The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

We were just back form our vacation in Poland and my wife had a golf tournament in Angus, Scotland at the Brechin Golf Course. GREAT!  I let her off at the course and headed the few miles down the road to the fascinating village of Brechin.  It was a windy and overcast day, typical of the "summer" we have had in Scotland this year.  I love the color of the fields when they begin to turn from greet to yellow.

You see the most interesting monuments out in the countryside of Scotland.  At first glance I thought this could be one of the ubiquitous WWI monuments or a Queen Victoria marker.  I'm not really sure what it was, it had an Angus Utilities marker on it, but also this memorial to the Police Commissioners.

The village of Brechin had a lot of Old World 12th century charm. 

The main attraction in the village is the Brechin Cathedral and Round Tower.  The Round Tower dates from the year 1000 and the Cathedral from the 13th century.

A grey and cloudy day is not  bad time to take photographs in the Cathedral graveyard.

There were some very photogenic lichen and moss encrusted old stones here.

These weathered and worn grave stones convey the passing of time better than a pristine and dated stone.

Wonderful surface . . . telling the story of nature and man's place in it.

What can I say . . . I love these old grave stones as visual objects of beauty above and beyond their symbolic or 'religeous' identities.

I took many photos of these grave stones in the cloudy gloom when I arrived, only to re-shoot them when a patch of bright sunlight passed over the great cathedral.

Sweet angle.

Wonderful stone work.

Sweet light.

With the wind blowing and a few errant rain drops falling, I decided to visit the Cathedral interior.

I walked around the exterior of the great cathedral and saw many wonderful things.

13th century stonework.

13th century door handles?  Perhaps.

A side door into the Brechin Cathedral.

A empty medieval stone sarcophagus alongside the cathedral.

The  door to the Brechin Tower was about 7 feet off the ground . . . to make it difficult to storm.  They had some good ideas in 998.

The cathedral had some wonderful architectural features.  I have a big interest in the aesthetics of these old doors.

The sun came out, at last.  What a magnificent Medieval cathedral.  Time to see what the interior is like.

The cathedral main entrance.

The interior was sumptuous.

Beautiful interior detailing and architecture.

Brechin Cathedral is known of its fine original Medieval stained glass windows, some of the finest in the UK.

A steady stream of pilgrims/tourists came and went.  It was absolutely silent in this space.

The cathedral is an active church and the out buildings act as administrative offices for the northeast of Scotland.

The proportions and dimensions of this cathedral are impressive.  The longer I stayed inside the more I appreciated it.

Wonderful stained glass framed by the pipe organ.

I decided to change lenses from my 18-55mm to a much wider 10-24mm to see if I couldn't get more of the interior in . . . the effect was amazing, as you can see from this shot at 10mm.

The wide angle lens takes in so much more . . .

Even though it was quite dark in the cathedral (and it was cloudy outside), I was able to brace the camera against one of the pews to steady this shot up into the rafters.

The pews in magic light.

I had a good time figuring out my camera settings in this challenging light.

I spent nearly an hour inside the Brechin Cathedral framing photos and sitting quietly in Buddhist meditation.

I waited around outside the cathedral for quite a while with the wide angle lens on for a passing splash of sunlight to get this photo.

After a wonderful hour spent in and a  round the amazing Brechin Cathedral and tower, I decided to go freewheeling around the old village.

Like so many villages I've visited in Scotland, Brechin was beautifully maintained and clean for the most part.

Such a quaint down town!

It is a little odd to find a vet supply house in such a small town . . . and in such a small building!

Walking from the old town center towards the countryside, I saw a row of abandoned buildings.  This is not a bad thing . . . if you like old restored buildings you have to keep the old unrestored buildings around!  These places will live again.

One can only guess what has taken place in the Brechin Arena . . .

I love the ambiance of these old towns in rural Scotland.  On one side of the street are dilapidated buildings, and on the other . . .

. . . colorful row houses.

Brechin is built atop a hill and has many steep hills.

Built of pinkish stone, Brechin exudes a sense of its own history.  Also note the huge security camera . . . the UK has more security cameras per capita than any country in the world . . . .

Staying the same while always changing . . . The Swan  . . . Tandoori . . .

I walked back up the hill and through the town and noticed that there was definitely a poor part of town and a rich part of town.  Interestingly, this house engraved both the dates of its construction (1781) . . . and the date it was extended (1911).

Lovely old town. The ornate building in the background has had several lives: community center, high school, and now the Mechanics Hall.

