“I always feel that when I come to Edinburgh, in many ways I am coming home.” - Alan Rickman
Last December, my husband and I had the opportunity to travel to Scotland, without the kids!! And, while I LOVE taking our kids on trips (no matter how challenging), it was such a special treat to be able to go with just the two of us. We were on our own schedule, not the kids’, we got to stay up late, sleep in, walk miles a day with only minimal complaining, and do whatever we wanted to do! We even enjoyed simple things like sitting in silence or getting to try new and exciting foods without someone wanting chicken nuggets (I mean, we tried haggis and neeps and tatties, (mashed turnips and potatoes) which were actually quite delicious!). It was amazing!! And we got to spend all this one-on-one time without little people stealing our attention away, for FIVE DAYS!! Shout out to our amazing parents and siblings who split the time watching our boys while we were away! You all are the real heroes.
As a photographer, this was my first international trip with my DSLR and I was itching to get grand and breathtaking photos of the city, and let me tell you, Scotland did NOT disappoint!! Because we went in the Winter, the sun rose late and set early (read: it was only light outside from 8:30am till 4:00pm - let that sink in), which wasn’t always fun because we had limited light. BUUUTTT when the sun was out, it was always low in the sky, which basically meant I had “golden hour” all day!!! That was a dream!! (If you can’t tell by my exclamation points, I was super excited!)
I also loved it because it challenged me to get outside my comfort zone when it came to the subject of my photographs. Since I photograph people, I’ve never really focused on architecture as the main subject before, so that was a fun aspect of the trip! You can’t move buildings into better light like you can with people, so I had to make the situation work for me, and look for opportunities to take pictures that represented my style.
Looking back, it was impossible to know at that time that in just a few short months we would be quarantined in our home, with no idea when we would even be able to travel again; it somehow makes going through these photos even sweeter knowing things were much less stressful then. Please enjoy these photos from our trip to Scotland! Please also note that this is definitely not ALL the pictures we took, but these are some of my favorites! I’ll include some locations and fun tidbits throughout the post!
I think this picture (above) was one of my top 5 favorites from the trip because of that beautiful, glowy foreground and that glowy light on the buildings! Also, YES, that is snow on the ground! This Miami gal was enchanted!
Since it was December, there was already some Christmas decor all over (and even a nighttime, multi-block Christmas festival!!) In the photo above/right, you can see purple lights hanging from the building!
The texture on all these buildings lended to some beautiful black + white images!!
This was a crazy hike up Arthur’s Seat, where you could see all of Edinburgh below! It was so cold, but so beautiful! I didn’t make it all the way up, but my husband did!
This is Glencoe! We were only there for 5 minutes on our way to Loch Ness on a tour, but this was one of my FAVORITE spots on the trip! It was so beautiful and expansive and calming, and it made me feel so small. I wish we could have spent the whole day there, exploring and basking in its beauty! Even though we didn’t get to see it when it is lush and green, it was still so impressive.
On the right is the Edinburgh Castle! You can tell how crazy the elevation changes are even just within the city!
This is the Balmoral Hotel! If you’re a Harry Potter fan, this is where J.K. Rowling wrote the very last chapters of the Harry Potter series! She lives in Edinburgh, so she wrote most of the books at different places around the city, and was even inspired by the city itself for places and people in the book! There’s too much to write here, but basically it’s a lot!
I know it’s a little silly, but the lighting on this building is so glowy and glorious!! This is the light I want all my pictures to be in!
This little village was called Dean’s Village; it was the last stop in our trip, and my husband’s favorite spot. There is a little river running through the neighborhood that was so relaxing and beautiful! We made it right after sunset after trying to get there all day; we kept getting sidetracked!
I hope you enjoyed these few photos from our trip! I can’t wait to travel again!! I’m trying to convince my husband to take us to Paris in honor of my 30th birthday, but with COVID, who knows when that will even be! Where is the most fun or most beautiful place you’ve traveled?
