Favorite photos of places we visited our second year

Although it has been a long time coming, I'm finally wrapping up my photos from our second year living abroad. You can see some of the previous posts from the links at the bottom. These are of places, not people, though a couple shots have folks in them. Also, shots of domestic and wild animals caught my fancy this year, so I've thrown in a few. (If only you knew how many photos of puffins I have . . . )

As always, I agonize over selecting my "favorites" when some of the nearly favorites woulda coulda shoulda been chosen instead. But I'm stuck now, so I need to stop whimpering and get on with it.

These photos aren't all from 2015, mind you. Rather, these are photos from June 2014 to June 2015. Yes, I'm that far behind. {shrug}

As a final word, I'll note that the places depicted aren't necessarily my favorites of the year. Instead, they're the favorite photos, not the favorite spots or buildings or vistas. That said, some of the places are pretty damn awesome.

Enjoy!

The Kelpies are the largest equine statues in the world. (Falkirk, Scotland)

Inverary Castle, the ancestral home of the Duke of Argyll (and a filming location for episodes of Downton Abbey). (Inverary, Scotland)

You'll find nowhere in the world with better access to puffins and other seabirds than the Isle of Lunga, part of the Treshnish Isles on the west coast of Scotland. (Lunga, Scotland)

One of those elusive pots of gold can be found in Castle Trim, Ireland. (Castle Trim, Ireland)

A fantastic hike of the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye ends with a view of the "Table." That's my bro-in-law, David, at top right. (Quiraing, Isle of Skye, Scotland)

I love the juxtaposition of tiny Jackson with the monumental Temple of Olympian Zeus. (Athens, Greece)

Another great hike on Skye is to the deserted Neist Point Lighthouse. (Isle of Skye, Scotland)

In nearly three years abroad, we've only returned to the U.S. once. We love the snow in Colorado, where Grammar and one of Kate's sisters live. (Mesa, Colorado, U.S.A.)

I try to snap a pic of the ceilings in all the churches, abbeys, and cathedrals we visit. Sometimes, the best ceiling is no ceiling at all. (Jedburgh Abbey, Scotland)

This exhibit, Floating Heads, greets visitors at the U.K.'s most visited museum outside of London, the Kelvingrove Museum. (Glasgow, Scotland)

The Jacobite steam train, also known as the Hogwarts Express, huffs and puffs across the Glenfinnan Viaduct. (Glenfinnan, Scotland)

People aren't the only ones who enjoy the beauty of the Crossraguel Abbey ruins. (Maybole, Scotland)

What can I say? I lurv me some ruins. This tower fragment stands in a village outside Dublin. (Trim, Ireland)

The most scenic lake in Scotland, as viewed from the summit of one of its islands, Inchcailloch. (Loch Lomond, Scotland)

Did you enjoy those? Here are more favorite pics of our second year in Scotland:


 

(Nearly) favorite photos of places we visited our second year in Scotland






Favorite family photos of our second year in Scotland







(Nearly) favorite photos of our second year in Scotland





Want to see more? Here are the favorites from our first year in Scotland:





Favorite photos of places we visited in our first year







(Nearly) favorite photos of places we visited our first year






Favorite family photos of our first year in Scotland






(Nearly) favorite family photos of our first year in Scotland

Favorite family photos of our second year in Scotland

Here's a baker's dozen of my favorite family photos from our second year in Scotland.

Like last year, many of these were selected because of their composition, or colors, or mood, though a couple were just simply cute and I couldn't resist. Unlike last year, I've expanded my subjects beyond just family to include other folks, though that's a bit more apparent in the earlier post of my nearly favorite family photos of our second year in Scotland.

Remember, you can click on the photos to scroll through them in larger size, though you won't get the captions that way.

A couple of the pics below make me giggle. Every time.

A mid-hike break to play in the sand on the island of Inchcailloch, in the middle of Loch Lomond.

The changing of the guard at Athen's Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers involves a lot of high-kicking and theatrical stances. I admit this pose cracks me up. It has a Monty Python-esque quality, especially with those faces.

My niece, Rosalie, in her Burberry rain coat.

Kate and I explored The Lighthouse, by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, in Glasgow. Our friend and fellow expat, Katy, came along, too.

Grampa Bill hefts Jackson during our visit back to North Carolina.

Kate gazing at the Crinan Canal in Argyll and Bute, Scotland.

Caught this shot on my ancient iPhone while skiing in Colorado.

