Launch of E-commerce shop

Happy Sunday folks!

I am pleased to announce the launch of an E-commerce shop on my website!!

The shop offers a range of beautiful landscape photography prints (unframed/framed) of the Scottish Highlands!! There are 378 images of my portfolio listed and prices start from as little as £15.

Registering for an account is free and easy. The dashboard allows you manage your account, display orders, edit shipping address and re-order again. Payments accepted are Credit Cards, PayPal, Bank Transfer and all orders can be shipped worldwide.

It’s only 8 months since starting the WordPress website. So, been kind of busy improving the web design for desktop and mobile devices, writing descriptions, optimizing the website for search engines, importing products with variations etc.

Feel free to have a look around fraser-king.com and please email contact@fraser-king.com, if you have any questions or queries.

The post Launch of E-commerce shop first appeared on Fraser King Photography.

Posted on 18/05/22 in blogs

Mark and I cycle along the Forth and Clyde Canal from Glasgow to Bowling. The canal’s destination is at Bowling as well as being a shipping port. The view from Bowling is great with the River Clyde and the Erskine Bridge.

On the way along the flat canal we would look up towards the Kilpatrick Hills trying to find a more splendid viewpoint since the hills are 1000ft high. The issue we had at the time was crossing the A82 road which is a very busy A-road with cars travelling up to 70mph. Even after driving along the A82 by car a number of times I was still unable to find a safe place to cross. A few years went by trying to solve the problem but to no avail.

With the introduction of Google maps and GPS on mobile phones. I discovered a single track road travelling to the top of the cliffs. After a couple of times cycling past Bowling I confirmed that there was indeed a muddy path or road on the hills after I noticed 2 very faint small dots what resembled human beings. This did turn out to be true after the dots were moving uphill. There was still the issue of crossing the A82 road with our bikes and where to chain the bikes.

One day I decided to try reach the top on my own. I found the cut-off point on the canal was at the village Old Kilpatrick. After following Google maps on my mobile phone I discovered a popular path for dog walkers and runners. There was no need to cross the road as a hidden tunnel was underneath the A82 hence why I was unable to find this when driving along the road.

So I cycled half way up the hill and then I came across a closed plain fence. The bike was chained to the fence and I continued up to the top. There was no obvious route to the eye-catching top! I ended up climbing a small grey quarry which I regretted doing so as it was not straight forward. I reached the top and the views over Glasgow were stunning! It was better than what I expected! I couldn’t wait to show Mark! It turned out there was a viewpoint at 1000ft high.

Mark and I would cycle in a summer’s evening with a blue sky and sunny warm night. The sky would be as clear as crystal with spectacular shades of pink and purple clouds. When reaching the viewpoint at Kilpatrick Hills. We would drink a couple cans of beer and eat a large packet of crisps at the same time as viewing the lovely views. I would point out to Mark other cycle routes I’ve been on i.e. Glasgow to Gourock along the National Cycle Route 7. I encouraged him to cycle the route along with me although he’s not as fit as a fiddle.

We would watch the sun set over the mountains of Isle of Arran, not quite as good as setting over the sea but still an enjoyable view. To the North are the mountains at Loch Lomond in the Scottish Highlands. The views of the River Clyde are tremendous with the river bifurcating into the Firth of Clyde. The shipbuilding towns of Port Glasgow and Greenock are at the other side of the river. Looking to the East is the iconic Erskine Bridge which is one of the biggest bridges in Scotland. It’s pleasant to watch tiny trains travel past Bowling train station as if it was a miniature railway.

After the sun sets, the temperature starts becoming as cold as ice and the sunlight gradually changes into darkness. So we zoom down the hill before it becomes dark and take the train from Old Kilpatrick to back home. It’s a delightful few hours out in the fresh air and country side. Indulging in food and drink might offset the calories lost. However, I’ll burn much more calories in my next long distance cycle.

The post Viewpoint at Kilpatrick Hills first appeared on Fraser King Photography.

