The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

I joined a van full of co-workers for the 90 minute drive up the Deeside Valley to the hamlet of Braemar, famous for the Queen's summer residence and the annual Braemar Gathering and Highland Games.

The Braemar is a gathering of the Scottish Clans, (bag)pipe bands, and competitors in a variety of traditional Highland Games.

Pipe and drum bands from all over Scotland attended.

The sound of the bands marching in one-by-one into the games arena was fantastically moving.

It doesn't get more Scottish than this!

Each band reflected their clan affiliation through the wearing of the clan tartan.  Historians note a total of 89 main clans which have innumerous sub-clans or septs.

Pipe band members are not confined to men only.  There are many women and young people involved in pipe bands.

Pipe bands are a family affair.

All ages participate.

Loitering drummers waiting to enter the arena.

 Not all of the marching Highlanders were musicians.

There were also units of historic Highlander troops present as well.

The Scottish people have a strong sense of national identity . . . and pride in their heritage.

All the parts of a kilt have symbolic meaning.

I like that the piper bands are open to women members. Good on you Scots!

Lovely feathered head gear buffeted by the wind.  The bands had arrive . . . now for a walk around the old mountain village of Braemar.

Braemar is the nearest town to the Queen of Englands summer home, Balmoral Castle.

Most of the houses here are of the traditional Scottish construction: Aberdeen grey granite and slate roofs.

Iver Cottage in Braemar.  Sweet.

These wooden blocks spun in the wind . . . to scare birds from the garden.

I love how people here name their houses.  The name of the house is also it's address.  If you wanted to send a letter here you would only have to address it "Downfield, Braemar, UK."

I love exploring these small Scottish villages.  Here, a garden shed.

This garden gate tells the story of a very wet climate.

There is a small commercial district in Braemar where I encountered this old busker.

I dropped a pound coin in his cup and asked him if I could take some photographs . . . he nodded yes.

There were two churches in Braemar.

A wonderful old church door.

The back door of the church stood wide open . . . so I went right in.

Wonderful light spilled into this quiet space . . . far from the crowds at the Highland Games.

Quiet and serene.

The church interior was simple and beautiful.

After a so-so hot dog and crisps, I made my way back to my assigned seat in the grandstands.

Pipe bands took turns supplying the music in the main competition arena.

Each pipe band was led by a flamboyant drum major.

The games' security was provided by these kilted stewards.

Several Highlands games, and traditional dancing, went on at the same time in the arena.

The start of the 6 mile 'Hill Run' - a grueling race up the steep 'hill' that served as a backdrop to the games.

The hill runners had to run up a set path, but they could come down any way and on any route they chose.

The cut, scratched, and bruised returning hill runners returned to large applause in the arena.

The Tug-O-War event took place directly in front of or stands.

Tug-O-War is a very dramatic sport. 

The crowd cheered loudly at each pull.

Great human struggle.

A Tug-O-War is a very photogenic thing.

Several of the Tug-O-War teams represented military units.

The Caber Toss involves tossing a caber,made from a  "Larch tree and is typically 19 feet 6 inches (5.94 m) tall and weighs 175 pounds (79 kg)."

The Queen and Prince Charles arrived from their nearby castle at mid afternoon.

The Royals took their place in the Royal Shed.  The crowd around me was abuzz because The Queen was not in her traditional pastel colors, but a bold, primary red! OMG!

The Royals stood to review the entering massed pipe band and Highland military units.

. . . and in marched the massed pipe band . . . amazing!

Hundreds of bag pipes playing together is a sound that cannot be described.

In addition to the fantastic sound of it, the visual spectacle is impressive.

Impressive indeed!

Many Highland military units marched in as well.

The Queen seemed to enjoy the day.

Beautiful regimental flag.

The last event was a sack race for the children, of course.

You've got to admire the Scot's respect and reverence for tradition.

Famous Dunnottar Castle along the Aberdeenshire coast with the North Sea.

An ever-changing sunrise.

Morning flowers near Dunnottar Castle.

New bloom.

A nice hedge bloom.

The thistle is the symbol of Scotland.

This was a good time of the year to see the thistle in full bloom.

Wonderful thistle.

Scottish thistle.

A snail in the underbrush.

Morning light on the way.

Amazing Dunnottar Castle.

Another new day.

A beautiful Sunday in northeast Scotland.  Time to get out of the house and see something . . . like Castle Fraser.

With such a nice day, we decided to go and see Castle Fraser, not far from our Aberdeen home. These are the garden walls of Castle Fraser.

It is late summer in Aberdeenshire now and the cows graze in golden fields that surround Castle Fraser.

Even if there were no castle or gardens to gawk at, the walk from the car park was beautiful on this clear day.

Castle Fraser, for may centuries the ancestral clan home of the a Fraser Clan built in 1575.  Magnificent.