I walked as far as the Brechin Castle gate.  I hoped to walk up the drive to see the castle, but there were private property signs posted. I ran into an old retired man on the street late who told me  I should have ignored the sign.  He admired my camera and we chatted about photography for a while.

The Brechin Castle gate house was fabulous!

The castle gate house had a lovely . . . er . . . gate.

There are always many 'still life' studies to be found in these old towns.

Mid summer greenery.

Summer vacation . . . time for some forest walks.  This is a map of the area around the Bin Forest, outside of Huntly, Scotland.  The blue double loop trail is the Queen Tree Walk . . . about 5 miles altogether.

The Aberdeenshire countryside around Huntly (seen at right) is beautiful at any time of year.

The Queen Tree Walk is well maintained and easy to walk.

This is a managed forest . . . planted and cut many times throughout history.

The walk presented many photographic challenges . . . I lost many photos to difficult lighting.

There was a lot to see . .  including some exposed geology . . .

. . . and ferns, lots of ferns.

And a few flowers.  I do not know if these are wild or the remnant of some forgotten farmstead.

The scenery was serene and quiet, except for an occasional rush of wind trough the high branches.

We enjoyed the walk immensely.

The trail was very well marked . . . we didn't get lost.

I saw this bouquet stuffed in the crotch of a tree out in the forest.  I don't know why, but it was such a strong image.

I had fun trying to think through what a good forest still life portrait might look like.

Except for a few steep sections, the trail was mostly flat.  We enjoyed ourselves and only had a few drops of rain fall. [All of these photos were taken with the Fuji X-E1 camera and 27mm f2.8 lens.]

The River North Esk, Angus, Scotland.  A remarkable river cutting though some strange geology and some of the most beautiful forest scenery ever.

Just outside of the pretty village of Edzell, where a bridge crosses the North Esk River, which denotes the boundary between the shires of Angus and Aberdeenshire, is a blue door.  Her begins the Blue Door Nature Trail.

 The Blue Door trail follows along the North Esk River through a magnificent old forest.

The trail itself is made of crushed acorns . . . it is very easy walking.  Mountain bikes prohibited.

There are many views from the trail down to the North Esk River.

So much natural beauty.

The geology revealed by the North Esk was very complex.  Striped, layered formations laying horizontally across the river.  This is known as the Deerhope Formation and is a sequence, up to 155 m thick, of cross-stratified sandstones, including one major conglomeratic interval.

Then I came upon this forest scene.  Magic. Where are the Hobbits?

We will go back and hike up to the waterfall and standing stone columns.  This is perhaps one of the most beautiful nature trail I have ever walked outside of Oregon.  Impressive.

Scotland is full of wonder.

My work as a volunteer at the Grampian Transport Museum has really been a fun activity for me.  My Car Guy juices really flowed last week when they hosted their annual SpeedFest.

The SpeedFest brings fast and race cars from around the UK for a day of going fast and making noise.  From historic race cars to just plain fast cars, the SpeedfFest had it all.

Beautifully restored early Jag race engine.

You don't get to see many original, street-legal Ford GT-40s in your lifetime.

A 427cid Ford in the GT-40.  What a glorious sound!

To say the least, I was in RACE CAR HEAVEN!  Being the only American drag racer among the volunteers, I was asked on the Friday prior to the race to see If I could get the 1964 flathead sling-shot dragster running.  YES!  I had a great time putting wrench-to-dragster.  I found several things to fix, make safe, adjust, and make good.  I got it running, sounding good, and talked to the guys who were going to be making the exhibition passes at SpeedFest.  They asked me if I wanted to drive, but the cockpit was built for a driver much smaller than I.  As for the car in the background . . .

I couldn't believe my eyes when The Flyin Fyfer Outlaw Anglia class drag car unloaded.  This is my absolute favorite kind of race car.  Period.  And this is perhaps the best example of the class.  The owner/driver was a really good guy too.  Yes, that's a 572 cid engine on two systems of NOS for around 1200hp at the wheels.  It has run a 8.02 e.t.in the quarter mile.  He will ship it to California later in the summer to tour the West Coast.  Too Cool!

This photo perfectly captures the essence of the SpeedFest: a drag Anglia (Pop), a drift car and a display of Bentleys.  Unfortunately, I had so many responsibilities on event day that I did not have enough 'free' time to get out and about and take more photos.  I'm not complaining . . . I had a great day nevertheless.

As always, it's great to see old friend visit.  It's an opportunity to catch up . . . and to take a romp around the western end of Aberdenshire to see what we can see . . . yaking all the way!

An Aberdeenshire Road in July . . . a bit of a chilly day with the sun sharing the sky with threatening clouds.

