Welcome to My Journey With a Camera

An introduction to me, a Substack newbie who is slowly finding her way around...

A lone Scots pine with Loch Maree and Slioch in the background

Welcome!

Welcome to My Journey With a Camera where I will be sharing my photographic wanders, what I learn along the way, and anything else that interests me. My name is Lynn Fraser, I live on a small fruit farm with my husband in the north of Scotland, and, over the years, have been a solicitor, made jam for our farm shop, retrained in floristry so we could do Interflora from our shop, and more recently worked as an archaeologist (after going back to Uni when my youngest son was at nursery). I now concentrate on the admin for our business, which, in theory, was supposed to give me more free time for my photography. That is yet to transpire!

Photography and travel go hand in hand for me, whether that’s at home or further afield.

Since receiving a Kodak Instamatic at some point in my childhood, taking pictures has been a constant part of my life. I have countless albums and a large box filled with photos, some better than others, and now several external hard drives similarly filled. Whatever the quality, all the photos have the ability to unlock a flood of memories and emotions.

I have always loved to travel; the process as well as the destination. I sometimes wonder if my slightly peripatetic childhood contributed to my wanderlust. Born in France due to my Royal Air Force father’s posting there, I then went on to live in Scotland, followed by Malta, before moving to England in time for my 5th birthday. My father came out of the RAF and eventually got a job in the fledgling UK oil industry. This sent us back to Scotland, to a small town near Aberdeen, just before my 9th birthday. I’ve stayed in Scotland ever since, moving north to Inverness for my first job after graduating from Uni. I now live in the Black Isle (it’s not an island!) about 8 miles north of Inverness. It’s a beautiful part of the world and a fabulous springboard to the wonderfully scenic Highlands and Islands. I have travelled to some amazing locations but I always get a thrill to be home.

Why My Journey With a Camera?

Until about 2011, I had only ever owned ‘point and shoot’ cameras, whether film or digital, and had always hankered after a ‘proper’ camera. Back then, it was possible to exchange Tesco* vouchers at double their face value for a multitude of goods. I saved up until I had enough to get myself a DSLR. Getting that camera was the start of a journey: not only did it get me out and about and come with me on my travels, it contributed to my journey as a person. Having a camera has opened the door to parts of the world I would never have visited, cultures I would never have experienced, friends I would never have met, and, perhaps most importantly, to discoveries about myself.

Unlike many people here on Substack, I haven’t been a blogger. I’ve dabbled, that’s as far as it goes. My photo taking is more prolific than my past blog posts and I enjoy sharing my images along with a story or, with my love of the past, the history of wherever I have visited. This is what I do on Instagram but Substack offers more scope for writing with the images so that is what I’ll be doing here. I hope you’ll stick around and travel with me; we’ll be going on new adventures as well as exploring my photographic archive. If you haven’t already, and so you don’t miss any of my posts, please hit the subscribe button below.

Say hi!

Please leave a comment below to say hi and let me know where in the world you are.

*For those of you not in the UK, Tesco is one of our large supermarket chains.

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