The Little Edinburgh Project 12 - The Calton Hill Observatory

in #bescouted6 years ago (edited)

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I went on a little break for a week with this project as some issues cropped up with the connection between the bescouted website and steemit. Things seem to be back up and running now though!

The Little Edinburgh Project

This is Little Edinburgh, it is a series of shots I have taken around the city of Edinburgh in Scotland over the years. It is called Little Edinburgh because the focus of the project is to take photos in a way as to show the city in miniature using the tilt-shift effect. Edinburgh is an international cosmopolitan city but still somehow has a small town feel to it. I cannot walk down the street without recognising someone I know. So with that in mind it felt appropriate to create a vision of Edinburgh that makes it look very small, almost like a toy town.

The Calton Hill Observatory

The old city observatory on calton hill first started in 1776 as a commercial enterprise by Thomas Short. Back then it was only the brick building you can see in the left corner of the complex. Over time Thomas Short's family abandoned the venture as it wasn't as profitable as another venture they were running. in 1812 it was handed over to the Edinburgh Astronomical Institution.

The main purpose of the observatory was a time service. The transits of stars through the meridian were observed and used to keep the observatory clock accurate. Accurate time was important for navigation, and mariners would bring ships' chronometers from the port of Leith up to Calton Hill for adjustment.

In 1896 the royal observatory was moved to a new site (blackford hill) further away from the city centre as it was deemed no longer suitable for scientific study at calton hill (the light pollution from the city lights and all that). The site reverted to being the city observatory then and continued to function until 2009 when theft and vandalism closed its doors.

Since then the city has started an expensive renovation programme and will soon be offering it as a luxury holiday accommodation.


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