Category: Islay Pictures

Anything Islay pictures related

Nice Islay light (courtesy of Islay Prints)

Islay Businesses

This is a long overdue post, but better late than never. I think I first saw them back in November 2023 at a Christmas fair in Bruichladdich Hall. Bonnie of Islay Prints had some lamp shades with Islay nature related prints on her stand. We had a chat about them and I learned that they come in different sizes and various prints and colours are available. I thought they would look great on two lamps I had, especially as I wasn’t too fond of the original shades.

Picture of a Wet Meadow lampshade in ochre from Islay Prints
Wet Meadow lampshade in ochre from Islay Prints

We agreed that I would measure the sizes I needed when I got home and then order the ones I wanted. For various reasons I didn’t manage to do that for a few months, but just before my visit in April 2024 I finally got my act together and finally placed my order. I decided to go for the Wet Meadow motif in ochre for both, as I wanted some mild warm light from the lamps.

Bonnie was extremely helpful and managed to make the shades while I was on Islay, so that I could pick them up from her workshop and save on the postage. They were safely packed in a cardboard box and travelled home on my passenger seat. Once I arrived home I quickly exchanged the old shades for them, very simple and easy to do.

I’m very pleased with them, they are exactly like I was expecting them. Only thing to point out for this particular version I think they need a bulb with a warm tone. I had a more white bulb in one lamp first and a warmer more yellow in the other. It made a significant difference and I soon changed the white bulb to a warmer yellow as well. One is standing next to me as I’m writing this, providing some background light at my desk. The other one is on my dining table.

If you’re interested, check out the Handmade Lampshades section on Bonnie’s website. While you’re there also check out the Handprinted Greeting Cards (I’ve got a few of those as well), Linoprints and Homewares (I’m considering some of them as one of my next purchases)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) imagines Laphroaig distillery on Islay at Hogmanay

Islay Fun

Following on from yesterday’s AI Happy Islay New Year I played a bit more with Microsoft’s Copilot / DALL·E 3 from OpenAI. The prompt was fairly vague and not much really reminded me of Islay. So I thought, let’s try to be a bit more specific and ask it to “Create a picture of Laphroaig distillery on Islay with fireworks above during a clear night with the Milky Way above”. Assuming the AI has been trained on some pictures of the real thing it should be able to create something that at least remotely resembles the real thing. Well…..

Looks more like a factory with the six chimneys instead of the real single one. No pagodas either. At least some whitewashed buildings. Not sure if that’s the Sun or the Moon or fireworks on the horizon?
Odd looking building and there’s no lighthouse at Laphroaig. The Milky Way looks a bit odd I think. At least the loch looks very vaguely like Loch Laphroaig
Chimney looks about right, but the lighthouse next to it? At least some whitewashed buildings, although it somehow reminds me more of Lagavulin than Laphroaig, The Milky Way looks seriously weird.
Probably the best of the lot. One chimney only and the tower in the centre with some good will has a pagoda. Location on the shore kind of resembles Loch Laphroaig. Milky Way looks a bit funny but better than some of the other attempts.

I don’t know what the AI has been trained on, but I assume it doesn’t know an awful lot how Laphroaig really looks. Some of the representations of the Milky Way look a bit odd as well. Some of the distillery buildings it created look more like a factory with up to six chimneys (but lacking any pagodas). At least all the results place it at the shore, although the lighthouses some versions get are rather odd.

Somehow I had expected a bit more, but then again I heard you have to be very specific with the wording you use. I might read up on it and try again some other time.

