The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

In late June some of my best good buddies from my old school in Bangkok paid my wife and I a visit in Aberdeen, Scotland.  First we drove down to the hometown of one of them (Liverpool, England) and rendezvoused for a Beatles week-end and combined road trip back north.

Liverpool is famous for many things, but mostly it is known as the home of The Beatles.  Yes, I have to admit it, we took the Magical Mystery Tour bus ride to the famous sights of Beattle lore.  Number 12 here is George Harrison's childhood home.  His family were rather poor.  The bus tour was excellent.  The guide provided great commentary throughout.  Highly recommended.

No Beatles pilgrimage to Liverpool would be complete without a visit to The Cavern Club . . .  the music venue where The Beatles really got their first break as the house band.  It is very touristy now, and the location is under some dispute, but I was impressed.  I bought a mug and t-shirt around the corner (cheaper!).

My Liverpool friend (cranium foreground) is a HUGE Liverpool Football Club fan, as am I . . . so we took an Anfield tour as a part of our double pilgrimage (Beatles and LFC).  He had never been in the team rooms before, and so was moved to near tears at the experience.  Liverpool players touch this door sill as they enter the playing field, er, pitch . . . I think.

Anfield drips with history.

There was much to see in Liverpool.  I loved this stenciled graffiti.

Having a friend in Liverpool is a plus: he knew of the outdoor African Music Festival.  We spent a wonderful day with the festival-goers sitting on the park lawn and dancing about.  This group was from The Congo (DRC), where I spent 10 years of my life.  I pushed myself to the front of the crowd and yelled, "Mbote, O'zali Malamu?" I got a big thumbs up from the singer.  Made my day.

I loved the name of this tattoo shop in Liverpool.

We stayed in a hotel near the Mercy River and the canal boat basin.  The hotel was developed from abandoned 18th century warehouses.

A highlight of the Liverpool visit was the Liverpool Cathedral.

The Liverpool Cathedral is a magnificent structure, of course . . . but on this day the light was magical!!

The stained glass windows on the sunny side pf the cathedral caste a light show of color upon the interior.

Amazing light . . .from above.

We managed to fit in a cut-throat game of Crown Green Bowls or two before leaving Liverpool and the long drive back to Aberdeen.

We provided the usual tour of castles and gardens . . . and rural charm (seen in great detail in may entries to this photo blog).  I never tire of giving tours of our beautiful Aberdeenshire.  Here, on top of Dunnottar Castle in all its summer glory.

A view from one of Dunnottar Castle's windows over the North Sea.

At Crathes Castle I couldn't help taking many flower photos of the extensive gardens.

Castle residents throughout the UK loved to bring plant species from all over the world into their gardens and green houses.

The variety of flowers in the castle gardens is overwhelming!

A castle greenhouse tropical plant.

I do not know what these are called . . . but I want a yard full of them.  Amazing!  We were sorry to see our friends leave, but I know we will reconnect one day, somewhere on this big old planet of ours.

We had beautiful weather here in the northwest of Scotland last summer (2014).

Of course, having 'beautiful weather here' includes an occasional splash-and-dash thunder storm across the fields of Aberdeenshire.

Summer flowers were bountiful . .  so were the bees.

We enjoy having visitors.  In late June my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson visited.  Visits are a good time to visit castles here in the shire . . . and the beautiful formal gardens which surround them.

Grandson enjoying a fountain.

We take all of our visitors to Crathes Castle, a bout 10 miles from home.  The gardens there are extensive and well taken care of.

I could spend days in these formal castle gardens.  Fortunately, I did, as we had many visitors last summer.

I spent a good deal of time taking bee photos . . . they are always moving around from flower to flower, so it takes patience to get a photo like this.

Wonderful flowers at Carathes Castle.  But we moved on.

A castle garden offers much to look at . . . and photograph.

I need a new macro lens . . . .

I'm going to get a "Flowers of Scotland" book, that's for sure.

In mid-summer, some of the flowers had already dried into seeding buds.

The garden designer was some kind of genius: the right leaves and plants near the splashing fountains.  Marvelous.

Flies play their part in pollination as well.

