The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

Here I am again . . . tagging along with my wife on her golf tournament.  I dropped her off at Duff House Royal Golf Club and set off for a little photographic expedition to the coastal villeges nearby: Banff and MacDuff.  This is the village center of Banff.

Banff is a very old village.  It had its first castle in 1163, build to repel the invading Vikings.

Banff is a more prosperous village.  It was a trading center until the 1770s, when a port was constructed.

Banff is built up the side of a rather steel hill that rises up from a broad bay.  There are still narrow walking paths that give the only access to quaint cottages.

A typical 17th century house in Banff.

Banff is a lovely village.  It is just big enough to offer all the amenities, but small enough to still feel like a village.  I could see living in this house (it's for sale) on street off the bay.

There are a couple of scaled-down 'supermarkets' in Banff, but the downtown is still vibrant, owing to the fact that the nearest mall is 50 miles away.

There are several quaint old hotels in town.

I couldn't resist snooping around the fascinating old cemetery . . . right in the middle of the village.

I come from a very wet place (Western Oregon in the USA), so I understand this kind of moss.

There were several extraordinary crypts and carved grave covers.

Just so your survivors wouldn't have to wonder what happened to you . . . you put a skull and bones on your grave marker.  [Note to self: do not have horizontal grave stone in rainy environment.]

I decided to walk back through old town Banff toward the sea and the jetty.  These are the oldest continuously inhabited buildings in Banff, dating from the mid-14th century.

Being such a very old village, there were, of course, a few buildings that were in full deterioration.  My favorite photo subject!

House number 30.

I love the story of time and weather written on these old, unattended, doors.

House number 32.  Nobody home.

The sea wall at high tide. I followed the wall out to the jetty next to a raging North Sea.

Crabbing and shrimping pots lined the old stone jetty.

I studied these for a few minutes, imagining myself as a crab, but I couldn't work out how these thing worked.

View from the jetty: A broad bay separates Banff from the even smaller village of MacDuff, seen on the horizon.  This is where the River Deveron estuary ends in the North Sea.

Ther is a small light at the end of the jetty.  At high tide the waves occasionally break over sea wall.

I was getting hungry, so I took a different street back to my car.  I passed this relic of days gone bye.

I often ask myself, what is it about old doors that compel me to take a photograph?  Something about mortality, I believe.

I made my way back to the village center and then on up the steep hill to a nice cafe and had a bowl of Cullen Skink, a scone, and a cup of coffee.

After lunch I decided to find the castle whose sign I saw driving in.  My GPS said there was a castle only four miles away. I ended up on this gravel road through a beautiful wood.

I knew I was getting close to a castle when I started to see the old outbuildings.

I love these old abandoned stone houses.  I have a fantasy each time of fixing it up and living in it.

Now I knew I was getting close . . . a castle gate house . . . and occupied too.

AH!  There it is.  A castle through the trees.  I was not sure if this particular castle was occupied by the laird, or was open to the public. I was a little concerned someone would run our and yell at me that I was trespassing.

I stayed back in the trees, just in case . . .

Magnificent and stately Craigston Castle, built in 1604.  As it turns out, you can stay in this castle as a "luxury self-catering vacation home."  No kidding. You can make a booking here.

I left the castle for a short drive to the harbour village of MacDuff.  We stayed in this village right after we moved to Scotland.  In fact, it was the first over night stay we made.

MacDuff has a proper shipyard for refitting fishing boats.

Shipyards are visually intereting places.  What in the world are these sharpened steel 'blades' used for?  I have no idea.

The rust was thick, but the pattern and color was captivating.

Nice clean and newly painted fishing boats.  I got lucky as the sun finally came out in the afternoon.

I could have stayed all day in the MacDuff shipyards, but my wife called to say her round was over.  Great idea to affix these benches inside the seawall.

We drove on the A947 back to Aberdeen.  We passed a sign for Fyvie Castle . . . and I couldn't resist going in.  My wife hadn't been before.

