The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

I love having friends and family visit us here in Scotland . . . we get to take them around the country and share good times together.  I also get to take my camera and shoot some pics.  We headed south out of Aberdeen for a little time in Edinburgh first.

The Royal Mile is always the first stop in Edinburgh.  Although it is touristic, it is also stunningly beautiful.

The Scottish Parliament sits astride the Royal Mile.

The philosopher Hume called Edinburgh home, as does this bonny lass busking with her pipes.

The Royal Mile leads up to Edinburgh Castle.  I loved this old cafe truck.

I bought a cafe latte here . . . of course.

Edinburgh Castle dominates the city skyline . . . and is absolutely fantastic.

The Edinburgh Castle drawbridge and gate.  There has been a castle on this location since at least the 2nd century AD, although there have been many rebuilds and additions since then.

Once inside the castle walls, an ancient world unfolds.

Edinburgh Castle is a 'living' castle: these offices are in current use by the Royal Family for administrative purposes.

Inside the castle walls.

I love that the Scottish National Trust has young men circulating in period WWI military dress . . . a reminder of wars gone by . . . and the human toll.

Of curse, the castle is a defensive position and is ringed with canon emplacements.

The gun emplacements had the best views of Edinburgh.

Looks dangerous.

It's always good to have the high ground in a siege.

There are wonderful views of Edinburgh city from the castle ramparts.

A small chapel within the castle walls.

We were at the castle as soon as it opened in the morning . . . to get the best photo opportunities, but it quickly filled up with tourists.  Here, an inner courtyard outside the grand hall.

Inside the magnificent grand hall!

A sumptuous castle interior.

We enjoyed several days of sightseeing in Edinburgh, but the call of The Highlands and more historic sites beckoned.

From Edinburgh we headed northwest and to ancient town of Dunfermline, which served as the royal capitol of Scotland until the 17th century.  Here we have the ruins of the 11th century Dunfermline Palace.

Dunfermline Palace ruins.

Adjacent to the palace ruins sits the intact Dunfermline Abbey (c. 1128).  A perfect October day in Scotland!

The immense ancient Dunfermline Abbey. 

The interior view of the old section of Dunfermline Abbey.

Beautiful vaulted ceilings.

 A working mill near Pitlochry.

We actually bought 'heretage' stone ground organic flour from the mill . . . it makes the BEST pan cakes!

A stunning scene.

I always enjoy visitors to my little corner of Scotland.  It gives me an excuse to go out and see things I haven't already seen in this beautiful country.  I wanted to check out the Crathes Castle Rail Station for a couple of years, and a visit by my buddy from Liverpool provided the excuse.  This is the station master, not my visitor.

The Royal Deeside Railway runs a summer steam train from Crathes to Banchory, only a couple of miles away.

I love these old steam engines.  The British and Scottish are great restorers and maintainers of these old treasures.

All Aboard!

We spent a lot of time wandering around the country roads of Aberdeenshire.

Further up the River Dee are several Victorian-era suspension bridges . . . this one damaged by a huge flood last winter.

Abergeldie Castle was nearly lost to the raging River Dee this year.  (The castle is not actually leaning . . . it is a distortion caused by my 10mm lens.)

Finding a gate house along the road usually means there is either a castle of grand manor house nearby.

Not all country houses are grand . . . not every farmer 'makes it.'

Lovely, bucolic rural Scotland on a rare perfect day.

One of the sites I wanted to see was the Natural Burial Ground near Alford.  Cothiemuir Hill Natural Burial Ground was quite fascinating.  People had chosen to be buried not in church or public grounds, but in nature, under the trees.  Stones here and there, rocks, and a few plaques marked the burials. 

The burial grounds were in an especially beautiful forest.  I might like this as a burial option.

It was interesting to walk among the ferns looking for markers . . . an exercise in reflecting on our mortality.

It's also nice to have visitors so you can have a photograph of yourself once in awhile.

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The next day we headed south, along the old road along the North Sea to the famous fishing village of Arbroath.

We walked around the village, ate a fine seafood dinner quay-side, and walked around the old harbour.  The air was so still, the water so calm.

