The natural light in Scotland was often amazing, as in this shot of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, taken with my iPhone X.
Our vacation in Scotland was a wonderful adventure chock-full of glorious landscapes, riveting history and amazing light.
As a photographer, the opportunity to stretch my skill was unparalleled. When the light was good, it was incredible. When it wasn’t — well, it was challenging.
Often, I was unequal to the task. But, on occasion, I was able to capture images that illustrated the country’s beauty — and, perhaps, a few of its idiosyncrasies.
What you see here represents my first pass through the more than 30 gig of photos I captured during our 2-week journey through Edinburgh and the Scottish Highlands. Most represent places we planed to visit (if you are traveling through the Highlands and you don’t stop by John O’ Groats, why are you even there?) but many were photos of opportunity. I’ve tried to post these somewhat chronologically.
Notes:
• For those who care, most of the images here were taken with a Fuji X-T30 through a Fujinon 18-55mm f2.8-4 lens, but others were taken with an iPhone X.
•Tia also took many photos with her phone and I have yet to see many of them. I know that some were much better than the images I took with the Fuji.
To get to most anywhere in the UK, one must usually connect through London’s Heathrow Airport, rarely a pleasant experience. Up the escalator, shot with iPhone X.
The Scott Monument, Princes Street, Edinburgh.
Through a canon port from Edinburgh Castle. Casting shadows on Queen Street, Edinburgh. Street photography is one of my favorite forms but it’s harder to do well than it seems.Same location as the earlier photo.The Ross Fountain below Edinburgh Castle just off Princes Street. We took a lot of photos in Edinburgh which may become the subject of a later gallery.Just west of the little village of Pitlochry is Loch Tummel. At Loch Tummel is this: Queensview. It is often thought that the location was named after Queen Victoria who did, in fact, visit in 1866. However, it is more widely believed to have been named after Queen Isabella the 14th century wife of Robert the Bruce who used the spot as a resting place on her travels. Isabella died before her wedding.
On our way to the Highlands, we stopped off at Saint Andrews. The cathedral ruins have been closed because they are dangerous. The site is being renovated.
I captured this image of the Ducansby Head Lighthouse about half-way through our journey. It’s one of the images I’d hoped to capture and is, I think, one of the best of the bunch.One of my dear friends once reminded me to be sure to turn around while shooting. After taking six or seven images of the lighthouse, I turned around and saw this. That’s not a statue there in the lower right of the photo … it’s someone standing on a rock.It was the wrong time of year to see thistle in full bloom. Near Ducansby Head.John O’ Groats is a small port — and destination — in the north of Scotland, just a few miles from Duncansby Head. Some call it Land’s End. Shot with iPhone X.We saw many boats out of the water, like this one near Thurso.The weather on Orkney was challenging and, except for this image of a stone wall, my photos of Skara Brae were nothing special. I’ll look at them again when we put together our photo book of our adventure but I’ll lay odds that Tia has some good shots on her phone.Italian soldiers were held prisoner near Scapa Flow on the island of Orkney during WWII. While in captivity, they transformed a Quonset hut into a beautiful chapel. There’s a sweet, compelling story about how some of those men, and their families, have returned to the chapel to help keep it up many times since the end of the war.Detail of the chapel.We used Rick Steve’s travel book as our guide through Scotland. At one point, he asks the reader, “And, really, how many castle ruins do you need to see?” Our reply: “All of them?” So, we stopped to visit castles as often as we could, including the ruins of Ughart Castle on the shore of Lock Ness. No, we saw no wee beasties poking their heads out of the water.Another view of the castle and the loch.As were pulled into the car park at Eilean Donan Castle, which is perched on a tidal island at the mouth of Loch Duich near Dornie, I realized that the light was perfect. So, I barely parked the car, grabbed the camera and raced to the shore of the loch to capture this image of one of the most photographed places in Scotland. It is another of my favorite images taken during the trip.Eilean Donan Castle, shot from the other side of the bridge.This is another of those sites we set out to visit to the Isle of Skye. In the foreground is Mealt Falls with Kilt Rock in the background — Kilt Rock is so-named because of the way the basalt outcropping on top and the softer earth underneath makes it look sort of like a kilt.A closer view of Kilt Rock.Did I mention that we saw lots of boats out of the water? Here is it because the tide is out. We saw these boats during our driving tour of Skye and, the second time we passed them, I just had to get out and take a closer look.We visited the Fairy Glen, which is in the low mountains just east of the town of Uig on the west coast of Skye. This really was a magical place, especially when mist and low clouds dominate the sky. I know that Tia got a better photo of this.The walk up to the Fairy Glen was steep and muddy. That outcropping you see is the back side of the one in the previous photo. The locals say that the fairies transform into sheep whenever tourists swarm the glen — so, those sheep dotting the steep hill are actually the proper residents of the place.I don’t know the story behind the stacked rocks that choke the low pass into the glen but they are certainly picturesque.Even in the vast emptiness of rural Skye, you can find working phone booths and bus stops.
On to Stirling. This street photo appealed to me.
While in Stirling, we visited the historic Stirling Castle (again, we visited as many as we could). They’ve done a lot to it since our last visit in 2002 or 2003. Among the differences is that several rooms host actors who tell some of the stories associated with the historic place. This woman described the Feast of Michaelmass, which was being celebrated while we were there. I love the way the light gives the photo a Rennainiance feel.
We ran across a Protestant cemetery just below Stirling Castle. This monument, the Star Pyramid, overlooks the Drummond Pleasure Garden — a meditation area. As we were leaving the space, I turned around and realized that the angle of the sun was perfect for this image. Shot on iPhone X.
We took a day trip out to Leith where we stopped by a local quay-side brewery. This is a glass of their orange Imperial stout and it was yummy. They rather proudly featured two beers from the Jester King in Texas!This is the final image of this particular gallery. On the banks of the River Leith.
Thanks for taking the time to scroll through. I hope you’ve enjoyed the photos.
Note: Very few of our Edinburgh photos are included, and none from our challenging morning on Orkney of the Standing Stones of Stennis and the Ring of Brodgar, or from our day trip to Rosslyn Chapel, or of Inverness. There are also scores of “toursty” photos that I have yet to comb through, as well as a couple of dozen taken at a delightful river crossing in the moors of Sky just south of the Talisker distillery. Tasks for another day.
The Ragged Edge 