Fyvie castle is a proper castle.  Built in 1211, Fyvie was the site of an open-air court held by Robert the Bruce, and Charles I lived there as a child.

Fyvie Castle was closed, but the vast grounds and gardens were opened.  I will post more from the fabulous gardens soon.

We had a 3-day week-end and new cars . .  . what to do?  ROAD TRIP!  We headed up north for a week-end of trail walking, golf, and photography.  At Macduff, we discovered the Duff House forest grounds.  Very beautiful.

It was a grey day with cool air . . . perfect for a walk in the woodlands.

A week earlier there had been several nights of near-zero temperatures.  A few leaves had started to turn . . .

These ferns reminded me so much of my walks last summer in Washington State.

There is always so much of beauty to see on a forest walk.

After spending the last 17 years in tropical Thailand, the differences within this forest here held a strong fascination.

Wonderful old trees evoke old feelings.

The twist of this tree trunk tells the story of its taller neighbors come and gone.

We walked for over an hour in the coolness of this forest.

Shades of a coming Autumn.

A long, and warm-for-Scotland, summer has left the forest brimming with life.

These mushroom fungi seemed very brainy . . . too brainy!  Perhaps there has been an exchange of genetic material going on in this ecosystem!

We left the forest walk through this aged gate.

We found Duff Estate.

Mr. Duff made a lot of money when housing prices were lower than they are now. We wanted to go on the interior tour, but we got here too late.

The gift shop operator told us that Duff Estate "changed the way large estates were built in Great Britain after it's completion."

Although not of the estate-changing opulence of the Duff Estate, we were happy with The Knowes Hotel.  The room was clean and comfortable . . . . with . . .

. . . an excellent view of the North Sea and the Macduff harbour light.  I decided to grab my camera gear and headed out into the fading light.

Macduff and Banff are port towns.

Not much in Macduff has been modernized.  There are still old hovel homes left from an older time.

Although the stone houses seem cold, there are touches and flourishes of artistry set against the austere facades.

I turned left on Institution Street, and then on down the steep hill to the harbour, all the while wondering how the street got its name.

Macduff had a fine man-made harbour lined with Victorian era store fronts.

A girl was trying to fish for her supper in the Macduff sink . . . without luck.

A fine harbour light on a fine last day of summer in Macduff, Scotland.

I walked up the harbour road toward Banff, hoping I could get a photo of the old stone bridge.

On the way out of town I saw this image . . . telling the history of the internal landscapes of those residing below.

In the fading light the contrasts between light and shadow grew.

Perfect late light.

I  took many photos along the road and was infatuated with the church dome against the sky . . .

  . . . when I realized I was missing this old derelict building . .  my favorite subject: dilapidation!

Amazing dilapidation.

I kept walking along the road to Banff and took this photo of a friendly dancing bus mechanic.  He came over and said . . . "I hope my boss never sees this photo!"  So here is his photo . . . not the one of him dancing!

I got to than embankment in time to take this photo of Banff . . . unfortunately the old stone bridge was too far away to walk in the fading light.

I sat for a while on the a bank of the River Deveron estuary and watched the sun set.

It was a beautiful evening.

I climbed some steep steps and took a high road back to the hotel.  Along the way I shot this view of Macduff, Scotland in the last of the light.

 I reentered the town center from a side street.

Although Macduff is made of dark stone masonry, it is a habitable town.  People add color which, standing off the dark stone, make a beautiful effect.

Along "Main Street" Macduff.

Macduff streets are steep as they rise up from the catchment.

 I rounded the corner and went up Market Street to the hotel.  There were many pleasant architectural arrangements to enjoy along the way in the last of the light.

My last photo of the day was taken on the steps of the hotel.

The next morning broke clear and cold. This view of Banff was taken from my hotel window.

Macduff, Banff, Scottish coast.

It was time to leave Macduff.

The Knowes Hotel sits on high ground, but just above the hotel stood a Castle turret monument in remembrance of local war dead.

We spent the rest of the morning playing the very, very difficult, but very, very beautiful Royal Tarlair Golf Course.  The views were breathtaking!