Edinburgh street photography

It was a short stay in Edinburgh this time. Fifteen years ago, I spent five days in the city, but this time I was there on a daily excursion from Glasgow. Hence, it would have been impossible to write a city guide; that’s why I focused mainly on photos. As you might remember from my polaroids from Scotland, though, things didn’t go as planned. So, while trying to have decent images for composing the Edinburgh street photography post, I also had to cope with two other issues: being sick and carrying a defective polaroid camera with me.

I arrived in Edinburgh on an early train from Glasgow. After having several cloudy days in Glasgow, Edinburgh greeted me with impressive sunshine at Waverley Station. The only problem was that I didn’t feel that well. Glasgow was terribly cold in October, and I had, as always, the wrong clothes with me. Three weeks later, I was still swimming in Anafi, and I couldn’t cope with the upcoming winter. Subsequently, it didn’t come as a surprise that I started coughing and feeling weak mid-way to Edinburgh. However, the sunshine at Waverley Station was an unexpected gift, so I decided to walk as much as possible.

And then it was the polaroid camera issue. I realized that my Polaroid Onestep+ was defective. The camera wouldn’t connect to the app, so I couldn’t use the manual mode. On top of that, the flash wouldn’t work either. It seemed that there was a major exposure problem in the camera. I’ve been looking forward to shooting some polaroids in Scotland, but having all these issues meant that I had to be really creative. I insist on Edinburgh’s sunshine because I could at least override the flash and take some polaroids.

Why I thought of writing an Edinburgh Street Photography post

It wouldn’t have been wiser, I guess, to have a lazy day in the city, hopping from cafe to cafe. But when I saw the sunshine, I thought that I could use the day in order to have some photos for the Edinburgh street photography post. After all, I’m a big fan of Robert Blomfield, the street photographer that captured Edinburgh’s soul. Although in the 1950s street photography was still a relatively fresh subgenre of photography, Robert Blomfield produced an impressive body of work. It’s not that long ago that a previously unseen archive of his photos has revealed mind-blowing snapshots of life in 1960s Edinburgh. Of course, in just one day, you can’t really shoot loads of good pictures, but I thought at least of trying.

So, already from my first walk around Princes Gardens, I had my Ricoh in hand. If the Google Timeline is correct, then I walked approximately twelve kilometers that day in Edinburgh. After leaving the Princes Gardens behind, I walked towards the Castle of Edinburgh, went through the Royal Mile, and I explored the Old Town a bit. Then, after a short coffee break, I wandered around the New Town of Edinburgh all the way to Canonmills. On the way back to Waverley, I felt exhausted, and I probably started having a fever.

Apart from tributing Robert Blomfield and his old Edinburgh photographs, I decided to write the Edinburgh street photography article because I only had eight hours in the city. Doing street photography in Edinburgh didn’t mean just taking candid photos of people. I also wanted to capture photos of the things that people leave accidentally behind. Therefore, a photo report seemed ideal, and given the circumstances, I couldn’t do much more. I must return, though, soon to the capital of Scotland and write more about it. Although it doesn’t seem as diverse as Glasgow, it’s definitely a destination to visit again in the future.

What I used

The most loyal followers of this blog know that I only use my Ricoh GR ii for running this blog. That’s the camera I used this time too. I post-processed the images with the Ricoh GR ii Lightroom Presets that I developed last year.

For the polaroid lovers, there’s also one post containing my polaroids from Scotland.

Edinburgh street photography

Documenting life in a new city is a complicated task. You don’t know how the locals will react, and you have to adapt to the city’s light conditions. Shooting under winter sunshine might sound ideal, but the truth is that Edinburgh’s light seemed harsh. The first photo I took was at St Andrew’s square. A man was enjoying the sunshine in the park.

One of the most exciting areas of Edinburgh for street photography is definitely Queen Street. On a sunny day, there’s always enough light for some shadow play, and the people walking there are interesting. I took the photo of a lady at Queen Street, standing outside a bar. She was probably daydreaming, and I was perhaps hallucinating from the fever because I can’t explain why the Ricoh was set at 1/30. The spot was not sunny (I was on the wrong side of the street), but I have no idea why I used that shutter speed. Anyway, I like the photo, mainly because of the lady’s expression despite being slightly blurry.

Further down the road, I run into a fun subject. Although it’s not a typical street photo, I include it here to get an impression of Edinburgh’s architecture. And of its light, of course.

On my way to the Castle of Edinburgh, I tried to take some polaroids. Walking in the sunshine made me feel much better. However, when I crossed a parking lot, I retook the Ricoh in hand. A man was observing something that remained unclear to me. He would turn his head left and right, and he would always look down afterward. So, here’s the photo.

In the lower entrance of Edinburgh’s Castle, I saw a guy enjoying the sun. He made himself comfortable in an odd spot, but he didn’t care at all. He kept his eyes closed all the time, and he didn’t open them even when I walked close to him.

Later on, while walking down the Royal Mile, I saw two women having a cigarette break. One of them was entirely in the shadow, but the face of her friend/colleague received adequate light.

Now, after walking for a while, I thought of taking a short break. Although some of the reflections were interesting, I didn’t shoot that many photos. In one of the cafes, a guy was reading his book, though.

Walking back towards Waverley, I saw Edinburgh’s skyline and some cranes popping up. I didn’t have so much time in the city, so I can’t really tell you if it’s a city in transition. However, cranes always betray a certain level of development. Street photography is not always about the people’s faces; sometimes, it is about what the people leave behind. The way the cranes were positioned reminded me, oddly, of a zoo full of mechanical giraffes. Weird? Sure, I had a fever that day…

The benches in Edinburgh have come very often with golden plaques. Families do remember their loved ones by leaving a message on them. Here is one typical example.

In contrast with Glasgow, Edinburgh feels bigger than it really is. The shopping streets are usually full of people, and there you can spot mysterious figures. Although the man at Market Street is slightly out of focus, I really liked his style.

A young woman tried to catch the last sunrays of a beautiful day in Edinburgh. It was the golden hour in the city, and soon the sun would disappear. The yellow leaves and her red hair created an interesting color palette.

The photo that you see on the cover of the Edinburgh street photography post is actually my favorite one from the city. I often say that in terms of photography, I’m always happy when I have one good photo from each place I visit. For Edinburgh, it’s definitely this one.

And, finally, here’s the last one from my visit to Scotland’s capital. Shortly before going back to the train station, I saw at Princes Street some small white crosses. This is actually a Field of Remembrance, an initiative by Poppy Scotland tributing, as they say, “all those who have bravely served or continue to serve in our Armed Forces.”

After taking this photo, I went straight to the train station. I had an open ticket, and I thought of spending one hour less in Edinburgh. I didn’t feel that well, and it seemed better to go back to Glasgow and get some sleep. The following morning, I woke up and continued working on The Glaswegians.

More about Scotland: A travelogue from Glasgow, Glasgow City Guide

Bonus: 10+1 tips for night street photography, Street photography in Bucharest

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Last Updated on May 22, 2021 by George Pavlopoulos