The Photography of Dr. Jeff Harper

My wife's sister visited from Hong Kong . . . that meant a ROAD TRIP back along the locks and islands of the west of Scotland.  We had wonderful weather . . .

The joy of driving around the west of Scotland is the ever-changing vistas of the lochs and fjords.

The Scottish vistas often include a castle, or castle ruin or two.

There are so many things to see and photograph along the way.

We were in full explore mode: driving down a small road, I saw a sign that said 'smokehouse next right' . . . which led us through an enchanted, mossy wood.

We stopped at the smokehouse and had wonderful fish and corn chowder . . . afterward I explored the nearby forest.

Our route brought us back to the port town of Oban (for the 4th time!).  My wife and her sister loved the oysters there: "The Best Oysters In The World" they both proclaimed!

The light around Oban is very special.

The sunset that night was magical: the sun, the sea, the surfaces, the story, the clouds reflecting . . .

I wasn't the only person who found the sunset captivating.

OK, one more irresistible Oban harbour sunset.

The gorse was in fine yellow bloom as we headed out over the bridge leading north from Oban.

Lovely old train trestle along our way to the sea.

While skirting the end of Loch Ern in a driving rain squall, we came upon the famous Mirror Man of Loch Ern.  I stopped for some photos when . . .

. . . I could see a squall line of rain approaching me . . .

. . . looking left, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this fleeting rainbow and shot off a few snaps.  A once in a lifetime photo!

The Mirror Man lends himself to black & white photography.

We made it to Loch Duich which led us back to the famous Eilean Donan Castle . . . again.

I was here just at Eilean Donan Castle one month ago . . . but in a driving sleet and snow storm.  Today there was sun.

A lovely castle . . . although NOT as ancient as you would think . . .

The tourist season began only one week before our trip . . . and the big tours and thousands of visitors had not yet arrived here.  In July/August you can forget about parking within a mile of this wonderful castle.

Our hotel in the Kyle of Lochalsh had a magnificent view of the Bridge of Sky.  Did I mention we had hand-dived scallops to die for at the Waterside Seafood Restaurent.

The beautiful Skye Bridge and lighthouse.

As you drive on to the Isle of Skye you immediately see a difference in geology.

There was not as much snow on the Skye peaks as there was a month ago.

Light danced across the sloping valleys and hills.

We hiked up the well-developed trail to a wonderful view point about half way up The Old Man of Storr.

The view from The Storr was breathtaking.

We had fun just following the small roads from the map and discovering what was there to be seen.

Great scenery on the Isle of Skye.

Continuous headlands and lochs . . . plus ocean view!

The Skye headlands.

It must be hard to make a living out here . . .

Loch Dunvegan, where we had a fantastic gourmet lunch at the famous Three Chimneys.

A tradition stone house at a Uig heritage museum.

We spent two nights out on Skye.  We had to drive back by Eilean Donan on our way to Inverness . . . but it was clear and the water was still for some good castle reflection photos.

This is the photo everybody seems to want of this castle.

I love this view of the castle and the loch . . .

MORE TO COME . . . .

A map of the Isle of Skye and our route marked in purple . . . and of our whole road trip in purple on the insert map.