The Ross Fountain

The lavish Ross Fountain stands in West Princes Street Gardens directly beneath Edinburgh Castle. The ornate floral ironwork tiers of mermaids, cherubs and more were originally cast in France in 1862, and later purchased and gifted to the city by gun maker Daniel Ross. Seeing the fountain illuminated like this is infrequent for the specific reason that the Princes Street Gardens are closed each evening to the public. The fountain is generally only illuminated during winter Christmas events in the gardens which generally means waiting for a specific event.

During winter festive events is the only time you will be able to take this specific shot, although the fountain is freely accessible throughout the day and its gold, blue and brown paintwork is tasteful and makes wide or close studies interesting. Black and white works well also. Mount on a tripod for long exposure if you want to achieve slow moving water effects while keeping the intricate metalwork crisp.