Everyone told me I had to visit Edinburgh, and Scotland in general, especially after getting my camera and gaining some experience with it. After Slovenia, a colleague and dear friend of mine started her Master’s at the University of Edinburgh, which gave me the perfect opportunity to finally plan a visit.
As I’ve mentioned in my other posts, I travelled to the UK quite a lot for work and would usually plan a few extra days to visit somewhere new. With nothing planned before or after the Christmas party in December 2024, I decided it was time to visit Edinburgh. It wasn’t ideal timing, as my friend was busy with her studies and Christmas was just around the corner, but I decided to make the most of the trip by spending the weekend in Liverpool before heading to Edinburgh for a few days.
It was the middle of December, Edinburgh was decorated for Christmas, and the Christmas market had taken over Princes Street Gardens. Although I like the cold, I definitely wasn’t fully prepared for it.
The beauty of the city mesmerised me. I visited the castle, a couple of museums and some well-known places such as Victoria Street, the High Street, Greyfriars and the Old College, limiting my visits mostly to indoor attractions because of the cold. I knew this wouldn’t be my only visit, so I didn’t feel the need to push myself to see everything.
By this point, I had become familiar with the basics of composition and was trying to apply what I had learnt. This was also my first trip using a 35mm prime lens, which gave me a different perspective and forced me to use my legs more to get the frame I wanted.
A few months after my first visit, and before my next work meet-up, I decided to spend a week in Scotland at the very start of spring. I spent a few days in Edinburgh, visiting places I had skipped previously, such as Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat, while also getting to experience the city in warmer weather.
For the next three days, another colleague hosted me at her place north of Edinburgh, near the Gateway to the Highlands. From there, she took me on a day road trip through Glencoe to Glenfinnan Viaduct, also known as the Harry Potter Bridge. Visiting the viaduct had been on my bucket list, and although we didn’t get to see the steam train pass over it, the weather conditions were almost perfect for photography.
What amazed me most during those three days was the natural beauty of the area. Glenfinnan, Glencoe, the Hermitage and the Falls of Bruar are all unique in their own way. This trip was a wake-up call for my photography. For the first time, I felt a real urge to get better at editing, and I spent months working on the set of photographs I had taken during the trip.
Looking back at the trip and the photos I captured, I realised that I had taken a big step forward in my photography journey. I still go back to this set from time to time, either to look through the photographs or to try something new with my editing.
After these trips, Scotland earned a really special place in my heart. I know I’ve only scratched the surface, so another visit is already in my plans—this time, a longer one and hopefully a road trip across the country.
The only things missing are time and a group of friends to join me.
