New year in Edinburgh

ST500(TL220) 1/8s l 3.5f l ISO480 l 4.9mm Program Auto

Hello, Twenty Ten! To celebrate the new year 2010, I went on a trip to Scotland that I’d been looking forward for so long. In Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, they have the ‘Hogmany festival’ at New year’s Eve which is one of the most celebrated winter and new year festivals in Europe.

 

ST500(TL220) 1/500s l 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.9mm Program Auto

Edinburgh isn’t a big city and the streets aren’t so complicated so you can fully enjoy the city by walking around. There were 2 things that surprised me when I arrived at Edinburgh. One was the pile of snow which you can hardly find in Britain and the other is the freezing cold weather; no wonder why there was such massive snow! But thankfully the sky was very clear and pretty that made me feel fresh while I was walking round.

 

ST500(TL220) 1/125s l 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.9mm Program Auto

When you walk along Prince Street which separates the old and new town of Edinburgh, you’ll spot the giant eye-catching architecture burnt like black color. It’s the Scott’s Monument. They say that there are many mountains that consist of rocks in Scotland. Different from Britain where houses are built with bricks, buildings in Scotland are built of rocks dug out from the mountains. These architectures made out of rock seem to play a part in the antique and classical atmosphere of Edinburgh.

ST500(TL220) 1/45s l 4.1f l ISO100 l 6.5mm Program Auto

ST500(TL220) 1/60s l 3.7f l ISO80 l 5.3mm Program Auto

The whole city was hustle and bustle getting ready for the Hogmany festival. The concert stage was installed with the Edinburgh castle as the background, and over a background of thousand years old town buildings various rides and ice rink were available. The harmony between unharmonious things seemed very attractive.

ST500(TL220) 1/60s l 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.9mm Program Auto

ST500(TL220) 1/60s l 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.9mm Program Auto

When I was walking down Royal Mile crowded with most of the tourist sights, I was able to run into a couple of street artists. Especially, the man who is taking pictures with the tourists dressed like Mel Gibson from Brave Heart wearing the traditional Scottish costume is a celebrity at Royal Miles. Despite the cold weather, he was wearing a tartan skirt and was posing with a loud roar each time he was taking a picture with the tourists. I could tell how much he prides and loves Scotland from his passionate behavior.

ST500(TL220) 1/250s l 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.8mm Program Auto

ST500(TL220) 1/250s l 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.8mm Program Auto

Among many things that represent Scotland, probably the check pattern is the most known. You can easily find souvenir shops that sell items with check patterns anywhere in Edinburgh. From 100% cashmere clothing and accessories to mugs, dolls etc… it seemed like everything you can make with check pattern was gathered. Even a cute dog with tartan check outfit!

ST500(TL220) 1/8s l 4.1f l ISO800 l 6.5mm Program Auto

ST500(TL220) 1/8s l 3.5f l ISO800 l 4.9mm Program Auto

80,000 people were waiting for the new year’s countdown dancing and singing along with the DJ. As if the whole city were a club, it was the moment when excitement was at a peak with the festive fever and excitement for the new year regardless of age and nationality.

ST500(TL220) 1/3 l 3.5f l ISO203 l 6.6mm Program Auto

 ST500(TL220) 1/2 l 3.5f l ISO203 l 6.6mm Program Auto

At Royal mile, as seen from the picture above, the giant candle became a chandelier and lit up the sky. Freezing tourists gathered around the candle to warm their frozen hands and feet.

ST500(TL220) 1/60s l 4.4f l ISO200 l 13.7mm Program Auto

ST500(TL220) 1/750 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.9mm Program Auto

In Scotland, you can find tradition and people who proudly live the tradition. Following the tradition is their everyday life and something ordinary for them. I guess this is the reason why every year tourists flood to Scotland and Edinburgh and return home impressed, promising to visit again.