An AI Happy New Islay Year 2024

Islay Fun

Happy New Year 2024! Time for resolutions (including blogging here more again) and those kind of things. For various reasons I’m deviating from my usual New Year’s Day schedule today. Went for my morning walk (which I extended to a total of just over 7.5 miles) fairly late and so listened to the New Year’s Concert from Vienna using headphones while I was walking. So now over a late brunch I’m playing with some AI image generator (one of the resolutions, learn more about AI…) trying to generate some Islay themed New Year’s pictures. The text is written by me still, not an AI. Click on the pictures to view them in a full size gallery:

Plenty of Eagles (although not the right ones and a bay that reminds me a little of Port Ellen.
Some generic whisky bottles, can we let them pass as Islay whisky? The geese look more like Canada, not the Barnacle I asked for. And some more non-Golden Eagles.
Lots of fireworks, some Eagles (the one on the ground could even be a Golden Eagle), something that could just pass as a whisky distillery and even a generic bottle of Islay whisky
The distillery looks a bit weird, but acceptable, just. The Barnacle Geese look like Canada Geese again. But the weird Swan and Geese (?) hybrid on the left is baffling me.
The whiskies look a bit weird and I’m not sure of the glass second from the left. The Barnacle Geese look a bit weird and I’m not sure about the Eagle either. Cottages could actually be on Islay somewhere, even the pier.
More Canada Geese pretending to be Barnacle Geese and I have no idea what the bird in flight is supposed to be (certainly not the Golden Eagle I asked for). The village looks a little bit Islay-ish, although the lighthouse is in the wrong place
Nice looking village with the lighthouse in a plausible place for Islay. The bird in the air seems to be some weird cross between an Eagle and some gull? Not sure what the birds on the beach are. Or what the bird on the right is supposed to be. Some weird whiskies and a strange carafe (?)
Some more Canada Geese pretending to be Barnacle Geese. Some shady generic Islay whisky. The village could fit in on Islay.
Not sure why the fireworks are with bright sunshine. Lighthouse looks slightly wrong, doesn’t make me think of a Stevenson lighthouse. Not sure what the flags are supposed to be? Plenty of wrong Eagles and wrong Geese (Canada instead of Barnacle)
The village again reminds me a bit of Port Ellen, the building at the end on the left could just pass as a distillery (or a church?). Not sure what the birds around the Islay whisky bottle are supposed to be, not the Golden Eagles and Barnacle Geese I asked for. Nice fireworks in a good place though.

Some interesting results in the AI generated pictures (using Microsoft’s Copilot / DALL·E 3 from OpenAI). I asked for an Islay New Year’s day with Islay whisky, beaches, white cottages, lighthouse, Golden Eagles, whisky distillery, lighthouse and Barnacle Geese (in a few combinations). None of it really looks like Islay. The Golden Eagles look mostly like Bald Eagles. The Barnacle Geese look mostly like Canada Geese. The distillery looks weird. The whisky is generic, but that’s OK. In other words, not that much improvement to my earlier attempt.

On that note I hope you had and are having a good New Year and will be having a great 2024. Time for a New Year’s Day dram soon, I think.

How Artificial Intelligence (AI) imagines whisky distilleries on Islay

Islay Fun

Recently I’ve read a few articles and watched a few videos about images and pictures created by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Some were really impressive and there are concerns about the AI software replacing human illustrators and designers. So I thought I’ll give it a try and put some of online AI image generators to the test and find out how much they know about Islay. The AI image generators ask you to enter a text description of the image you’re after and then go away and generate the image(s):

9 images of distilleries on Islay imagined by an AI
9 Islay distilleries according to craiyon

The description I usually used was “whisky distilleries on the island of Islay in Scotland”. I thought that should give the AI enough pointers to work with, the terms whisky, distilleries, island, Scotland and of course Islay.

As you might expect several of the generators came up with a variety of white washed buildings, often in a coastal setting. What surprised me a bit were the strangely shaped chimneys (?) some included. Was the AI merging the shape of a still with a chimney?

4 images of Islay distilleries as imagined by an AI
4 Islay distilleries according to deepai

However, not all generators went for the white washed buildings, some had different ideas. I found this one quite interesting, I wonder if the design was somehow “inspired” by the big windows at Caol Ila?

