Gibsons resident Raymond Eagle's first camera was a box-style Brownie. That was 35 years ago and he has been taking pictures ever since as a serious amateur photographer using Kodak, Pentax and finally, a digital camera.
At first he intended to use the photos of his visits to Scotland to help inspire him in his watercolour painting back home. But when he put the entire collection of photos together and really studied them, he realized he had a visual journal and a book in the making.
Eagle has recently combined his photography with his love of Scotland in a new self-published book, Scotland: A Photographic Journal.
His travels take in the wildest and remotest parts of that country. He has observed the Cuillin Mountains and journeyed through the misty Isle of Skye, the Hebrides and the Isle of Mull, and he has photographed Scotland's highest mountain, Ben Nevis. He has been on a boat that sailed up to the curious rock formations that inspired Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony, and he has captured a stormy day at sea. One of the challenges in taking photos in Scotland is that there's rarely a time without a cloud. Eagle learned to wait for just the right moment.
The book also includes a photo of the scenic viaduct used in the Harry Potter films and shots of the rhododendrons that grow profusely. One year, while there with his son, Eagle recorded the historic 250th anniversary of Bonnie Prince Charlie raising his banner. Many of the prince's ancestors attended the ceremony to keep the memory alive - all this from a man who was born in England.
"I've been visiting Scotland since the 1940s," he said. "I've always felt at home and accepted by the people there."
This is not the first book for Eagle. He published a comprehensive biography of the Scottish naturalist and author Seton Gordon, The Life and Times of a Highland Gentleman (Lochar Publishers) and a summarized brief account is reprised in his latest book. He also writes for The Highlanders, a U.S. publication of Scottish history. After moving to Canada, Eagle wrote a biography of Budge and Nancy Bell-Irving, a former lieutenant governor of B.C. and his wife.
This affinity with history is apparent in his latest book by reading a short note about Marjorie Kennedy-Fraser, the singer who gathered three volumes of Songs of the Hebrides for posterity. An archival photo of Fraser is accompanied by a photo of the Hebrides in June - an array of wild flowers covering a grassy sward.
With prompting from his son, Eagle decided to compile the 35 years of photos himself using a page design program on his home computer that was then printed professionally. The result is a good-looking, wee bit of nostalgia for anyone who loves Scotland.
The book is available for $20 by contacting Eagle directly at 604-886-7444 or by e-mail to [email protected].
