View to Britannia

Royal Yacht Britannia rests at her permanent berth at Ocean Terminal, yet there are very few accessible vantage points to get a clear shot of the entire vessel. Decommissioned in 1997 after more than four decades of service, she is now one of Edinburgh’s most visited attractions. The viewpoint for this shot is some distance away at the very end of Western Harbour next to the disused Western Harbour Lighthouse. There are closer areas of land but they are unavailable to the public.

A near 200mm telephoto shot will fill the frame with the royal yacht, but the foreground will be taken up with a closer pier which is unavailable to the public. The numbered concrete pier, while unavoidable, does add a nautical base here and a bit of texture and foreground interest. This shot is taken at sunset with the setting sun at 180 degrees to the ship casting an even colourful glow to the image. From this same vantage point you’ll find views to the Forth Bridges and Leith Docks also offer interesting compositions.