National Monument Silhouette

On Calton Hill above Edinburgh, the unfinished colonnade of the National Monument stands stark against a clear evening sky. Intended as a memorial to the Napoleonic Wars, the project ran out of money in 1829, leaving twelve towering columns. Today, this is one of the city’s most distinctive landmarks which draws crowds throughout the day - many of whom elect to scale the front side of the monument and stand between the columns.

A cropped silhouette composition is a relatively unusual way to see this monument, but it is a fun one to characterise how visitors interact with the site on any given day. Creating a stark silhouette is a good way to illustrate the scale of the monument too, and it is relatively easy to execute. The further back you go, the less perspective distortion you will encounter, but there’s no need to be afraid of that if you don’t have a telephoto lens as it can work well with either. The monument is elevated enough that there is unlikely to be anyone in the way of your shot, so you have time to try different things. Don’t wait for the monument to be clear of people, as you may be out of luck.