All photos, above, may not otherwise be reproduced, distributed, cropped, re sized, or otherwise altered without the written permission of the contributor. All photos represent the sole opinion of their individual authors and contributors and don’t express the opinion of Samsung Digital Imaging Co., Ltd., Samsungimaging.net or the opinion of any affiliates unless specifically marked as such. All photos, above, have been shot with the Samsung ST500(TL220), which has been provided by Samsung Digital Imaging Co., Ltd. In order to become an official SamsungImaging.net blogger, please click here

Happy Christmas in Hull…

Hi! I am ISEUL, currently living in Hull, a city located in North Eastern UK. I am studying in Hull University as an exchange student. I bought a new camera when I came here and it’s Samsung ST500(TL220). The last camera I had for 2 years was also by Samsung and I was satisfied with it so I went with Samsung again this time. I like taking self portraits and the dual LDC function in ST500(TL220) was the crucial factor in making my decision to buy this camera.

I took this first picture with my old camera. I always carry camera in my bag. Not only ST500(TL220) is small and lightweight, but the design is so pretty that I can’t wait to take it out to take pictures whenever, wherever. And to the young generations these days, digital camera is a must-have.

Samsung ST500(TL220) 1/60s l 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.9mm  Program AE

I went to the Hull city centre today. The building with the emerald-colored-roof in the picture is the Hull city centre. It is located in the heart of the city so if you ever visit Hull, you should visit the information center (for guides and tips) and start your travel.

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/45s l 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.9mm Program AE

These are the buildings found in the city. One of the things that impressed me the most living here was the architecture. Each individual building has its unique charm and style that you never get bored looking at it. You can see the lighting decorations on the building for the upcoming Christmas. And there are Christmas markets opening in the front one by one.

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/90s l 3.5f l ISO80 l 4.9mm Program AE

One of the most popular sports in UK must be rugby. There is large screen installed in the middle of the city square and they play live sports games. It’s fun to look at people stopping on their way to watch the screen.

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/30s l 3.5f l ISO200 l 4.9mm Program AE

The center of the city was lined with Christmas markets. They were selling all sorts of chocolates, candies and hamburgers. But perhaps due to the cold weather, people were just passing by and I felt a bit sorry for the merchants. 

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/30s l 3.5f l ISO200 l 4.9mm Program AE

One side of the street was rides for the children. The parents looking at their children enjoying the rides seemed a lot more excited than the children actually riding themselves.

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/30s l 3.5f l ISO200 l 4.9mm Program AE

This is a picture of a Santa in a shoe repair shop. The children passing by were excited to see the cute Santa. Thus, Christmas has something special that makes people happy with the smallest things.

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/30s l 3.5f l ISO200 l 4.9mm Program AE

The picture of the building floating on the river on the right is a shopping center. It was interesting for me to see the harmony between the new and old architecture in one space. I think this is one of the charms of UK.

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/30s l 3.5f l ISO200 l 4.9mm Program AE

This is inside the shopping center. The lightings decorated for Christmas were absolutely amazing. It was the weekend and also was the start of the winter sale season so it was really crowded.

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/8s l 3.5f l ISO480 l 4.9mm Program AE

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/8s l 3.5f l ISO200 l 4.9mm Program AE

The sun had set already when I came out of the building after shopping. It was only around 5 o’clock when I took this picture but it was no different than in the middle of the dark night! The lights started to light up after the sunset, and it made me feel like Christmas even more.

Samsung ST500(TL220)  1/8s l 3.5f l ISO480 l 4.9mm Program AE

It’s time to head back home. The colors of double-decker bus differ in each city, and the color of double-decker bus in Hull is brown. It’ll be quite interesting to look at the different colors of bus from different cities. With that thought, it’s a wrap for today.

Since this is the first post, I probably wasn’t perfect. I’ll try to be back with better pictures in the next post. I’m planning on going to York next week. I’ll introduce York to you, a city that has very different atmosphere from Hull. Stay tuned! Till then, bye-bye :)

All photos, above, may not otherwise be reproduced, distributed, cropped, re sized, or otherwise altered without the written permission of the contributor. All photos represent the sole opinion of their individual authors and contributors and don’t express the opinion of Samsung Digital Imaging Co., Ltd., Samsungimaging.net or the opinion of any affiliates unless specifically marked as such.

All photos, above, have been shot with the Samsung ST500(TL220), which has been provided by Samsung Digital Imaging Co., Ltd.