Posted on 18/02/22 in blogs

Escaping from the city to the seaside when I was a child is one of my most fond memories. My mum, dad and brother Darren would visit the seaside towns Largs, Helensburgh, Ayr and Irvine on the Ayrshire coast. My dad worked as a sales man when we were really young and had a van to transport the products he sold. Darren and I would sit in the back of the van quietly when driving to the seaside! However, this was only 1 hour drive by car. It was great to escape from everyday life such going to school and doing homework. There’s nothing like getting your lungs full of fresh seaside air, unlike living in a noisy and polluted city.

The weather would be as warm as toast with a light breeze and a clear blue sky. Temperatures could reach about 27 degrees in the summer in Glasgow. This would lead me sometimes receiving sunstroke and sunburn. This could explain why I sleepwalked at the end of a sunny day as sunstroke can cause sleepwalking. It would happen at special times, for example, the night before moving house or the day we bought a new TV.

We always went swimming at the swimming baths although it’s ironic how there’s baths next to a large sea. Probably because the sea is so cold though this did not stop us swimming in the sea! Dad never swam at the swimming baths so we never seen him swim at all. He’d say if I fell into a river he’d jump in to save me and we’d see him swimming then. It’s funny how when we grew up, my dad was the one who went swimming the most!

I used to enjoy eating packed lunches my mum used to make. Even today I still enjoy packed lunches on day trips. The taste of the sandwiches were delicious and a carton of milk complemented them. At dinner time we’d indulge in fish and chips either buying from a takeaway or sitting in at a cafe. I’d be so hungry, I could have eaten a horse! I’d always love the smell of fish and chips and they’d taste fabulous! It’s still one of my favourite meals even to this day! It’s not a day at the seaside if you do not buy an ice cream cone. My favourite cone is the 99 flake with sweet raspberry syrup on top.

Mum always took her 35mm compact camera to take photos of our happy times! Our favourite activity would be on the beach sunbathing in the warm sun and with beautiful views of a calm blue sea. My mum would watch me carefully when I swam in the sea as I was still young and was oblivious to the dangers of the seaside. One of my earliest memories was having a bucket and spade on the beach to build sand castles and searching the beach looking for living creatures such as insects and crabs with my brother. It’s funny how I seen crabs when I was a child but never again at the beach while being an adult.

At the end of the day the temperature would drop and it was time to go home. My dad would say about driving home before sunset as he did not want to drive home in the dark, thus avoiding possible dangers on the road, which I wouldn’t have known much about. The day trips with my family were happy experiences I had during my childhood. Now only memories are left for me to hold. When I have my own family I will take my children to the same places!

The post The Escape – childhood memories first appeared on Fraser King Photography.

Posted on 17/05/22 in blogs

I’m feeling nostalgic so I’d like to share with you a computer demo video I created. It’s been 20 years (as of 2022) since I programmed Resarf The Multi-Scrolling Text Demo. If you would like to play the demo, you’ll need a computer with Windows XP or a prior version as it’s incompatible with Windows 7/8/10. Although, I’ve recorded 3 videos demonstrating what the demo can do and reversed the videos as the demo is bi-directional (can be watched forward or backwards). To watch the recorded videos, please check my YouTube channel or homepage www.classic-games.co.uk. It’s worth noting, the videos are best viewed on a computer monitor, laptop or HDTV.

The demo is customizable allowing the user to change the text, colours, speed, background and foreground effects and reverse direction of text. Just type some text in and watch the sentence scroll around the screen just like an artificial life form moving about. The Format menu allows you to save presets thus allowing to run any sequence through the same effects. The autopause is a really nice feature when watching the demo running fast. The text will pause at random intervals for 2 seconds.

The Resarf Sequence is a computer file with a sequence of X and Y coordinates and the longest sequence can last up to 1 hour and at the end will loop back to the start. In the Resarf demo, you can make your own sequence, watch a random sequence or one of the samples I created. I thought about writing a very basic programming language called RSL (Resarf Sequence Language) and would’ve raised even more possibilities. Although never managed to implement RSL into the program.