Kate snacked on some digestives and enjoyed the view of the Trossachs in Scotland.

Jackson delves, and then emerges, from a tunnel on the grounds of Pollock House in Glasgow.

Almost a tackle during a rugby sevens match at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Credit for the snapshot goes to Kate during our hike in the Quiraing on the Isle of Skye. This one gives me the giggles.

An impromptu family pic at our B&B on the Isle of Iona, before heading out to explore.

An amazing day on Lunga, part of the Treshnish Isles archipelago. This is one of my all-time favorite family photos.

It took a great deal of deliberation to decide which photos made the cut for this baker's dozen, and which ones were only nearly favorite family photos of our second year in Scotland. Oh, the agony. And now I'm second-guessing one or two.

How'd I do? Did I pick the right ones? Or were some of the nearly favorites better than these?



Here are the nigh on, almost, nearly favorite family pics of our second year in Scotland:


 
 
(Nearly) favorite family photos of our second year in Scotland







Want to see more? Here are the favorites from our first year in Scotland:





Favorite photos of places we visited our first year






(Nearly) favorite photos of places we visited our first year






Favorite family photos of our first year in Scotland






(Nearly) favorite family photos of our first year in Scotland

I wuz robbed!

Okay, not really.

Let's try again:  I wuz screwed!

Well, not really. It was the judges' decision. Three of them. They had 32,000 entries, and somehow, somehow, SOMEHOW did not choose my photo. Nincompoops.

What do they know?!? Are they blind?!? They're not even %$!@&*# professional photographers!

{Ed.'s note: Neither are you, Brian.}

Harrumph.

Every year, the BBC show Countryfile has a photo competition. It seeks viewers' photos for a calendar, sales of which raise money for the BBC's Children in Need charity. They get tens of thousands of submissions every year, sometimes more than 50,000. Judges select their top twelve photos, and then the public votes on its favorite. The winner gets £1,000 for photography equipment. The judges' favorite gets £500.

Countryfile is a BBC workhorse. On the air since July 1988, it now broadcasts 52 weeks per year in an hour-long prime time Sunday slot on BBC1. The show focuses on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues. Each week the show travels to a different part of the British countryside, ranging all over the island. Weekly segments may focus on wildlife, farming, local crafts, county fairs, disease outbreaks, nature walks, or any of a variety of similar topics. For my American readers, the show reminds me a bit of CBS's Sunday Morning show.

This year's photo competition theme was "Animal Magic." Exactly what that meant wasn't specified, of course, giving wide latitude to both the competitors and the judges. The animals photographed had to be either wild or agricultural (not pets), and photographed in the U.K. Photographers had to be amateurs. Submissions were required to be physical photos, not electronic, and competitors could submit a maximum of three. A panel of past winners and finalists winnowed the field from 32,000 to 3,000. Then the final three judges -- a U.K. comedian (and birdwatcher); a veterinarian; and one Countryfile's longtime hosts -- chose their favorite twelve.

What do this year's finalist photos look like? Here's a sampling. Note that the contest photos posted online are of low image quality (presumably deliberate to prevent anyone capitalizing on the photos before the calendar is released), so these images don't do them justice.

"Ruffled Feathers"

"Harvest Mouse"

"Fox Love"

"Swan Sweethearts"

"Piglets on Parade"

"Curious Cattle"

Any of the above photos is a worthy winner. They're outstanding. Do you have a favorite? I think mine is "Curious Cattle," but my opinion shifts every time I look at them.

Among the other six photos, I think a couple are real clunkers. I'm not showing them, though you can easily find them online. However, I'm certainly not a real photographer. I barely qualify as an amateur. I'm best termed a "beginner." You can decide for yourself. What were the judges thinking? Congrats to all the finalists!

What photo did I submit? A puffin masterpiece, amiright? Taken on the island of Lunga, among the Treshnish Isles off the west coast of the Isle of Mull. Hard to believe the good people of the United Kingdom won't have the opportunity to gaze at this photo every day next July, or March, or October, or whenever.

My puffin masterpiece from Lunga in the Treshnish Isles. "Look ma, no legs!"

Voting for the competition ends this coming Sunday. The winner will be revealed in October. For those of you in the U.K., cast a vote now for your favorite: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t0bv


UPDATE: To see the winners, take a look here: http://coloringwithoutborders.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/countryfile-photo-competition-winner-is.html