Archive for the ‘Personal’ Category

My very own iPhone App

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

I am really excited as today my very own iPhone app went live! And it’s free on the iTunes store. You can now keep up with this blog, my twitter feed and YouTube channel right on your iPhone.

Click here to download the app now.

iPhone app of Louise Beattie Photography

Louise Beattie Photography on the iTunes app store

I have a whole series of videos planned to upload to my YouTube channel so this will be an easy way to keep up with videos from my wedding and portrait photography.

Loading screen of Louise Beattie Photography iPhone app

Louise Beattie Photography app loading screen

It works on iPhones and iPod Touches so head on over to the iTunes store and download it now for an easy way to keep in touch with everything that is happening at Louise Beattie Photography.

I would love to hear your thoughts and comments, please leave a comment below or contact me or visit my main website at www.louisebeattie.com

More from Florence

Sunday, September 27th, 2009

Florence is such a beautiful city so I thought I would post a few more images from a recent trip there.

This first image was taken early one morning just around the corner from the Ponte Vecchio and a cafe that sold the most fantastic ice cream. My favourites were the limone and the melon. The ice cream really tasted of the fruit. If only we could get ice cream like that here. Anyway, I was out and about on my own with the camera early one morning and I just loved the light here. I was wondering what I could use as a point of interest in the photo when this gentlemen came along. Perfect.

Florentine street scene

This was another early morning photograph, and shows a gondola on the River Arno, under one of the arches of the Ponte Vecchio. The Ponte Vecchio is an amazing old bridge lined by shops on either side, mostly gold merchants and jewellers. In this image you can see the back of some of the buildings that line the bridge.

Gondola on River Arno, under arch of Ponte Vecchio, Florence

It is hard to find the words to describe some of the buildings in Florence without over using words such as amazing, fantastic , etc. They are full of incredible artwork and sculptures. I found it hard to take in the amount of work and skill it must have taken to create these buildings. Just look at the detail in this image, which is just a small section of one of the facades above a door to the Il Duomo, which is huge. The green, white and pink are marble and the detail is so intricate.

Detail from Il Duomo, Florence

The Santa Croce, burial place of Michelangelo and Galileo, was one of the churches that you could use your camera in. I think I like this photograph because it is not your typical church scene. There was something about the way the man was looking at the cleaner that caught my attention.

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In this image I just love the way the light is catching the people.

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Even Florence isn’t free from the ubiquitous fast food chains.

Florence street scene

Not quite such a typical Florentine scene, but I like the light. This was taken exiting an underpass on the way to the Santa Maria Novella. Unfortunately we were not allowed to use cameras in this church which was a shame as it was so beautiful and the light was exquisite.

Street scene, Florence, Italy

I thought I would finish this post with this image taken taken from Piazzale Michelangelo just after sunset. I hope you enjoyed the images.

Sunset over River Arno & Ponte Vecchio, Florence

Florence

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

I have been a bit quiet on the blog front of late and one of the reasons for that was a holiday in Florence. We love Italy and Florence had been on the must visit list for a while. We weren’t disappointed – it is stunningly beautiful, the people are great and when in Italy the food is always fantastic. We found an excellent hotel, just 100m from Il Duomo, with a rooftop terrace bar where we would relax for a while in the evening before going out to dinner. It had some great views and I loved the way the setting sun created shadows of the old church bell tower across the road.

Florence, Italy

I had heard how beautiful Florence was but I was not prepared for the scale and grandeur. It seemed that where ever you walked there were the most amazing old buildings and churches. The best time to explore with the camera was early in the morning when the streets were quiet.

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Jeff, my husband, thinks I have an obsession about photographing scooters when I am in Italy. He is probably right, but I guess that to me it just seems so Italian, a part of their culture and therefore something I want to capture. I am still trying to work out how they park them so close to each other without creating a domino effect and knocking all the others over.

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Sunset over the River Arno and the Ponte Vecchio.

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Il Duomo illuminated at twilight.

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The Rescue Chickens

Thursday, June 18th, 2009

Maggi and Richard, friends and neighbours of mine, keep some hens which they get from farmers when they have no more use for them. The other week they received 6 more and they looked such a sorry state with their floppy combs and patches of feathers missing. It takes them a little while, with some coaxing, to realise that they don’t have to stay in the hen house and that being outside is not so bad. I could not resist posting a picture of this one, it was just the way her comb flopped over her eye at a jaunty angle.

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At first the cats were taking a keen interest in the new arrivals but they soon lost interest.

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Leysmill Cat

Strolling in Leysmill

Richard and Maggi are both Reiki healers. If you have never tried this I can recommend it, it is incredibly relaxing and I always feel great afterwards. Their website can be found at www.cottagereiki.co.uk