The Photography of Dr. Jeffrey P. Harper

My darling wife qualified for the Scottish Senior Lady's Open Golf Championship at Carnoustie Golf Links this past summer . . . and I tagged along.  They have played golf here since the 16th century.

Carnoustie is a beautiful links course along the Firth of Forth.

I followed my wife's group for a few holes before heading off on a walk around the adjacent countryside.

The course was set up so that non-golfers could enjoy the course as a nice place to walk, like a park.

The Carnoustie course sits in some very beautiful countryside.

The Firth of Forth and the village of Carnoustie in the background.  I sat here for 30 minutes enjoying the rare sunshine and the foft breezes.

There were several nice beaches with walkers enjoying the view.

I found this painted rock along the sea and wondered if it was Art or just spilled paint.

A dirt road ran around the outside of the course lined with summer wild flowers.

A fine summer day in Scotland.  Ah Nature!

Wild flowers everywhere.

These yellow wonders were everywhere in the serene nature.

Oh!  Maybe not so serene after all!  Well . . . where's the warning flag?

I heard the pop-pop-pop of semi-automatic weapons about the same time I saw the red warning flag.  It seems the beautiful golf course and beaches were right next to a rifle range!

I went up over a hill, still behind the fence, to see if I could get a glimpse of the shooting range and instead discovered this sleeping soldier playing hookie!  I dared not wake him.

I encountered several commemorative signs in my walk around the course.  I'm sure true golf aficionados would love these (and know what they were about).

I saw this all summer:  flies doing the work of bees . . .

The Aberdeen-Edinburgh main train line ran along one side of the course.  This old Victorian era foot bridge was a work of art.

As I sat at the 18th hole waiting for my wife to finish her round, a wedding party suddenly materialized around me.

I had the chance to practice my wedding photography . . . until the real wedding photographer gave me the evil eye.

This little boy in his kilt was lost in a fantasy of the olde days.

It had been a good day, but we couldn't leave without visiting the Pro Shop for some Carnoustie memorabilia.

I joined a van full of co-workers for the 90 minute drive up the Deeside Valley to the hamlet of Braemar, famous for the Queen's summer residence and the annual Braemar Gathering and Highland Games.

The Braemar is a gathering of the Scottish Clans, (bag)pipe bands, and competitors in a variety of traditional Highland Games.

Pipe and drum bands from all over Scotland attended.

The sound of the bands marching in one-by-one into the games arena was fantastically moving.

It doesn't get more Scottish than this!

Each band reflected their clan affiliation through the wearing of the clan tartan.  Historians note a total of 89 main clans which have innumerous sub-clans or septs.

Pipe band members are not confined to men only.  There are many women and young people involved in pipe bands.

Pipe bands are a family affair.

All ages participate.

Loitering drummers waiting to enter the arena.

 Not all of the marching Highlanders were musicians.

There were also units of historic Highlander troops present as well.

The Scottish people have a strong sense of national identity . . . and pride in their heritage.

All the parts of a kilt have symbolic meaning.

I like that the piper bands are open to women members. Good on you Scots!

Lovely feathered head gear buffeted by the wind.  The bands had arrive . . . now for a walk around the old mountain village of Braemar.

Braemar is the nearest town to the Queen of Englands summer home, Balmoral Castle.

Most of the houses here are of the traditional Scottish construction: Aberdeen grey granite and slate roofs.

Iver Cottage in Braemar.  Sweet.

These wooden blocks spun in the wind . . . to scare birds from the garden.

I love how people here name their houses.  The name of the house is also it's address.  If you wanted to send a letter here you would only have to address it "Downfield, Braemar, UK."

I love exploring these small Scottish villages.  Here, a garden shed.

This garden gate tells the story of a very wet climate.

There is a small commercial district in Braemar where I encountered this old busker.

I dropped a pound coin in his cup and asked him if I could take some photographs . . . he nodded yes.

There were two churches in Braemar.

A wonderful old church door.

The back door of the church stood wide open . . . so I went right in.

Wonderful light spilled into this quiet space . . . far from the crowds at the Highland Games.

Quiet and serene.

The church interior was simple and beautiful.

After a so-so hot dog and crisps, I made my way back to my assigned seat in the grandstands.

Pipe bands took turns supplying the music in the main competition arena.

Each pipe band was led by a flamboyant drum major.

The games' security was provided by these kilted stewards.

Several Highlands games, and traditional dancing, went on at the same time in the arena.

The start of the 6 mile 'Hill Run' - a grueling race up the steep 'hill' that served as a backdrop to the games.

The hill runners had to run up a set path, but they could come down any way and on any route they chose.

The cut, scratched, and bruised returning hill runners returned to large applause in the arena.

The Tug-O-War event took place directly in front of or stands.

Tug-O-War is a very dramatic sport. 

The crowd cheered loudly at each pull.

Great human struggle.

A Tug-O-War is a very photogenic thing.

Several of the Tug-O-War teams represented military units.

The Caber Toss involves tossing a caber,made from a  "Larch tree and is typically 19 feet 6 inches (5.94 m) tall and weighs 175 pounds (79 kg)."

The Queen and Prince Charles arrived from their nearby castle at mid afternoon.

The Royals took their place in the Royal Shed.  The crowd around me was abuzz because The Queen was not in her traditional pastel colors, but a bold, primary red! OMG!

The Royals stood to review the entering massed pipe band and Highland military units.

. . . and in marched the massed pipe band . . . amazing!

Hundreds of bag pipes playing together is a sound that cannot be described.

In addition to the fantastic sound of it, the visual spectacle is impressive.

Impressive indeed!

Many Highland military units marched in as well.

The Queen seemed to enjoy the day.

Beautiful regimental flag.

The last event was a sack race for the children, of course.

You've got to admire the Scot's respect and reverence for tradition.

Famous Dunnottar Castle along the Aberdeenshire coast with the North Sea.

An ever-changing sunrise.

Morning flowers near Dunnottar Castle.

New bloom.

A nice hedge bloom.

The thistle is the symbol of Scotland.

This was a good time of the year to see the thistle in full bloom.

Wonderful thistle.

Scottish thistle.

A snail in the underbrush.

Morning light on the way.

Amazing Dunnottar Castle.

Another new day.

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.

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.