The staff buildings of Castle Fraser.

The castle gate leading to the the workshops.  We had a fine lunch at the cafe here.

We enjoyed walking around the castle and gasping at it's grandeur . . . but I was also curious about the garden.

The garden was held within high brick walls, and behind tall hedges within the wall.

The center of the garden held a formal plan, with the flower and vegetable beds arranged around it.

The sun was so bright and clear, perfect for photographing the luscious flowers.

Lovely flowers everywhere.

As it is late summer, some of the flowers had already been in bloom and left their beautiful seed pods.

I could not help but smile at this happy flower bed.

A puff of white filament.

Many kinds of vines and climbing plants were arrayed around the garden walls.

Flowers and a climbing apple tree.

This is the first climbing apple tree I have ever seen.

While browsing the flower beds my eye caught these BLACK flowers!  Incredible!  What are they?

It was so bright and they were so dark . . . it was impossible to find the right camera settings.

I suppose I could have put on my polarizing filter . . .

I enjoyed shooting the various flowers from various angles to catch the various lighting effects.

We spent a wonderful couple of hours at Castle Fraser, even though we never went into the actual castle itself . . . next time.  COSTCO was beckoning!

This is what we came for . . . The British Touring Car Championship series race at the Knockhill Circuit.

My friend Steve and I drove the 1 1/2 hours south from Aberdeen to Knockhill Race Track to attend the Saturday qualifying sessions of the British Touring Car race series event.  It is the closest-to-Aberdeen big race of the year.  Lots of people from Edinburgh showed up.

Knockhill is a very well developed track:  they have all kinds of races from every vehicle type imaginable (4X4, motocross, super bikes, and carting).  They had a "Karting Experience" program running on Saturday for the kids.

Knockhill is a sweet little course with a nice 'down home' feel.  The racers say it is their favorite course on the race calendar.

We walked around the pits and admired the race car preparation.  This is a modified spec V-6 in the Ginetta GT4 class car.

The course is small, but the organization is very professional.

There were five different classes on the grounds with five separate race series races on the program.  This car was competing in the "entry level" UK Renault Cleo Cup Championship series.

The Cleo Cup cars were very well prepared.  They were hardly entry level . . . most had large race operations in the pits with semi trucks and trailers and other support vehicles, tents, and the like.

The true entry level class, and breeding ground for future racing talent, was the Ginetta Junior Championship cars.

Small and light with a spec engine, they were fast and the racing was close.  Most were driven by 15-18 year olds.

There were also Ginetta GT4 Championship cars.

The Ginetta GT4 cars were very fast. They also have a spec engine, but with much more horsepower.  They made a beautiful sound from their modified V-6 race engines.

Steve and I walked completely around the race track . . . along the way we found a gaggle of photographers and we stopped there during the Ginetta GT4 qualifying session.

We figured out why all the photographers were in the same place . . . it was where the cars were most likely to spin.

The race fans enjoyed the marshals attempts to extricate the Ginetta GT4 from the sand trap.

There was also a GB Porsche Carrera Cup race on Saturday.  We didn't pay too much attention to these . . .

There were many Ford EcoBoost MSA Championship open wheel race cars present.

Identical race cars make for some very close racing.  These are the current form of what used to be called Formula Ford.

The open wheel race cars were very fast.

Light weight and small turbocharged engines . . . a great combination.

This was the real race, not a qualifying session, so the drivers were pushing hard.

Some pushed a little too hard.

Eventually there was mayhem at the sharp curve we watched from . . . lucky me.

The top class present was the British Touring Car Championship.

The BTCC racers were serious, world class, cutting edge race cars.

The British Touring Cars are serious business:  the manufacturers are heavily behind the teams both financially and technically.

BMW, Ford, Audi, Honda, Mercedes, Chevrolet, VW, MG, Toyota, and Nissan all had factory teams at Knockhill.  These are the race versions of the 'hot hatch' coupes and sedans that you can buy at your local dealerships.

Did I mention the BTCC cars were wicked fast?  They did not hold back . . . and attacked the course.  This Mercedes factory race car was trying hard during qualifying.

A Chevrolet going high over the banana curbs.

Some were trying a little too hard and ended up in the kitty litter, like this factory Honda.

It was interesting watching free practice as the drivers experimented with different lines though different corners . . . all of them settled on the line that launched them into the air at this corner.

Flying and drafting!

Knockhill Flyers!

A VW Passat being thrown around the course.  Wonderful.

We stayed through the BTCC qualifying and the open wheel formula Ford race, then headed home as satisfied race car fans . . . like this guy.

I'm havbg a pretty good time volunteering at the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford, Scotland.  This past week-end I volunteers at the All Ford meet.  The photos speak for themselves . .  over 250 entries: