A STEP BACK IN TIME
Enthralled by Aberdeen’s Footdee and its charming residents, lifestyle photographer David Fowlie found the gorgeous fishing village a peaceful playground
The gorgeous fishing village of Footdee in Aberdeen was a playground for photographer David Fowlie
Whether it’s a leafy trail or a secluded beach we call our own, each of us finds a corner of the world that fills us with joy, writes Rosie Morton. For David Fowlie – a lifestyle photographer from Broxburn near Edinburgh – it was the magic of Footdee, a charming fishing village at the end of Aberdeen Beach known affectionately to locals as ‘Fittie’, that truly captivated him.
‘I loved being so close to the beach,’ says David, explaining he lived in Aberdeenshire for nearly ten years before moving to the Highlands to work at Kingshouse Hotel. ‘I’d set my alarm and literally dash out with ten or fifteen minutes’ notice. I’d get straight up, jump in the car – I just loved Fittie. It’s actually the last place I went before moving to Glencoe, it’s that special to me. I walked about and it was raining a little bit, and I remember thinking it would be my favourite place from which to leave Aberdeenshire.’
Enchanted by tales of old, it was not just Fittie’s quaint, colourful doorways and well worn streets that David held so dear, it was the many generations of residents whose stories were woven into the fabric of the houses that he found beguiling. ‘There was one story of a lady who moved to Fittie,’ he says. ‘It was a very religious place, so you didn’t put your washing out on a Sunday, and she didn’t know. She woke up and her stuff had been posted back through her window.
‘I once met two ladies who were just out on the front of the beach between Fittie and the break for the waves. Their conversations were very funny. They tell you all these open stories – you don’t get that spontaneity on the busy high street.’
Finding the north east’s waterfalls, historical sites and beaches a photographer’s playground, David revels in the unique beauty of Aberdeenshire. Now focusing his sights on Glencoe’s dramatic landscapes and spectacular sunsets, as well as dabbling in astrophotography, his work is a veritable ode to the wonderful diversity of our home country.
“It’s actually the last place I went before moving to Glencoe
David’s work is an ode to the wonderful diversity of our home country
It was not just Fittie’s colourful doorways and well worn streets that David held so dear