To the Lighthouse

We set off for Mull via Benderloch, where we picked up some people still mostly pyjama-ed or wearing clothes five times too big for them; drove to Oban at speed and barely made it to the boat on time, mainly because there was a fancy new terminal and method of boarding that was totally alien to us! I think I bought a ticket too many because I could not even count the kids. Looking back, I'd say there were seven children and three adults. We caught the bus to Tobermory and then proceeded to bore the pants off my littlest niece, who was two and a bit, by pointing out the Balamory-this and Balamory-that on view. She wasn't that bothered.

We chose Tobermory because we nearly always go from Craignure to the little narrow gauge railway that leads to Torosay castle. It was time for a change. Once at Tobermory, we bought some food but decided the town beach wouldn't do for a picnic, so found someone who could tell us how to get to the lighthouse way beyond the town. I'd been on that walk some ten years previously, but then it had been a brilliant summer's day. Today it was snowing on the mainland, and we were warned that the path was not suitable for a buggy or small children. It would take about 40 minutes, they said. They were not kidding! We got on much better after we abandoned the buggy in some bushes and took it in turns to carry the littlest. At one point some crates had been thrown down because the path was so muddy, but they'd sunk right in.

Arrived at last on the beach, we lit a rather smoky barbecue and had sausages and chicken in a rather brisk wind. My nephew C, the eldest, comandeered my camera and took all the shots of the day. He is now studying photography in his second year at Dundee uni and has a website that I will link to. He has just bought a Canon 60D, whereas this was taken with a Sony cybershot something or other (now deceased).

The lighthouse was the most obvious thing to blip, but I like the composition and framing of this shot, and I cannot be a semi-teuchter and not have a Calmac ferry blip! This is the Tobermory to Ardnamurchan (Kilchoan?) service, which I have never taken, as our family are more from the Oban area. I have played around with the histogram in photogene, and then applied the 'comic' effect. I love messing around with effects, but it seemed more honest to alter the image quite radically because it's not my shot, it's Con's!

I have tons of memories of that day: lousy cold weather but a great adventure, made memorable because C bothered to take photos, and they have been in my iPhoto library ever since! This must be what Joe had in mind when he created blipfoto: the image that releases a thousand memories, that can now be stored online and shared with anyone who has computer access. Thanks, Joe!