AI generated picture of strange distilleries in a coastal landscape
Interesting Islay distillery according to nightcafe

Yet the same AI image generator also came up with a more traditional white washed building. With a strange chimney or lighthouse (not sure what that’s supposed to be?) on the roof for good measure:

AI generated picture of a distillery with some weird lighthouse or chimney on its roof
Islay distillery with lighthouse/chimney (?) according to nightcafe

Another one came up with what reminded me of a farm distillery, although it also has some strange chimney/lighthouse/church like tower. At least the surrounding landscape is looking vaguely Islayish:

A farm distillery with a lighthouse shaped tower generated by AI
An Islay distillery according to photosonic

And then it started to turn a bit weird. I get the vaguely coastal landscape. I get the vaguely distillery like buildings. But what is that thing on the top of the sunset painted buildings with some weird word on the side?

Some weird concoction of pictures supposed to be an Islay distillery
Islay distilleries according to starryai

To close another picture from the same AI. In a way I somehow like it, although I only understand it partially. I kind of like the mixture of weathered buildings combined with what I think is a dram of whisky. But what on earth is that building on the left?

Some weird concoction of pictures supposed to be an Islay distillery
More Islay distilleries according to starryai

I hope you found these pictures interesting, fascinating, confusing, disturbing, inspiring, funny or some other term I forgot. Please let me know in the comments what you thought of the pictures, did you like them, which were your favourites, do you think AI images will be a success or any thoughts you have.

3,333 posts on my Islay Pictures photoblog…

Islay Pictures

Back in December 2008 when I first launched the Islay Pictures photoblog the number of 3,333 wasn’t really on my mind. The journey was the goal, not hitting any numbers. I don’t really watch the number of posts on it, but on Friday evening when preparing the post for Saturday morning I noticed by chance that said post was going to be the 3,333rd post. After posting it on Saturday morning I took a screenshot for posterity:

Screenshot of the admin interface showing 3,333 posts on the Islay Pictures photoblog
3,333 posts on the photoblog

So how did I get to 3,333 posts?

As I said it all started in December 2008 when I first launched the photoblog, back then using the “Pixelpost” CMS. My original goal was to post a picture every day and see where it would take me. It worked really well, people seemed to like it and I enjoyed the daily posting. Unfortunately in November 2012 “disaster struck”: Because of some server changes the Pixelpost CMS (which wasn’t maintained any more by that time) stopped working. With a heavy heart I had to delete over 1,300 posts and start from scratch.

For the second incarnation I decided to go with the popular WordPress CMS, my reasoning being that I could be quite confident it would be supported for quite some time. The layout I’ve kept largely unchanged since going live in December 2012, main change I think was adding the header banner, a picture my sister Imke took of me taking pictures in Saligo Bay.

Screenshot of a post on the Islay Pictures Photoblog in Oct 2020
Islay Pictures Photoblog screenshot Oct 2020

I continued posting daily, initially even twice daily to “repost” the pictures from the original blog. There were a few breaks, mainly when I was travelling (to Islay) but also when I was too ill to post through an injury and when I had my heart operation. But overall I’ve kept it up. While most of the pictures are taken by me there are also guest pictures. The majority of them by my sister Imke from her Islay visits, also a few from my late mother and some from Keith Wood.

Not having been to Islay this year due to the Coronavirus pandemic I’m currently heavily relying on my archives from over 20 years of Islay visits. I’m hoping to be able to visit again at some point in 2021 to restock my supplies. As long as I can find something I think is worthwhile posting I’ll continue posting.

Gaelic map of Islay, Jura and Colonsay

Islay NewsFrom my recent Islay visit I returned with a quite large souvenir which is now hanging on one of my walls. A few weeks ago Pat Farrington announced on Facebook that she had some maps of Islay, Jura and Colonsay in Gaelic for sale. I contacted her that I was interested and if I could pick one up during my Islay visit in November (they were sold pick up / delivery on Islay only).

