Hills of the North West ..Highland Landscape Photography Exhibition

More Images from Iain Brownlie Roy's current exhibition at the Gallery Cafe....

Current photographic exhibition

The first exhibition in The Gallery Cafe is a by
Iain Brownlie Roy "Hills of the North-west"

Written by Iain himself he describes his exhibition below....


In this inaugural exhibition at the Gallery Cafe, I am showing some
images of my on-going work from around “The Ancient Foreland”
these pictures are of some of our region’s best known hills so
are likely to strike a chord of recognition. This is a much loved
landscape, familiar to many. I first came to the region as a youngster
on a family holiday and will always remember my father’s nostalgic
tales of hiking on the hills and tracks of Wester Ross in the pre-war
era, that halcyon age of the true rambler. Something must have entered
the blood for, in turn, I brought my own family north and then began
to spend time in the area regularly, between Greenland journeys; so
much so that there was a kind of happy inevitability when Fiona and I
finally came to make our home at Rhue. Living here, I have the
advantage of being on the hills when the light is likely to be at its
most transcendental. Even so, nothing is ever guaranteed, an element
of chance is always a factor in landscape photography, and no place is
ever quite the same on different days when changed conditions can
stymie the best laid plans – hill walkers know all too well how
“Nature is not bound to be kind”. However, I can honestly say I have
never once regretted a day spent outdoors, especially in such a
magnificent and challenging setting as the North-west Highlands. Over
the years I have photographed very different places, each with its
unique genius loci: the chalk downlands of Sussex, the majestic snow
peaks of the Himalaya, or the gaunt empty spaces of the Greenland
Arctic, but the landscape of the Ancient Foreland is particularly
captivating. On many occasions when I have been among the hills of the
North-west, particularly when they are blessed with alchemic light, I
feel that ineffable sense of peace which draws people back north, and,
at such moments, I know I would rather be nowhere else in the world.

Launch evening of the new Gallery Cafe

Monday evening saw the official opening of the Gallery and as you can see it was very successful and extremely busy



myself and Iain Roy who has the first exhibition in the Gallery Cafe...

The Gallery opens

Saturday saw the first day of the Gallery Cafe .. to see the gallery finished was fantastic and it looks even better than imagined. The exhibition area is a really great space .. and will do justice to the planned exhibitions this year and the Cafes revamp has made a huge difference to the overall look.
Saturday saw one of our busiest days and a lot of interest in the photography on the walls. More on the current and planned photographic exhibitions soon..

Gallery refurbishment

The gallery refurbishment finally started on the week of June 8th. The cafe closed down for the week giving us a chance to get things done in the cafe whilst the builders moved in. The series of photos show the week from beginning till nearly the end.
The mountains which had been made specially for the cafe a few years ago still exist but are now encased in a white wall . The wall was built around them by builders Rich and Chris who worked exceptionally quickly and allowed us to go to plan and re open on the saturday . Dougie the painter caught on camera below was fantastic and managed to get everything done in a day.

A very special thanks must go to Chris who made an absolutely stunning display unit for our prints as well as a cake stand ( made out of a tree from Corrieshalloch gorge ) ...all last minute requests and all finished the evening before we opened.. Heres the imges so far ...

Amidst all the saws, paint and stacked chairs Daisy Chris's dog managed to find a great spot in the sun..

shortbread

The Gallery cafes shortbread has been described by customers as the best they have ever tasted before ...
Our recipe is simple and easy to remember..3,2,1 plain flour to caster sugar to butter
Simply combined in the beater till light , rolled and baked till slightly golden round the edges

Things to do in ullapool

Over the next few months I will be running a series of posts on what there is to do in Ullapool rain or shine ....from outdoor pursuits like hill walking, to local shops and attractions.
It seemed a good way to start is just down the stairs from the cafe ...... North west Outdoors
The shop below the cafe is a great shop selling everything outdoors ... equipment, clothing , maps , books...

John and Lawrence own the shop and I have yet to get hold of a photo of John but in the meantime ....

Lawrence