I have been to Arbroath many times.  I always make a point of taking visitors there . . . the sweet pastel buildings and harbour boats are extremely picturesque.

Yes, it is a fishing village and they do have fishing trawlers based here.  Those colors!  Yes, the colors that day were intense.

Never in my life have I seen such a dramatic sky reflected in the sea!  Astonishing!

The strong golden afternoon light played well on the moored fishing boats.

Arbroath Harbour is a living, working harbour.  We walked up to the harbour breakwater wall to see what was on the other side . . . .

The view from the top of the harbour wall was up the coast of the North Sea to the Angus headlands.  What magical light I had that day!

As it was getting late, we decided to drive back to Aberdeen . . . the late afternoon light on the Angus fields were spectacular.  We stopped many times to gape at the view and take photos.

Wild flowers lined the fields and roads.

Golden fields of grain fringed by clusters of wild flowers.  Ah!  Scotland!

Late afternoon golden light, deep shadows.

Lovely daises everywhere.

Angus field.

We drove past these scenes for an hour, completely in awe of the beauty.

MORE TO COME!

Under Construction

Looking out the back window at our garden one day in late April, I happen to notice the flowering bushes were flowering.  I also noticed it was a nice day . . . the first nice day of Spring.

So, I grabbed my trusty Fuji X-T1 camera and headed outside.  Yummie light and color.

Such happy blooms . . . after such a long, cold, and dark winter in Aberdeen.

There was so much new growth to notice, and capture, around the house.

Buds and new growth.

I love the colors of rose bush newly sprouting leaves.

The daffodils had just popped in the yard . . . and all over town too.  Aberdeen is famous for its billions of daffodils.  It was just too nice outside to spend the day inside . . . .

. . . so I stuck my head inside and yelled up the stairs, "Honey, we're going for a walk today!"  "Great," came the reply.  Our choice was to walk the nature trails around Crathes Castle, 20 minutes for our home.  We parked near the castle gate house and headed up the trail (yellow).

The trees were still bare of any foliage.

Although it was April 24th, Spring comes very late at these far northern latitudes (57.1526°N 2.1100°W).

The beauty of the day reflected in an abandoned stone pit.

There were wisps of budding leaves on some species . . . signs of the beauty to come.

We headed deeper into the castle grounds, and the Scottish pine forest.

The pine cones had a wonderful in the heat of the first Spring warmth.

In fact, the whole forest smelled of freshness and the prospect of Spring.

The trail followed a burn through some lovely scenery and quaint arrangements.

Boughs reflected in the pond.

"Crathes sits on land given as a gift to the Burnett of Leys family by King Robert the Bruce in 1323."  As such, a castle of this period had to supply and manufacture everything for its own needs.  This is the Crathes Castle Mill Pond.

The National Trust For Scotland has done an excellent job of marking the trails and, where necessary, protecting any fragile land.

The elevated walkway followed a delightful stream.

The peaceful, slow movement of an amber stream passing through the naked forest . . .

It was fun walking along these elevated paths through the early Spring of a Scottish forest.

We took a lot of iPhotos of ourselves at every opportunity . . . and there were many.

The wide path eventually opened up into some open fields.  We passed 10-15 other walkers on the day, but could see the popularity of these woods for walking by the size of the paths.  Crathes Castle is on the "Castle Trail" for tourists, and is packed in the summer.

Under a bright Spring sky.

From the meadow back into the trees.  The castle grounds offer a wonderful array of beautiful natural scenes.

This Victorian gate post reminded me of the political and economic power the lairds had in old Scotland.  If you were to come across this gate post in a forest, you would steer clear of the castle.  The gate post was a symbol of the power of whom lived within.

A nice day in northeast Scotland . . .

The grounds and permission to build Drum Castle was granted in 1325.  It is the ancestral home of Clan Irvine.  It is about 15 minutes from our home in Aberdeen.

Drum Castle is a part of the Scottish National Trust properties. It sees a fair number of tourists during the summer months, but today there were only a few people wandering about.

Yes, Scottish castles are wonderful, but many of them still maintain their gardens and grounds in spectacular fashion.

Plant species from around the world were often brought back to the family estate by adventurous colonialists during and before the Victorian era.

