Kathryn Polley Photography

12/06/2026

The Photography & Wellbeing Group at Jean's Bothy, Helensburgh will be celebrating on Saturday 20th June, at the Bothy from 12noon with a 'Hands of Friendship' photography workshop - open to all in the community who wish to celebrate with us, and you don't need a fancy camera - your phone will work just fine!

03/06/2026

I remember the first time I ever saw an acer. We'd just moved back up to Scotland, and there was a beautiful specimen next to the pond in my parents' garden. I'd never seen such delicate, frondy leaves before, and in such a glorious colour! None of the houses we'd lived in previously had sported anything so mesmerising! However, I had obviously not been paying much attention because it was only this weekend that I spied their seeds, still attached - higgledy clusters of winged samaras, dancing in among the leaves, tiny red versions of the more usual sycamore 'helicopters' that spin as they fall.

01/06/2026

My latest Substack post: https://open.substack.com/pub/kathrynpolleyphotography/p/mindful-meals-woodland-walks-and?r=1phz1k&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web mentions, among other things, the brilliant Mindful Meal put on by the Friends of Jean's Bothy in conjuction with Jean's Bothy, Helensburgh this weekend. It was a beautiful introduction to mindfulness with incredible food and great company. If you're interested in learning more about mindfulness practice there is an introductory session being run as a fundraiser for the Bothy on June 13th with a discount for Supporters, Champions and Patrons: https://www.facebook.com/events/3887917131503820/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22search%22%7D%2C%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22attachment%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22newsfeed%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D

24/05/2026

What a gorgeous day we had for our Spring Photography Workshop yesterday at Geilston Garden NTS, organised by the Friends of Geilston. Thanks must go to all who attended for making it such a lovely relaxed time in super company, and even though the weather was a bit sunnier than I'd have liked, I think we all appreciated the warmth and the buzzing of insects around the garden. I'm really looking forward to the Summer edition in July where we'll be concentrating on the Kitchen Garden area.

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22/05/2026

Really looking forward to this tomorrow! The weather forecast is for sunny intervals with a moderate breeze - so we will be playing around with light and movement among other things!

Kath

A shout out for our first Photography Workshop of 2026 with local photographer Kathryn Polley. The workshop takes place on Saturday 23rd May from 2-4pm and has a cost of £12.50 (plus normal NTS entry fee for non members) For more information and to book a place contact [email protected]

19/05/2026

Recovering from a lovely couple of days away with friends. The combination of the drive and the walk has left me a bit 'cronked' (actually, quite a lot crooked) but it was so good to have a change of scenery, some fresh air, good company. It ought to be on prescription!

14/05/2026

Seafish UK Limited are really slaying this! (I'm far too old for that - apologies. But it is VERY cool to see my images on this packaging!)

15/02/2026

I took members of the Jean's Bothy Photography & Wellbeing Group for a short photo walk on Saturday. Our theme was Broken and Whole, and I can't really shoe horn this shot into that theme, but it is an example of the kind of thing that I love to stumble upon. An every day object out of place, in an unexpected site. Look at it. It's just sitting there for all the world as if it is perfectly natural to find an empty shopping basket on your front step.

30/01/2026

Sometimes the algorithm gives you something more important than AI kittens. Su***de affects so many people, their family and friends. Finding a reason to stay is key. Maybe, it feels too hard to approach those you love in the first instance. Maybe a stranger could help. Maybe you need one of these letters, or maybe you could write one for someone else, but what an amazing idea this is.

Reasons to Stay is a su***de prevention project reaching people at difficult moments through anonymous letters written by volunteers. Each letter on this site was written by a real person and delivered to you at random when you visited this page.

18/01/2026

For our first Photo Walk of 2026, the Photography & Wellbeing Group ventured out of Helensburgh and headed to Dalreoch (tinterweb suggests the name could mean 'grey fields' or the 'king's dale' - take your pick, although yesterday's weather was definitely leaning towards shades of grey!) from where we strolled alongside the river Leven in search of Chaos or Calm. Or both. We found plenty of examples in the chaotic mess of litter to be found at water's edge, or the absolute tumble of reeds and weeds. It was remarked on that the 'chaos' of branches and other natural materials nonetheless created a sense of calm. The air being still meant the water was flat so even in an image with trees, branches, bridges, train, road, overhead cables, clouds, lock-ups, reflections...the overall sense was peaceful. This theme is one of many designed to getting us to think about how different, sometimes oppositional ideas, might sit together, and how they might be represented visually. More to come!