Skywatch Friday - skyline conversations


The conversation I had in mind when I took this shot was the one between the streaming plume of cloud and the docile clouds below.  As I framed the shot however I was aware of the tiny scale of the houses, and that got me thinking about Edinburgh's skyline in general.  

We have the cluster of monuments on Calton Hill, the Castle, of course,  and the Royal Mile.  There are a few very modest 1960s tower blocks erected by Edinburgh University, tall blocks among the social housing outside the city centre and in the new waterfront quarters being created, but apart from those the World Heritage status awarded to the Old and New Towns in 1995 by UNESCO means that our skyline conversations are somewhat restrained, and restricted by the hilly nature of the terrain.  It probably accounts for my sense of dislocation on a visit to Antwerp, where tall buildings stood up from a flat cityscape that stretched away to the horizon. 

 Photos I took first thing on the same day from the same spot but facing the other way show how buildings seem to hug the contours of the land.  I was taking this shot to track progress of the ongoing flood defence work, but you can see how the New Town seems all of a piece.  A church tower which would be dwarfed in other cities seems doubly tall as a result.




I can't immediately think what the crane in the shot below is constructing, but I would guess it's not a tower block.
 

Strangely, the low skyline makes me very conscious of how the city has flowed over the land beneath, covering hills and virgin ground with a stone and concrete carapace.

More skies from around the world are at Skywatch Friday.
 

Comments

  1. Those clouds look as if they were having fun, pretending to be falling, like skydivers! ;-)

    Happy Skywatch,
    Merisi

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  2. Awesome pictures of your world:) have a nice week end:)

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  3. wow, this is amazing...xo
    Bshell

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  4. Magnificent photos! Great views!

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  5. What strikes me is the relative uniformity of the architecture. Los Angeles, by contrast, seems to take pride in throwing together an infinite variety of architectural styles with little thought of the context. I think it was Frank Gehry who said that it doesn't matter what you build in LA; in 15 minutes it all blends in. Thus we get something like his Disney Concert Hall, which is all shiny curves, bends, and slopes.

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  6. What beautiful photographs, and how very interesting. The top photo is particularly stunning. I thought at first that the houses were a fence or a row of beach huts (such as you find in Edinburgh! ha ha).

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  7. A nice perspective of the buildings! I'm glad they are fairly protected by the UNESCO designation.

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  8. I love your skyline shots. I live in a valley surrounded by the Cascade and the North Coastal mountains. All my shots are either of our beautiful mountains, or the sun setting in their cleavage. I miss Edinburgh when I see your photos.

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  9. You live in such a beautiful city. The age and history are so amazing to a guy like me who lives in a town that is about 125 years old. The sky line and clouds are wonderful.

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  10. Some beautiful shots of a beautiful country!!!

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  11. How I did enjoy every one of your shots, Linda. I loved seeing the different kinds of sylines there. I too liked the beautiful clouds. Scotland is truly a land of enchantment and I would love to visit one day, but I am much too old now to travel, which is why I am so happy you share so many wonderful pictures with us.

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  12. Beautiful shots Linda!!! Scotland is definitely on my list of places I'd like to visit...one of these days!!!

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