Tiny bugs too are all a part of the garden ecosystem.

I don't know what these are called, but I want 100s of them all around my house.  They are fascinating.

I spent some time watching this furry little bee wend his way in and out of all the budding flowers on this stem.

Castle gardens are worth a visit if you are ever in the UK or Scotland.

The metallic quality and color of this dried flower was mesmerizing.

We take all of our visitors to Stonehaven harbour . .  it's beautiful and close to Dunnotar Castle.

Hey!  The Circus Is In Town!  Many circuses visit the small towns all over Scotland in the summer.  We got stuck behind a circus truck all through a mountain pass in far northern Scotland later in the summer.

We take everybody who  visits us to Dunnottar Castle, perhaps one of the most amazing castle ruins in the world.  Magnificent views too.

Wow!

Keep on truckin'.

My Grandson's World.

We stopped at a Farm Store that has a 4X4 training course . . . and this old APC.

The Marine Hotel in Stonehaven has an excellent selection of real ales.

When visitors come you spend a lot of time sitting around the house talking. . . and taking photos of your grandson . . . and the house plants.

I planted zucchini squash in large pots in the front yard of our pervious house . .  they thrived in the long days . . . but as soon as I moved them to the new house . . . some kind of bug ate the maturing zuchs!  NOOOOO!

It was a beautiful May Saturday in Aberdeen . . . a good day for a walk along the River Dee with my camera.  Along my route I passed the Allenvale Cemetery.  'Great,' I thought, 'a chance to shoot some black and white photos in the moody old cemetery.

It was an interesting old grave yard and the ground was carpeted with blossom petals.  A nice subject for B&W.

Wonderful compositions to be had here . . .

Nice contrast and deep shadow.  Pretty.  But what was I thinking?  The colors were incredible . . .

PINK!

Wonderful Pink Blossoms!

The further I walked into the cemetery, the more beautiful it became.

A carpet of pink and green.

I was stunned into silence amid the pink spaces of death.  And I was not alone.  There were five other quiet, openjawed photographers moving like cats among the headstones.

Yummie light.

Gorgeous.

Stunning color.

The Celtic crosses were wondrous.

The morning clouds burned off and the light became sharper.  It is a strange experience to stumble upon a grave marker with your family name on it.  I have relatives named Agnes and William . . . I wonder if these were distant relatives . . . my father's side of the family were Scots.

I left Allenvale Cemetery and walked across the road to the River Dee Walk.

Walking paths and bike trails run for nearly 100 miles from the coast of the North Sea all the way up into the Highlands along the banks of the River Dee.  Aberdeenshire is an outdoorsmen's paradise.

A stone building, used as a snack shack during summer months, had a fine green steel shutter.

I walked a few miles along the River Dee Walk to the Bridge of Dee (1527) and turned into the city back home.

The view on the way home was wet, cold, and amber.

30 minutes from our house is the Bridge of Feugh Cafe.  We like going there on a week-end day to have tea and scones.  We also like to bring all of our visitors here too.  On this beautiful early May day the flowers were out in their full glory around the old stone cottage.

Early May at the Bridge of Feugh Cafe.

The Scots in these parts love to garden.  I have seen so many flowers here I have never seen before . . . like these climbing vines with their pink and yellow blooms.

Yellow clusters of light.

I love the red stems . . .

A row of exquisite irises to thrill.

Beautiful ground cover everywhere.  The tea and scones were delicious too.

After tea and scones we headed ut along the one-lane country lanes of Aberdeenshire to see what we could see.

It was so beautiful out that I nearly forgot to take any photographs!  This elephantine tree trunk drew my attention before we went back to our Aberdeen home.

Istanbul has lots of people, 14 million of them in Istanbul proper, with many million more in the adjacent suburbs and towns.  Everybody has to make a living one way or another.

14 million people means a lot of customers . . . customers for everything, like made-on-the-spot candy.

Street clam hawker.  It's a way to live.

There are literally millions of shopkeepers in Istanbul, but not all as friendly and positive as this spice shop worker.  A nice guy.

This tiny pastry shop was on the corner near our hotel.  We stopped there on our way back to our room every day . . . and the pastry guy remembered our favorite.

