Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage

Location - Museum of Scottish Fire Heritage 

Weather - Rain forced us indoors 

Optional theme - None. The original theme of "boats" - intended for Cramond - didn't seem relevant here 

Refreshments - The Edinburgh Central Youth Hostel - welcoming, and with loads of space 

Gotcha - The museum is small, and there was a lot of overlap in the things we photographed; I've tried to minimise this as much as possible. 

Maggie found this abstract in the radiator vents of one of the fire engines

Sandra photographed this magnificent old fire engine 

Alex focused on some of this fire engine's internal workings 

Dorothy shot this detail of a tarpaulin used in fire rescues 

Circles within circles, photographed by Eileen 

Ian found this tiny, toy-like, fire engine

The Portrait Gallery

Location:  a poor weather forecast made us decide to visit an exhibition of digital photography at the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. On the day, the weather was better than expected, so some of us explored the surrounding streets instead. 

Weather: dull but dry; better than expected. 

Optional theme: yellow. We leaned heavily into this theme - several of us based our whole morning's shooting around the colour yellow.

Refreshments - The gallery café. Coronation chicken focaccia was very warmly received! 

Memorable moment: when reviewing these photos, we had a spirited debate about whether gold was a shade of yellow, or a different colour. 

Eileen found multiple layers of gold frames in the gallery

Kate's photo finds gold in the architecture 

New recruit Vincent found another layered composition in the gallery 

Ada found a yellow detail in a child's portrait 

An abstract detail from a portrait of Nicola Benedetti, found by Alex 

Beryl found a clash of gold and blue 

Colin found a yellow fingerprint reader on the gallery wall 

Further afield 

Dorothy photographed a hummingbird hawk-moth 

Ian shared some photos from a recent trip to Orkney 

Sandra shared the first phot she ever took as a member of the group 

Canonmills

Location - starting from the clock at Canonmills  

Weather - fine spring day, occasional bright sunshine

Optional theme - scapes (landscapes, riverscapes etc) 

Refreshments - Betty and George was hugely successful for everyone 

Ada photographed a very sociable group of benches 

Alex found a more romantic seating plan

Arthur photographed the trees along the Water of Leith 

Beryl channeled her inner Gursky

Also following the theme, Colin found a busy cityscape

Eileen found a fascinating angle in a familiar scene 

Canonmills Baptist Church was photographed by Ian 

Kate nailed the theme this week 

Three green bottles photographed by Maggie 

Sandra found a church tower in the skyline 

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Meeting place - Inverleith Row entrance (east gate) 

Weather - Sunny intervals 

Optional theme - Shapes

Refreshments - John Hope Gateway - long queues, and no hot food before 11:30! Scones were excellent but very pricey. 

Sandra photographed this emergent peony

Ada found a Monet-like tranquillity in this pond scene

Alex found a triangle in this reed bed 

Arthur found this scene from Alice in Wonderland

Shapes everywhere in Dorothy's view of the east gate

Ian found fractal shapes in a monkey puzzle tree

The shape of Edinburgh Castle is immediately identifiable in Maggie's photo

The magnolias were a highlight. This photo is by Eileen

Mandy found a beautiful stone gateway

Kate found a lovely detail in the garden's East Gate 

National Museum of Scotland

Meeting place: National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh

Weather - Bright but bitterly cold with a strong wind - a good day to stay indoors

Optional theme: Colour

Refreshments - The museum café 

Eileen found shapes and colours in the lens of the old lighthouse in the main atrium

Ian managed to isolate this figure from the busy background of museum exhibits 

Sandra framed an architectural scene with a window from the musuem

Ada found simplicity in a red chair 

Colin found colour in a selection of tourist pamphlets 

Dorothy photographed a colourful selection of children's souvenirs in the shop 

Closes of the Old Town

Meeting place: Outside the Writer's Museum, to explore some of the closes at the top of the Royal Mile  

Weather - Fine 

Option theme - Flat - interpret it however you want! 

Refreshments - Coffee shop at National Library of Scotland 

Ian found a moment of serenity in Riddle's Court 

Ada found a dragon, and flipped the photo sideways to make it look oh-so-tired

Alex artificially aged his photo of New College

Arthur found a very grand piece of street furniture

Beryl found a reminder that the Old Town is very much a bustling business area

Colin was one of the few who took the theme very seriously, photographing this flat surface in front of two flats 

Dorothy found this ghostly figure

St Giles Cathedral

February 2026

Weather - Cold and dreich - we were glad to be indoors 

Optional theme - Textures

Refreshments - Café at the National Library of Scotland 

Kate found a moment of minimalism

Maggie found contrasting textures of stone and fabric

Sandra found lots of detail in the carving surrounding the main entrance 

Ada pointed her camera to the grand details of the stone-vaulted ceiling

Alex did the same - this time for the painted and gilded vaulted ceiling 

Arthur found texture in the stone setts of the car park behind the cathedral 

Beryl picked out a detail from a carved screen 

Colin zoomed in to the detail of the cane seat on one of the cathedral chairs 

"Are you looking at me?" - Dorothy channels her inner Robert de Niro 

Eileen's detail of the same sculpture reveals a very different scene

Ian managed to capture a sense of space