Some More Images Of Leith and Our Weekend -10% Offer.
Following on from our Leith post last week, here’s another selection of Leith images for you, plus details (at the bottom) of our special weekend offer on prints. A longer post, again, but hopefully you enjoy the mini tour of an intriguing part of the city.
We start in the dark. These shots were taken about a week ago, when the cold weather was kicking in. A couple from The Shore first.
Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
And next up is the entrance to The Port of Leith, with some nice columns of light reflected in the harbour.
Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
The 22 bus, about to leave Ocean Terminal to head to The Gyle Centre, on the other side of town, followed by a late night bus stop.
Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Late Night Bus Stop, Leith. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
One of the bridges over The Water Of Leith, as it heads towards the port area.
Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
Next, from yesterday, the icy, cold blueness of the partly frozen port area.
Port Of Leith. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Platinum Point. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Chancelot Mill. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.On Constitution Street. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Swimming Duck. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.The Stare. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Tip Top Tresses. Leith Walk. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
And finally, this is the last weekend of our ‘Urban Noir’ Exhibition, so we will be present from 11-17:00 today and tomorrow and are offering 10% off print sales and orders (excluding etchings) on these days at The Image Collective, an excellent and eclectic gallery space on the top floor, opposite the Britannia; we have framed, mounted and rolled prints. We also have two hand printed etchings available framed or mounted. If there are any other images you are interesting in buying prints of that are not in the exhibition let us know.
Urban Noir Photo Exhibition @ The Image Collective, Leith. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.henni.photo Reviews for ‘The Elements’ @ Retina. Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.Urban Noir, henni.photo @The Image Collective, Exhibition November 2016 Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.Urban Noir, henni.photo @The Image Collective, Exhibition November 2016 Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
Our exhibition in Leith has made us think about the area and its relationship to Edinburgh; they may be joined now but once Leith was separated from the city and was the major port serving Edinburgh and beyond, whether it was shipping goods in and out or people. It was briefly the centre of power while Marie of Guise, mother of Mary, Queen of Scots, ruled the country from Leith before being forced to retreat to Edinburgh Castle by Scottish Protestant nobles supported by English troops who docked in Leith. When Mary returned from France to the land of her birth, she arrived at Leith port and was distinctly underwhelmed at the lack of a reception.
Leith has a strong industrial and trade heritage with glass, soap, whisky, lead, whaling and, of course, ship building all featuring. It was also well known for its bonded warehouses for whisky, wine and port – many of these have now been converted into flats or offices.
Finally, it has a personal link as Paul’s parents married in the old Norwegian Seaman’s church which is now the Leith School of Art.
The first photos are from Leith Street, at the very top of Leith Walk. Although not actually in Leith itself, this was and remains the main route to Leith from central Edinburgh. A huge development is underway to remove the hideous brutalist St James’ Centre and New St Andrew’s House so currently, it is very congested.
This image was shot from the ‘twisty walkway’ that goes over the street and into the soon to vanish St James Shopping centre, taken before sunrise (yes, Paul was so excited by the snow that he got up before dawn…at the weekend…!) back in January this year with falling snow.
Leith Street Snow. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
This is the ‘twisty walkway’ which is being removed as part of the redevelopment. Hopefully, it can be used elsewhere.
Curvy Walkway. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
This disappeared in the last year or so with the opening of the new restaurant, Origano below.
Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
Continuing down to the bottom, there is the Foot Of the Walk pub which serves breakfast. Several Leith pubs are open very early in the morning traditionally for dock workers coming off a night shift and sometimes city centre clubbers end up down in Leith to keep the party going!
Breakfast Served Until 12 Noon. Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.
Leith is not so short of pubs, they need pointing out.
Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
Beyond the end of Leith Walk, you move into Constitution Street which is near the so called banana flats which featured in the film, Trainspotting , and some fine old buildings harking back to when well-to-do ship owners and traders set up home and work nearby.
Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Crested Gates, Leith. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Beldam Lascar, Leith. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Wise Ladies Collect Blue Coupons, Leith. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Police Box Art, Leith. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Fire Master, First Door (Ghost Sign), Leith. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
Further on in the port area, the Water of Leith meets the sea providing great opportunities for reflective shots.