There is a row of men's clothing shops near the Egyptian Spice Market.  I bought three pairs of corduroy pants and a hat from this very helpful clothier.

We were told that there weren't many tourists, and those who were in Turkey weren't spending much.  What to do?  Enjoy each others' company in the Grand Bazaar.

The "staff" at the Grand Bazaar were all very hungry . . . for money.  I can't blame them, the overhead must be steep.  This Harim supply stall was vacant.  I guess the women's movement hasn't helped sales any.

We bought some scarves and a table cloth in The Grand Bazaar, but, sadly, not from this guy.

The curios hawkers weren't doing any better.  Time to play with the new stock.

A fellow browser in the Grand Bazaar.  O, what to buy?

The nut, dried fruit, and Turkish Delight vendors were doing alright. Imagine this is your place of employment . . . every day of your life!

This happy gentleman provided excellent service.  We bought nuts, stuffed figs, and spices from him at the Egyptian Spice market.

For some reason this Spice Market photo reminds me of Singapore, "You buy, or not?"

I spoke to the owner of this stall in the Egyptian Spice market . . . he said the exactitude of the spice display meant everything for sales.  He said his family had occupied this stall since 1660. 354 years of straightening spice piles.

The guy in the mirror followed us everywhere.

We walked everywhere from our Taksim Square location.  I enjoyed talking to the Turks and taking their photos, when allowed.

There were throngs of people on Istiklal Avenue, a main shopping street.  There were also a number of buskers and beggars too.

 Istiklal Avenue was a lively place full of warm humanity. A Turkish Huck Finn.

The Byzantines hired Viking mercenaries (a big mistake) . . . and it seems there are still a few around.  For a rough and tough Viking he is very careful with that cup of hot coffee.  NO, I can't explain it. Taken near Beyogiu.

This old fellow had seen his fair share of this and that.  Wonderful face.

Modern Turkish people, more or less.

We left on an election day . . . so the city was full of e electioneering posters and banners and flags.

Yesterday's politician.

We were going to see the Grand Palace, but the line was around the block.  Good thing too; we were able to spend the morning in the adjacent Guihane Park.  I saw this woman take this photo and went right over and took the same photo.

It was a beautiful day so there were many families in the park.

It was also a good day for a school trip to the park.  Sweet.

This neo-hippy street band was really good.  However, the guitar player became enraged that the old street person decided to join in on his penny whistle.  He got up and went over and confronted the old man.  A very violent scene  ensued with the hippie pushing the old man around while the crowd took sides.  It went from sweet odes to nature, to a classless demonstration of elitism.  Disappointing.

There were many street buskers around.  They were happy for me to take their photo once I had thrown some change in the case.

This man plays very sweetly.

I saw this young busker on several occasions, in different parts of town.

I gave her a good tip and she let me click away.

Not the best way to make a living in a big city.

There's that guy again.  Still following me.

We did not meet the complete cross section of Turkish society.  Mostly we met merchants and people engaged in food preparation and service . .  like this flatbread maker.  They had her working in the front window of a traditional Turkish restaurant . . . I guess to prove authenticity!

Another shop window bakery worker.

Of course, we frequented the kabob joints.  This was our favorite, The Konak Kabob . . . we went back several times.  Always delicious.

It was a very busy place.  They were hard working slicing and preparing the shawarma.

The Executive Chef, Mitat Oz, at the Konak Kabob was a real showman.

Mitat happily obliged to be photographed.

An apprentice shawarma assembler at the Konak Kabob.

Day turned to night . . . the street vendors were always there.  I had to walk by this guy twice a day . . . he was a hard sell.  I overpaid for some oranges one day.

The shawarma slicers were out at night too.

Midnight chicken shawarma!  Yum-yum!

A young Turkish couple out on a date.  While my wife took a photo with their iPhone, I snapped this sweet shot.

I, for one, would NOT name my night club The Crab Bar.  I would also get rid of the lurker outside the door.

OK . . . I like the effect.  People were out at all hours, even though nit became quite chilly at night in late March.

Such a sad and forlorn sight this political poster made after midnight in the orange light.  But the corrugation made me happy.