The reason for naming Resarf The Multi-Scrolling Text Demo. I discovered the name Resarf when watching the demo played back with my own name. This is Fraser in reverse order. Coincidentally, Resarf is a name originated from Scotland. The very first time I seen the prototype, I noticed a multi-scrolling effect. Initially I thought multi-colours although multi-scrolling sounded cooler. The Text Demo part came from since Turbo Pascal textmode could only display fonts and not graphics such as lines, shapes and images. This is the reason why the stars consist of full stops and a couple of characters what resemble full stops.

For about 7 years I designed retro games such as Football Manager 2000, Batty and Treasure Crypt. FM2000 is a remake of a famous 1982 ZX spectrum game called Football Manager and programmed around the start of the millennium. It’s the only text based Football Manager game I’ve ever seen as there’s no graphics. Treasure Crypt was cloned from a discontinued online game. What was special about this is the game no longer existed any more online, not even a picture or description of the game. Therefore, this was all programmed based on my memory.

The computer programs were written on Turbo Pascal. If anyone remembers BASIC on the 8-bit computers. Pascal and BASIC are high-level programming languages and are designed for teaching programming. I learned Pascal at college and this is what got me right into programming. Six basic commands derived from BASIC are used throughout the programs. These are Write (display text), TextColor (change text colour), GotoXY (move cursor on screen), ClrScr (clear screen), Random (random number), Delay (pauses screen). A mixture of these commands are used in formulas to display information on the screen.

One of the key features of Turbo Pascal is the extremely fast speed it complied the source code. For example, Resarf has 4000 lines of source code and this can be complied instantly. Turbo Pascal was common during the 1980s and 1990s. The only sound the application created is with the internal PC speaker (the beep you hear when starting up a desktop PC). The software only supported 16 colours (including black and white) and the default background is black. A unique feature of Turbo Pascal as well as MS-DOS. was the ability to view in true full screen mode. Unlike full screen applications on Windows where there’s usually a menu, window or mouse pointer.

Please check my YouTube channel or homepage www.classic-games.co.uk

screenshots

edited video with the song Clarity (DJ Zedd)

The post Resarf The Multi-Scrolling Text Demo first appeared on Fraser King Photography.

Ja-Da is a song written in 1918 by jazz pianist Bob Carleton

Something a little different today.

Winter is just around the corner so it’s an opportunity to start some fun indoor hobbies. For a couple years before lockdown, I had private tuitions to learn to play the piano.

Learning to play a musical instrument is very educational and entertaining. I’ve been fascinated by the electronic keyboard ever since my parents gave me one for a childhood birthday present. So, it took a considerable number of years before the opportunity arose to learn play properly. It was great fun studying for the ABRSM exams even though the actual piano lessons were challenging.

As someone who loves mathematics, I really enjoyed learning the musical notation on the sheet music. The ABRSM syllabuses consists of 4 parts. Playing 3 pieces, Sight-reading, Aural tests, Scales and arpeggios. The 3 pieces is the one you have to practice and study the most for the practical exam.

Feel free to watch the Full HD version of both videos on my YouTube channel
www.youtube.com/user/fraserking1

Blues in the Attic is a blues piece written by British jazz composer Nikki Iles

The post ABRSM Piano Exams first appeared on Fraser King Photography.

Posted on 17/02/22 in blogs

Hello and welcome to my new website. It’s been just over 2 years since I took my photography seriously so very pleased to have a photography website up and running. Really was more difficult than I anticipated to get to grips with WordPress but the perseverance has paid off well.

I’ll be frequently adding to my portfolio and trying to turn my photography into a business. Blogging is a great way to share opinions and knowledge on different topics and I’m looking forward to writing content regarding my hillwalking and munro-bagging adventures.
 

The website will be integrated with eCommerce very soon creating other online sales channels. However, if you or someone you know is interested in buying prints, please do so via fraseroutdoors.etsy.com ?

I have my web server (custom-built desktop PC) running 24 hrs a day with fibre-optic broadband. If you have any issues with the speed then it’s more likely to do with the 15 Mbps upload speed ? If the website traffic increases so much that it affects the performance, I’ll increase the bandwidth speed and maybe upgrade the server.

Please feel free to have a look around the website and please leave comments or suggestions in the blog. ?

The post website launch and first blog first appeared on Fraser King Photography.