Once a week, I meet up with a group of friends who share my passion for photography. We alternate between heading out with our cameras to explore and capture new shots, and staying in to share and discuss the photos we took the previous week. It’s a perfect blend of creativity, learning, and good conversation.

If you know anything about British weather you’ll know it rains a lot. And yet – I’m not sure how – we rarely seem to be rained off. I can only recall a single occasion in the past two years when we’ve abandoned our cameras and sought the shelter of a nearby coffee shop. For a while this morning, it felt like we might have a second outing rained off. For the first half-hour or so, a group of us huddled under the shelter of a tree. But then the rain stopped, the sun came out, and we enjoyed the water droplets glistening on the foliage, and the treacherous but beautiful rain-soaked cobbled roads.

Inevitably I found myself drawn to the nearest water, the canal basin at Fountainbridge, where I was rewarded with some of Scotland’s most beautiful light. Bright sunshine and storm clouds.

The theme we had agreed for today was balconies and stairs. Well, those are some pretty spectacular balconies.

This was the last of the threatening skies. The rest of the day was bright and sunny. We all meandered to Loudon’s and enjoyed each other’s company over a coffee – or maybe a tea – and a gently-warmed scone.