tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5266445568552903472024-03-24T07:09:57.012+00:00Tom Langlands Photography BlogI have a passion for photography and writing. Living in Scotland provides wonderful opportunities for photography of all genres although I have a particular love of nature, wildlife and street photography. I provide photojournalism articles to several publications and this blog is an outlet for my interests.Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-8214155336854076142022-09-02T13:33:00.011+01:002022-09-08T23:25:43.613+01:00Living Our Dying Writing CompetitionI am delighted to have won the writing competition organised by Autumn Voices in partnership with Playspace Publications and Rymour Books and inspired by the Living Our Dying book and project - see https://playspacepublications.com/living-our-dying/The competition was for a piece of poetry, short story or short memoir of no more than 500 words on the theme of Living Our Dying. My piece - Fleeto'sTom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-1441619616591906062022-02-07T00:45:00.003+00:002022-02-07T00:51:42.121+00:00Annan Through a PandemicAnnan Through a PandemicCoronavirus has changed all of us in one way or another. Decades and even centuries from now future generations will read about this pandemic and because we live now in a digital world where photographs and video footage are commonplace they will be able to see what it was like for our generation. Of course, different people will have different experiences. Such Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-14458669088674829932021-08-29T21:31:00.001+01:002021-08-30T09:38:05.753+01:00Poetry of EntanglementPoetry of Entanglement is a book and 2022 calendar created with the sole purpose of raising funds for mental health charities in Scotland and Canada. The beautiful, hardcover, forty-six page, landscape-orientated book features stunning images by award-winning Canadian photographer and graphic designer Marianna Armata with accompanying, evocative poetry by award-winning Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-51623229652977972702021-01-16T12:39:00.012+00:002021-01-18T13:23:54.163+00:00A Window to God - a short storyI opened the door and walked pensively toward the single bed. There I laid down my holdall and surveyed the room. The wallpaper was different but the furniture was more or less as I recalled. It seemed dark but then it lacked the toys strewn around the floor that coloured my memory. I crossed the threadbare carpet to the window dodging the ghosts of model planes hanging from the ceiling with Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-41786667443387207082020-10-24T17:27:00.012+01:002021-01-17T08:45:08.366+00:00A Halloween Tale: Covid-19 and The Amazing Recovery of Todd LamprunTodd Lamprun knew that he was one of the lucky ones. Three weeks ago and for four weeks before that he had been lying in a hospital bed wired to a myriad of life-support machines and monitors in the Covid-19 intensive care unit of Feelgood Hospital. For a while it had been touch and go but now he found himself in a room on a side-ward regaining his strength and coming to terms with his close Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-81088783938755821822020-06-28T18:32:00.001+01:002020-07-16T16:55:45.335+01:00The Art of Street Photography
It wasn’t until I got a Saturday job in a camera shop at the age of sixteen that I truly discovered photography. It was rather like being a child in a sweet shop and without doubt it was my first appreciation of the phrase ‘toys for the boys’ (although that should definitely include girls now too). As a member of staff I was allowed to borrow second-hand cameras and of course I Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-74656689654130813482020-05-30T15:09:00.001+01:002020-06-22T11:41:43.016+01:00The Mystery Tour
We all boarded the bus in the early morning sunshine: mums, dads, children and grandparents. The teenagers clambered to get upstairs first - freedom away from the prying eyes of their elders. The excitement was palpable, “Where do you think we will be going?”
“I reckon the seaside,” said one mother, “It’s such a glorious day and the temperature is rising.”
“Oh, I hope not,” exclaimed an Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-27096793200449885262020-05-07T12:17:00.001+01:002020-06-22T11:29:17.382+01:00The Unspoken Word
When I was a student of architecture I came upon a book that would change my academic life and open my eyes to what architecture is truly all about. It was a catalogue of work by five emerging architects who practiced in and around New York. Opening that catalogue took me to New York and into some famous - and quite different - examples of domestic architecture and enabled me to meet some very Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-67746815465627403122020-05-01T21:29:00.002+01:002020-05-02T10:09:15.348+01:00Poetry Written While Social Distancing
These five poems were written during self isolation brought about by the global pandemic of novel coronavirus. They reflect my emotions at different stages over the last few weeks - from anger to contemplation to hope. I would like to think that each offers a degree of hope in different ways in the midst of these long weeks. Self isolation will end but these last few weeks also afford us the Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-15768401862862753372020-04-30T16:27:00.004+01:002020-05-02T18:04:42.140+01:00The Covid-19 Taskforce of the Wildlife Health Organisation
The following short story was the consequence of a walk in the countryside near my home during the coronavirus lockdown. I stopped to take a photograph of a grassy knoll with this year's lambs enjoying a spell of sunshine. As the sheep watched me with interest it got me wondering what the animals would be thinking of our current situation if they were capable of having thoughts about such Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-10189410540028964692018-03-18T16:45:00.000+00:002018-03-18T16:45:27.415+00:00Life is a Pantomime
I love a challenge and I also believe that we all have the capability and opportunities to create our own challenges in life. As a photojournalist and a writer I'm always looking out for new challenges that 'fire the imagination' and that present me with the opportunity to do something a bit different.