Topsy Turvy. Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.
There is a wonderful old swing bridge which used to take traffic before redevelopment and building of Victoria Quay, the Scottish Government office. Now, it makes a great spot for looking back across the shore.
Leith Girders. Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.
Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.
Leith is also an active port, with ships docking and loading or unloading on a daily basis. Here is the AKOFS Aker Wayfarer, an offshore construction vessel.
The Big Boat, Leith (AKOFS – Aker Wayfarer). Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.
It also has a fine old customs house which featured in the recent BBC series, Secret Agent; also home to many pigeons!
Pigeon Tower, Leith. Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.
‘Urban Noir’ Exhibition is on display at The Image Collective, an excellent and eclectic gallery space on the top floor, opposite the Britannia, where our images are all available to buy; we have framed, mounted and rolled prints. We also have two hand printed etchings available framed or mounted. If there are any other images you are interesting in buying prints of that are not in the exhibition let us know.
Urban Noir Photo Exhibition @ The Image Collective, Leith. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.henni.photo Reviews for ‘The Elements’ @ Retina. Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.Urban Noir, henni.photo @The Image Collective, Exhibition November 2016 Photo by and copyright of Lynn Henni.Urban Noir, henni.photo @The Image Collective, Exhibition November 2016 Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
Update – The Series is now due to start on Sunday the 17th July at 21:00 on BBC One. More details.
I stumbled across the aftermath of filming for the upcoming BBC One TV Series The Secret Agent, based on the novel by Joseph Conrad. Edinburgh’s Thistle Street Lane was standing in for London’s Soho in the 19th Century, with a small set built to show a little bit of the seedier part of the city, including Verloc’s dodgy shop.
The set was designed by David Roger (all designs copyright David Roger) and ingeniously used shallow depth fronts to give the impression of having entire buildings behind them, very cleverly and skilfully done. I was taken in even when standing up close in the half dis-assembled set.
Looks like a series to watch, given the quality of the cast, writer and the production team, with stars including Toby Jones, Vicky McClure, Stephen Graham and, an actor I particularly admire, Ian Hart.
Here are a selection of post-shooting photos of the set, in the process of being dismantled and the lane tidied up. A pity I couldn’t have done some stills of the actual filming, but that wouldn’t have been possible, as you can imagine, unless I was part of the crew. Images shot quickly on a Fujifilm XE-2 with 35mm lens.
Faulkner & James Co. (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Advertisements (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Shop Window (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Pawnbroker (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Shop Window (Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Sol’s Balls (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Advertisements (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Sol’s Arms (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Splended Burton Ale (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.After The Shoot (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.After The Shoot (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.After The Shoot (The Secret Agent Set). Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
A great night of fine curry, craft beers, chat and then a wee cabaret set, hosted by Hardeep Singh Kohli, on Friday night at V Deep. In true Scottish understatement style – they weren’t too bad. I’m not a comedian, as most of you are aware, so I’ll avoid the a Sikh, a Hindu, a Muslim and a McGonagall walk into a bar joke, partly because that’s just factual. The boy Kholi was joined by Imran Yusuf, Papa CJ and yer man Elvis and a good laugh was had by all.
I bumped into Elvis McGonagall in the Gents, as you do, had a chat and then, being a photographer, grabbed some shots of him as we were leaving. Unfortunately, the other guys had already fled the scene, so next next time perhaps.
So, to the photos. Couldn’t just pick one, so here’s a selection for you. That there’s an expressive face…
Mr Elvis McGonagall. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Mr Elvis McGonagall. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Mr Elvis McGonagall. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Mr Elvis McGonagall. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.Mr Elvis McGonagall. Photo by and copyright of Paul Henni.
At this time of year in Edinburgh there’s always a premium on space. Here’s the BBC’s James Naughtie in his open air office – part of the latest austerity drive that sees him also broadcast apparently simultaneously on Radio 4 and Radio Scotland, just to confuse the listeners of a morning.
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