Picture of a map of Islay, Jura and Colonsay in Gaelic
A closer look at the map, framed by Islay Studios

We agreed to meet in Bowmore, where £10 and in return the map changed hands. From Bowmore I drove over to Islay House Square, where I dropped it off at Islay Studios to be framed. Mark had mentioned that they had framed another copy, I decided to do the same to keep it in prime condition and make it easier to hang up. I picked a light coloured wood as most of my furniture is pine and I wanted them to go together.

Here’s how it looks with the map hanging above my ‘Islay Shelf’ (where I keep my Islay single malts, my Islay books and various souvenirs):

Picture of a shelf with whisky and books with a map in Gaelic hanging above it
The map looking nice above my Islay shelf

I’m very happy how it turned out, I think it fits very well above the shelf. The map looks very nice in the frame, it covers many places including villages, hills, mountains, lochs and more. Of course all in Gaelic, as that’s the whole point of the map. The speech bubble is a lamp (hence the cable), but it didn’t look very nice switched on for a picture, so I turned it off (it looks very nice otherwise and is lit while I’m typing this).

Beachcombing/walking on Islay with a twist

Islay NewsWe all would like our beaches pristine and clean. Sadly modern reality gets into the way more and more often. Plastic and other rubbish everywhere, destroying the beauty of the nature we so enjoy. So why don’t we all contribute a bit to help keeping the beaches clean? Apart from avoiding littering as much as possible we can all do our bit to help to keep the beaches clean. It’s not my idea, I read about it somewhere else:

From every beach walk aim to bring back at least three pieces of plastic (or other rubbish, e.g. bottles) and dispose of it responsibly.

During my last visit to Islay in June I decided to do my bit. When staying at Kilchoman during the second week of my stay I went for a walk on Kilchoman Beach in Machir Bay every morning. During the last return leg (I typically walked up and down the beach twice) I picked up as much as I could carry, often helped by a bucket or something similar I found to allow me to collect and carry it.

Quite a few of the findings almost certainly travelled all the way across the North Channel, as they clearly came from Ireland. There was a plastic milk bottle from Donegal Creameries and a Tayto crisp bag. And a few items with Euro pricing. But also various other plastic and other items, like a pen and tennis ball. Not to forget a few bottles (both glass and plastic).

I know a number of others are picking up plastic on their beach walks. Also while I was doing it I got chatting with a couple on their beach walk and they joined as well and picked up plastic.

Will you help to keep Islay’s beaches clean?

Laphroaig Islay distillery storyboards

Islay FunIs it art? Or is it just some computer generated images? Back in December I came across Google’s Storyboard app for Android (don’t know if there’s an iPhone equivalent), it turns videos into short comics. There are no settings, all you can do is to refresh to generate a new image. You can do this until you get one you like, which you can then save. Of course I had to test it with some of my Islay videos. Here are some of Laphroaig distillery I liked:

Laphroaig Islay distillery storyboard 1
Laphroaig Islay distillery storyboard in black and white

It can also do colour:

Laphroaig Islay distillery storyboard 2
Laphroaig Islay distillery storyboard in colour

What do you think? Worth experimenting a bit more or a waste of time?

smallcutemouse visits Islay

Islay FunThis morning I posted a picture of Sushi, chief mouse hunter at Caol Ila, on the photoblog. By coincidence or inspired by it (I’m not sure) John Hurst on Twitter alerted me to a special little visitor to Islay. I hope the smallcutemouse doesn’t get into any trouble with Sushi on a very enjoyable visit to Islay:

For more visit the smallcutemouse account on Instagram.

Tom’s Islay night shots

Islay PicturesSomething for those who don’t use Twitter, as I already retweeted them there. Or if you missed the retweets. Tom Lowe is into birdwatching and aurora hunting among other things. Recently he visited Islay, I believe mainly for birdwatching (Geese and Whooper Swans to name a few), but also ventured out at least one night. I hope you enjoy the results:

On the same morning he also captured this:

Update: a later addition to the portfolio below