At the end of 2016 I was staying with a group of friends in Pitlochry in the Scottish Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-68610968666332815682017-11-07T17:22:00.001+00:002017-11-07T17:33:19.554+00:00Choirs with Purpose and the Lucy Lintott/MND Scotland ChoirAs a freelance photojournalist I often get the opportunity to cover interesting stories. One such story that made a real impact on me and that has left a lasting impression was the day I covered a recording session in Glasgow with a very special group of people - namely Choirs with Purposes and the Lucy Lintott/MND Scotland choir.
Lucy Lintott/MND Scotland Choir
As a regular contributor to Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-21353449633997651512014-08-22T08:29:00.006+01:002021-03-19T11:57:52.104+00:00Clootie Wells
Water is essential for life. We can survive quite long periods of time without food but only a few days without water. Despite the fact that we live on a planet where most of the surface is comprised of water the pure, clean, fresh water that we need to drink is an incredibly valuable commodity. Some nations have it in abundance and others have so very little. The fundamental relationship Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-63476013151128643522014-02-10T16:56:00.001+00:002014-02-11T15:39:36.688+00:00The Bass Rock and The Northern Gannets
The inhospitable but amazing Bass Rock
The Bass Rock, or simply 'The Rock' as it is referred to by locals, is a volcanic plug that rises out of the waters of Scotland's Firth of Forth and dates back some 320 million years. It shares a common ancestry with the not too distant Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh and also Castle Rock on top of which stands Edinburgh's world famous castle.
Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-90207758280758959352013-08-03T15:02:00.001+01:002013-08-05T13:48:29.425+01:00The Plight of the Scottish Wildcat
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the pine trees. A deer drinks at the edge of a rippling stream; its ears flicking
with every sound. An owl on Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-13562148088979053162013-02-07T21:39:00.002+00:002013-02-11T19:19:19.537+00:00Party Politics<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-72587293917677667392013-01-10T20:05:00.000+00:002013-01-10T20:05:54.160+00:00The Secrets and Mysteries of Kilmartin Glen<!--[if gte mso 9]>
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Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-84747439427581375892012-12-24T12:20:00.001+00:002013-01-02T23:55:12.237+00:00Christmas Presence not Christmas Presents
Barnacle Geese from Svalbard over SW Scotland
The family is descending upon us in various waves over the Christmas and New Year festive period and there is a good feeling of joy and togetherness that can often be missed throughout the course of the other months of the year. Sometimes friends and members of our family who live in far flung corners of the globe travel huge distances to spend Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-12882134747161196122012-08-21T21:59:00.001+01:002012-12-24T16:56:21.100+00:00The Puffins of Lunga
Atlantic Puffin on the Island of Lunga
Firstly, I have to apologise for the delay in posting this latest blog. It has been a very busy summer for a variety of reasons but also a very frustrating one. I had several plans for interesting photography shoots over the summer months but the appallingly wet weather here in Scotland made it all but impossible to find time when the rain had stopped, Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-27857951488706496202012-04-25T20:25:00.000+01:002012-04-30T21:40:08.966+01:00Seeing Red!
Ask anyone to conjure up an image of Scottish wildlife and the chances are that the first thing they will think of is that great monarch of the glens - the Red Deer. Undoubtedly the Red Deer has inspired poets and artists across the generations. Standing stately on heather clad hills with antlers probing through the all too familiar Scots mist it has become the embodiment of the spirit of a Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-83222306246835921702012-02-24T18:20:00.000+00:002012-02-26T10:29:56.330+00:00From Svalbard to the Solway Firth
Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis)
Last month I wrote about the Whooper Swans that migrate from the Iceland to the UK every winter with a good number of these beautiful birds coming to take advantage of the rich feeding on the merse and farmland around the Solway Firth. About the same time that the swans visit there is usually a significant number of geese. Perhaps the most famous to beTom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-52189340024852896502012-01-18T17:43:00.000+00:002013-03-03T15:00:10.481+00:00From the Real Iceland
Two Whooper Swans in flight
Having met up with some visitors from Iceland in December I have yet to arrange my visit to their homeland to photograph the penguins and polar bears. If you think I'm going mad check out my last blog for it seems that Iceland offers some pretty amazing wildlife photography opportunities. Maybe I shall put it on my list of possible destinations for next winter. Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-5827232095152793972011-12-19T16:20:00.002+00:002011-12-21T11:33:59.313+00:00The Spirit of Christmas
Winter Festival Fun in George Square, Glasgow
Recently, I ended up in Glasgow for a weekend. Although I have a love of nature, wildlife and the great outdoors I also love big cities and I am very fond of Glasgow. I had read in the papers that there was to be a Sunday Santa Dash for charity involving a couple of thousand Santa look-a-likes running 5km through the streets of the Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-41460547627790818412011-11-15T11:59:00.001+00:002011-12-01T21:57:28.173+00:00Strange Murmurings at Gretna
Tens of thousands of starlings against an evening sky at Gretna, Scotland
For those of you that follow my blog and my various other sites you will know that I live near to the Solway Firth in Scotland. It is a very important place for wildlife all year round but with winter approaching it becomes especially exciting.
Although autumn this year in Scotland ended much warmer than usual the Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-526644556855290347.post-68182718120601977642011-10-20T20:35:00.001+01:002011-11-08T12:02:28.179+00:00On the Doorstep
There is a definite chill in the air as I write this. There may also be some unusual chirping and honking because the winter migration that brings so many different species of birds to our shores is underway. It's hard to think that some of these seasoned travellers actually find Scotland a warm destination in winter! Yet that, and the ensuing food source, are precisely why they come here. Tom Langlandshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11627719010594327622noreply@blogger.com0