Edinburgh International Festival

Edinburgh, capital city of Scotland, and often referred to as the ‘Athens of the north’ or ‘Auld Reekie’, stands magnificently overlooking the Firth of Forth and is emboldened by the prominent Arthur’s Seat, a now extinct volcano.

Edinburgh is a hugely popular tourist destination throughout the year with many attractions such as the Hogmanay Street Party and Edinburgh Marathon. One such event of infinite worldwide fame, held every year in August, is the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) which attracts more and more visitors from all over the world to watch countless spectacles throughout the city, including dance, theatre, classical music, comedy and more.

The Royal Mile in the heart of the Old Town (part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site) - which runs from the majestic Edinburgh Castle that thrones atop the magnificent Castle Rock to the beautiful Holyrood Palace (Queen Elizabeth II’s official Scottish residence) at its foot - is a central place for a myriad of street artists to display their talents as part of what is known as the ‘Fringe Festival’ as well as for artists who wish to advertise their upcoming shows in somewhat unique and enlightening ways rather than by the mundane distribution of flyers.

Many photo opportunities can be found here and indeed it is a photographer's paradise! With acrobatic displays aplenty, mixed with colourful costumes and intriguingly unconventional characters, there is much to feed the mind, make you laugh or shock the eye.

Although I work in Edinburgh itself, making fleeting lunchtime visits to watch these street artists, actually made me feel like I was on a holiday, quite losing myself in another strange and wonderful world. I do hope I have managed to capture some of the essence of the Festival in my Monochrome and Humanity's Footprint galleries and hope you enjoy them as much as I did!