness and depth of colour that Edinburgh and the Castle lends itself to.
Because I was in Edinburgh for the festival and was with friends, I knew what photograph I wanted to take of the Castle, but was under some time constraints. However, I managed to get the shot I wanted, and am very pleased with the results.
What struck me about the shot I took was how the people in the park were enjoying the beautiful August day in Princes Park, and were seemingly unperturbed by the dominance of such a historic building. For me, the contrast shows the changing nature of a building that was once used as a line of defence for Edinburgh is now a tourist attraction.
I was also attracted to the sky and how the blue sky and white clouds seemed to intermingle and play with each other. The complemented and contrasted each other as well as framing Edinburgh Castle quite nicely.