There are always so many fascinating flowers to look at in the gardens and grounds.

The walk to the formal, walled gardens took us past a delightful nature pond.

Although it is May 21st, Spring has not fully arrived here in these far northern latitudes.  I was hoping for more flowering  . . . .

The walls that surrounded the gardens were covered with magnificent espalier.

Climbing vines on the interior, shady side, of the castle garden were only just beginning to show signs of budding . . . in LATE MAY!

The gardens themselves were lovely, hedge-lined masterpieces of architecture.

There are many such lovely scenes through the gardens.  As you might imagine, there are weddings, and wedding photography taking place here almost every day.

So inviting on a sunny day . . .

In late summer these arches are covered in fragrant honeysuckle vine . . . perfect for a bride and groom!

The beds are still being planted (and transplanted).

The plantings await some sunny days to bring out their full beauty. 

There were still a couple of cabana tents left here and there: evidence of recent weddings. Ever-changing lighting conditions made the photography challenging.

There were some novel tulips still in bloom.

A purple flowing espalier.  Beautiful.

We walked out past the castle and wondered at its magnificence.

Drum Castle.

The road that leads out of Drum Castle passes through a wonderful wood in early foliage.

I wanted to say in this forest for the rest of the day . . .

Instead we went home . . . . somehow my back garden does not seem so impressive to me anymore!

It's nice when my wife has a golf tournament out of town . . . I get to drive here there and then explore the area around Fraserburgh.

The Waters of Philorth.

Fraserburgh Golf Club is the 7th oldest golf course in the world, having been founded in 1777.  It sits among the dunes on the Scottish Aberdeenshire Coast.

The sea breeze was strong along the tops of the dunes, but calm down in the deep sandy hollows.

Walking the dune trails had a mystical quality to me . . .

I crested a dune to find the North Sea . . . and miles of beach.

I looked left to the town of Fraserburgh, trying to decide which way to go . . .

Although walking east toward Fraserburgh looked inviting . . .

I decided to walk west toward the next village, Inverallochy, and what looked like a ship wreck.  I wandered around in the web of sandy trails looking for a way down the embankments to the broad beach.

There were beachcombers on the broad Fraserburgh beach.

Fascinating patterns in the sand to look at.

As sea level rises, the beach dunes are eroded.

Beach, sea, sky . . . looking like a tropical paradise, but at 5c, not exactly tropical.

I wasn't the o nly person out on such a fine and windy day . . . these brave wind surfers were preparing for their brand of fun.  I must add; the wind was very cold.

Jellyfish and feather.

A beach combing find from somewhere far off in the North Sea.

Such a broad beach creates wonderful patterns as the tide recedes.

Where the beach met a fast moving burn, a set of contrasting shapes, textures, and colors met in a happy collision.

I walked all the way to the end of the beach . . .

I arrived at the estuary of the Waters of Philorth, but could not find a way across the swift and deep waters without getting my feet wet.

The last big wave drained into the burn this way.

I didn't want to go back the way I came, so I walked inland along the stream knowing I would eventually run into the road.

I could not find a way across the burn, The Waters of Philorth, so I followed it inland, stopping here and there to study scenes of beauty.

The Waters of Philorth eventually came to the highway and this old disassembled rail bridge.

This inviting road stood in front of me, so I walked in until . . .

I walked up the road, which turned out to be the driveway of Castle Cairnbulg . . . and a 'Private Property' sign.  Yes, this is not only a real castle, but it has been continuously occupied by the original Fraser family since 1308.  Currently.  Katharine Fraser, Mistress of Salton, resides within the 700 year old walls.

I considered jumping the estate gates and exploring the park-like grounds of the castle . . .  but didn't.

I took a shortcut though a small wood and found this striking stump.

The gorse (ulex europaeus) was in full bloom.

Boggy land draining.

Of course, this trip was about my wife playing in a golf tournament.  I walked back through the historic golf course to the Fraserburgh Golf Club, the 7th oldest golf course in the world.  Although the golf club was officially established in 1777, golf has been recorded being played here since 1618 . . . 398 years!

It is a beautiful course in a beautiful setting.  It had been a fine day . . . with a five-mile walk.