The countryside here is very dreamlike . .  the clouds being pushed and rolled up in the face of an approaching storm front.

As is always the case when driving around the small roads and farm lanes of Aberdeenshire, there is inevitably a sign point to a castle.

Today it was out good luck to 'discover' Craigievar Castle - the family home of the Forbes clan for 350 years (acquired in 1610).

Craigievar Castle is said to be one of the finest examples of the 'tower' types of castles still remaining in Scotland.  We did not take to tour . . . .

Lovely scene.

My scouser friend enjoyed it, but said it was "not really a castle by British standards" but only a "keep."  He may have a point.

The grounds were beautiful too . . . with gates, paths and hidden gardens.

Peeking into the castle gardeners cottage.

Craigievar Castle stands on a hill, of course, and has a commanding view of the shire.

Sometimes you spot something interesting from the road and pull over to investigate.  As it turned out, this is the early 19th century Ladymill Farm, a candidate for official listing.

With the sunlight coming and going, I had to work fast to get these shots of the charming old farm buildings.

I indulged my fascination with old doors and . . . .

. . . and windows.

This may have been my favorite photo of the day.  Scrumptious.

Of course, Ladymill was a mill . . . and a few of the old machine parts were scattered here and there.

I took a walk around the back of Ladymill and was greeted with this vision from a dream: the perfect countryside scene . .  light dancing across the fields of green.  Extraordinary beauty.

We left Ladymill just ahead of a downpour . . . .and went looking for a place to eat.

There is so much to photograph in Aberdeenshire.

We stopped at several roadside hotels and tea houses but for some unknown reason they all had signs posted saying "Closed on Tuesday."  Why?  We followed a small road for a few miles to "Leith Hall and Tea Room."  We arrived in a driving rain only to discover it was closed too.  Leith Hall was a private estate built in 1650.  Leith Hall is said to be haunted by a ghost:  "The hall is reportedly haunted,^[3][7] and has been subject to an investigation by Most Haunted. This ghost is believed to be Laird John Leith III who was killed on Christmas Day in 1763 in Aberdeen at Archie Campbell's Tavern in the Castlegate during a drunken brawl in which he was shot in the head, after he reacted angrily to a fellow diner who accused him of adulterating the grain sold from Leith Hall.^[3][7] The ghost of John is said to appear in great pain with a dirty white bandage over his head and covering his eyes, wearing dark green trousers and a shirt.^[3] In 1968, one guest awoke during the night to see John in highland dress, his head covered in bloody bandages, standing at the foot of the bed.^[3] Other apparitions have also been sighted. Several writers who've stayed at the manor have reported seeing paranormal phenomenon. Elizabeth Byrd wrote about her experiences in her book A Strange and Seeing Time and describes the time that she rented the East Wing of Leith Hall with her husband in 1986.^[3] Alanna Knight has also written about her ghostly encounters at Leith Hall."

If you look closely through the trees, sometimes you can see an old castle ruin.  Aberdeenshire!  This is Corse Castle, c. 1581.  We finally decided to drive to the proper town of Huntly where I knew there would be an open restaurant.  We did, and it was.

After a fine greasy spoon lunch in a cafe nest to the Huntly Police Station, we consulted the GPS for the nearest distillery . . .  it would be a shame for my friend to visit Scotland without going to a distillery.  Our luck was good:  the GlenDonronach Distillery was nearby.  Being too late for the tour and tasting (it closed at 4:15pm!!), we instead took the very helpful gift shop lady's suggestion and bought a mini-bottle of their 21 Year Old Parliament . . . and WOW!  Delicious . . . and I do not drink whiskey! My friend IS a whiskey drinker and proclaimed it a 97 out of 100.  "Matured in a combination of the finest Oroso and Pedro Ximenez sherry casks for a minimum of 21 years, the 'Parliament' continues the great GlenDronach tradition of offering fruit-laden intensity in its single malts.  Bottled at 48%, the 'Parliament' is non chill filtered and of natural color.  Highly recommended, even if you do drink whiskey!

After the distillery we headed back home to Aberdeen.  We spotted a grand church up on a hillside and went up a farm lane to take a look.

A beautiful road and church.  St Margaret's Episcopal Church was built in the mid 19th century by architect William Ramage.

The church had some fine old gravestones.

Wonderful patterned symbol.

There were some broken stones in the cemetery that had had the pieces sweetly leaned against each other.

I couldn't tell if these stones had been vandalized or broken by falling tree limbs.

The view from the cemetery.

It had been a wonderful day of just driving around talking in the car . . . through some of the most beautiful scenery in the world.

Aberdeenshire.