Special places: Scotland
Nothing to see here
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This website takes the form of a blog, with short posts about obscure places. It’s the work of Anne Ward and a group of collaborators. The about page cautions that attractions that may not be all that attractive, among other delights, can be found here.
»more»Disappearing Scotland
This is a pool of photographs contributed by members of flickr, the very sociable and democratic website for the sharing of images.
A group dedicated to documenting the breadth and beauty of scotland before it disappears forever.»more»
Subject matter includes abandoned or threatened architecture, the story behind the facade, rural, coastal and urban, long forgotton lives, fading grandure, industrial dreams, atmospheric interiors, portraits, and awe-inspiring landscapes. Film or digital, you decide the rest.
The old closes and streets of Glasgow
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In 1868 the trustees of the City of Glasgow Improvement Trust commissioned the photographer Thomas Annan (1829-1887) to record the slums of Glasgow. Annan’s photographs are featured in this exhibition on the Luminous-Lint website.
These photographs are amongst the earliest taken specifically as a record of housing conditions prior to urban renewal and as such they are an important milestone in the history of documentary photography. [from the website Introduction by D Spencer]»more»
On the road in north west Scotland
As author Frederik Ramm says, Oh dear! This is what happens when a mad tourist straps a camera and a GPS to his Land Rover and shoots 2,968 photos. Perhaps he is mad, but there is a fascination in viewing these journeys on the web. You can set off on a trip, and the website will automatically display the pictures in sequence, with your position on the map continuously updated. It is a mechanically recorded experience, with no aesthetic judgements about when to take a picture or where to aim the camera. I have not done much driving in Scotland, but I have done enough to say that this website evokes the experience very strongly.
If you are interested in the technicalities, the website includes lots of detail about the digital photography, GPS position logging, XML data structures, co-ordinate systems, data preparation, file compilation, and web publishing.
»more»Maps of Scotland 1560-1928
The National Library of Scotland’s map collection is one of the ten largest in the world.
»more»Castle Tioram
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A statement of cultural significance for a site in the Scottish Highlands. It’s linked to a set of other conservation planning documents. A fascinating place, and an example of logical investigation and argument about how to conserve it. The authors acknowledge the influence of Australian conservation thinking, particularly the Illustrated Burra Charter. Bless them.