An up-close-and-personal pictorial insight of the Dalai Lama’s visit to Scotland has been captured for posterity by an Angus husband-and-wife photography team.
Jack and Marion MacDonald are sorting through a mountain of images they took of the two-day trip of the exiled Tibetan leader to Edinburgh and Dunfermline.
The couple, who have a studio at Kingoldrum, near Kirriemuir, were awarded what they described as an assignment of a lifetime to be official photographers of the tour.
They knew they were in the running some months before and are still unsure why they were selected, except that they were recommended for the job.
Jack and Marion were given access to all areas and went to places other photographers were forbidden from, such as private audiences. It has resulted in a photo-essay of the two days which has left a huge impact on their lives.
“We feel very privileged to have done this work and to have had this most amazing experience,” Jack explained today. “We have come back not quite so much changed, as tweaked.
“It is the first time I have been in the presence of such overwhelming humanity. The Dalai Lama gave every emotion he had to every person he met.
“There were a lot of high emotions going on. We had to do our best to keep a certain distance so we could do our job.
“There were times when there were tears streaming down my face. What I saw was so touching.
“We met a lot of Press photographers and reporters afterwards and these normally hard-bitten journalists were melted by him.
“Everyone was so positive about him. We came back very inspired, as not only is the Dalai Lama charismatic, but very humble.”
As the tour of His Holiness was about world peace, the couple willingly waived their fees.
For Marion, it was the realisation of a lifetime’s ambition.
“Ever since I knew he existed when I was four I have wanted to meet him,” she explained.
She said copies of the candid images will be sent to organisers and to the national archive. They will also be made available on the internet.
