The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

With my wonderful wife playing a round of golf at a nearby course, I was free to ramble in the forest.

There were different kinds of woods.

The trail was good, and well-maintained. But each kind of forest had one thing in common . . . incredibly interesting and beautiful bark!  Barkscapes.

I spent Saturday morning walking in the Haughton County Park outside of Alford, Scotland.  There was much to see.

Haughton County Park encompasses a variety of landscapes, including a motorhome park, a stately mansion, and some wild forest land.

I wasn't the first person to visit these woods.  In fact, in the summer, when the campground and RV park fills up, I bet these woods are crawling with visitors . . . I don't mind.  I'm glad with the thought  people are out of their homes . . . and not in front of their television sets.

There are often very strong storms in Scotland with fierce winds.  There is a history of these storms in the blown down trees that litter the forest floor.

Some of the fallen trees have been down for a long time and show the action of time and weather.

The great winds have literally ripped some of the trees apart.

Broken, ripped, dried, and weathered.

Otherworldly landscapes in old wood.

Dreams in wood and bark.

A few of the fallen trees had been cut, revealing rings, patterns of color, and clefts.

Grounded stumps.

A history of slow healing.

Torn and cut.

Nature's Art.

Some trees had been on the forest floor for a very long time and were in a state of advanced decomposition.

The old and dead nurturing the new and living.

The living trees in this wood had their own strange beauty.

As is often the case, family members of the old estates traveled throughout the British Empire and brought back exotic trees and seeds.

Exposed to the sun over the winter months, the trees take on a green-tinged coating of light moss.

I had to remember that these trees were alive, in several senses of the word.  They were forming: changing, developing, and reacting.

A story left behind in scars . . . like people.

There was a mix of pines.

Pine bark, with its shattered, ever-expanding surfaces.

Another kind of pine/evergreen with a dusting of lichen.

Deep within the deep and dark forest . . . .

Late Winter, early Spring growth pushing the old bark away.

The work of woodsmen here and there.

Swirling, ripped, and torn beauty.

A Winter forest just waking up to Spring.

There have only been a few days of sunshine and "warm" weather since October, but the ferns were beginning to unfurl.

I was surprised, and mystified upon discovering this structure in the deep forest.

For the life of me I couldn't figure out what in the world it could be!

This open area in the forest was on the other side of the wooden structure . . .

Ah!  The Vale of Alford Curling Club forest curling pond . . . . now empty after the winter season.  What a surprise to see!

There were strategically placed benches in the wood.  I sat next to this interesting stone, the only stone I saw in the forest.  Little did I know just how interesting it was.  It was a named stone:  The Gordon Stane.

George Gordon, Lord of the Gordon Clan was laid out here after perishing is the Battle of Alford on July 2, 1645.  It seems the forest I was walking through had been a battlefield 371 years ago.

I walked through the boggy forest for many hours.

Such a beautiful place

I walked out of the forest and into the parkland that surrounds the mansion.

A line of exotic evergreens marked the drive to the mansion.

Haughton House mansion, a listed property,not part of the county park, and the offices of a very large RV and camping facility.

The daffodils were everywhere.

It felt like Spring  . . . at last!

Thank you Aberdeenshire for keeping such a wonderful park in such good shape.

I walked the mile back into the village of Alford and into the Grampian Transport Museum, where I work as a volunteer.  It was another great day in Scotland.

The second biggest event of the year at the Grampian Transport Museum grounds, in terms of participants, is the CycleFest.

Although I am not a 'biker,' I am still a 'motorhead.'  Many motorcycle manufacturers brought their complete product line for display and sales.  The supercharged Kawasaki was amazing. 

Made-in-Thailand Triumph had a big display.

But Ducati was without a doubt the most popular motorcycle brand on the grounds.

It was a perfect early September day in northeast Scotland, so most of the crowd rode in on their cycles.  I can't remember seeing so many people dressed in leather in my life.

There was every kind of motorcycle present, even classic Vespas.

But I have to admit, my favorite cycles at the Cyclefest were the antique motorcycles . . . like this early Harley-Davidson.

. . . and this Indian colonial-era Royal Enfield V-twin.  These made me feel that I might be better off shooting the event in Black and White . . . so I did.

That's better.

All of these antique bikes actually ran . . . in fact they all went out at once on the track for several parade laps . . . much to the enjoyment of the gathered motorcycle lovers.  I was working the event as a volunteer marshal, so I did not have much of a chance to watch the event or take many photographs.

There were only a few Harleys on grounds, and only a couple of choppers among those.  Harleys are not a Scottish thing . . . they prefer the high powered road bikes.

Men in Leather.  I haven't seen this many men in leather since my last Gay Pride Parade . . . but seriously.

The modern bikes do not take to the black & white photography quite the same.

It was a day of Scottish bikers enjoying their machines, some on-track racing, and each other -- on a rare sunny day.  I was so taken with these motorcycles that I ordered a classis/nostalgic leather jacket for myself . . . with classic racing stripes.

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:

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.

I have been a very frustrated 'Car Guy' in Scotland!  Even though I have a pretty nice high performance street car (a Juke NISMO), I do not have any other car related involvements . . . like I am used to.   So . . . I applied, and was accepted as a Volunteer at the Grampian Transport Museum in Alford, Scotland (20 miles from my home in Aberdeen).  I'm Happy now. I participated, as a Marshal, at my first GTM event last week-end.

The Grampian Transport Museum hosted a very unusual event, and first of its kind: a car show and display for cars that have fewer than 500 of the particular model actually registered for operation in the UK.  Very cool idea.

The museum has a listing from the UK MOT that shows how many of every model ever made are currently registered and approved for road use.  Although there may have been many hundreds of thousands of these Singers made in 1958, there are less that 10 currently operational.  I love the grill!

There are very few of these old Saabs still on the road, but the proud owner was able to share his treasure with other enthusiasts of rare, but once plentiful, cars.

Records showed only five of these are registered in the UK.

A rare, and perfect, NSU Prinz.  Some cars were collector cars in their own rights . . . perfectly restored to original condition.

Another car show ready NSU.

Once ubiquitous, the Anglia is now a rarely seen car on the streets of the UK.

I am not sure what this van is . . . a Hillman?

There were only a few expensive exotic collector cars there, like this Morgan . . . and . . .

. . . and this wacky Marcos.

The collection of cars was extremely varied.

I was a Marshal at the 'Car Rides':  people took turns taking a couple laps as a passenger in various cars, including this Ferrari.  When people got out they had a huge smile on their faces!  "Now I can say I rode in a Ferrari."  Cool idea.

This car won the trophy for the rarest car in the UK!  Although there may have been a million Austin Allegros manufactured, this is THE ONLY ONE (2-door) still registered for road use in the UK!  Amazing!

The pride and joy of their owners.  Rare car owners toil in anonymity, no one knowing of their singular obsession with keeping their Loved One running and on the road.  Most participants said they had never met other car enthusiasts with their same passion. abut 135 rare cars were represented.

The beloved cars took parade laps around the museum's test track.  I had a wonderful day . . . and ended up staying late to talk American cars and drag racing with a nice family of American car buffs.