First football photography of the year at Holm Park, home of Clydebank FC who faced Troon.
Clydebank won 4-1 on what was a bitterly cold, wet day.
In fact as I type this I am still feeling the chill!
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Hello Autumn!
When the trees start to shed and the ground is covered in an array of coloured leaves that is the time I love most as a photographer.
There is just ‘something’ about the light at this time of year, that just makes it ideal for photography that is whether it be for a portrait or landscape shot.
It was great to meet up with a friend who is also a great photographer and get some lovely autumn shots. We had our pet dogs enjoying the walk with us. Even though the trees aren’t quite there yet in their colour, the Acer trees looked amazing in their red gowns and the weather although wet wasn’t unpleasant.
Here is to many more days like this!
Graded Unit Shots
My original plan was to include quite a few people from the various places I visited on my travels. But then after much thought (carried out mostly while travelling) I lapsed onto the theme of solitude and what it means to be on your own. I am not talking about loneliness, but instead having the state of being alone forced upon you by your environment. Enjoying being alone and distancing yourself from other people is pretty much the status of an introvert. Yet it can also be that being alone isn’t from choice, but because people simply are not around. From a time not that long ago, we had to distance ourselves socially and physically from others. We had to hide what was the most expressive and communicative part of our body from others and I think this is what a lot of people missed. You had to work from home, you couldn’t travel, not even to be in someone else’s home. My graded unit is not about that but what I now feel has certainly shown the connotations of the effect that has had on people. They have found contentment in solitude that perhaps they’d never have forced upon themselves. They are finding that there is value in that moment. Of being there alone feeling the buzz of knowing this vista exists only for them – no one else is seeing what they are seeing. What the world is giving them to look upon is theirs.
This is the gift of Solitude.
You could say I am showing the desolation more than the solitude, but I am still there, travelling and observing, capturing, and expressing both sides of Scotland… just at a time of day that most people aren’t!
P.S. I got an A for this Unit.
Wheelchair Curling in Dumfries
What a pleasure it was to be invited to Dumfries to capture the Scottish Wheelchair Curling Championships taking place at the Ice Bowl.
Although this was to fulfil a brief for photojournalism as a keen follower of sports this one intrigued me. In Scotland, Curling is known as the ‘roaring game’ because the person delivering the stone shouts at those who brush the ice with special brushes in order to create friction on the ice so that the stone gets to where it is intended even curling on its path by other stones.
Wheelchair curling is different in that there is no sweepers so there is no real need to shout. Instead it is a keen eye and a stick that delivers the push on the curling stone.
Therefore there is a significant skill in wheelchair curling so much so it was included in the Paralympic Games in China.
As much as the word ‘ice’ gives you the feelings of cold I actually didn’t take the cold into account so it was me and a T-Shirt in amongst the sportsmen and ladies all wrapped up snuggly.
I will know next time. Hopefully there will be a next time.
https://scottishwheelchaircurling.com
Legend
Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.
It’s not usual to have your picture taken by a legend, but this was taken by a larger than life legend who has been cruelly taken from his family, friends and students far, far too soon. An amazing individual that taught me so much in the little time I knew him, yet such a humble man who just loved what he did: taking photographs and helping others do the same. But he was so much more than a teacher. He was a gentleman with a keen sense of humour that was so appreciated by everyone whose life he touched. He will be sorely missed by so many because he was so much to so many. He so obviously thought the world of everyone he taught and now that world is in darkness.
Photography is all about light, and I hope my photography and that of those who you helped to be the best they can be fill that world with light again with the shining example you set us. R.I.P Robert. Bless you.
Fridays For Future
As Glasgow hosts the COP (Conference of Parties) these marchers are adamant that not everything is being done that could be.
Frank and Bekkah Get Hitched
A pleasure to be invited to capture some photographs for Frank and Bekkah recently. After their ceremony at Paisley they treated close friends and family to a meal and a night of laughs. At just under 2 hours this wasn’t the normal wedding day photography assignment, but it it was full of smiles and fun all the same. Bekkah was fantastic in getting the obviously camera-shy Frank to open up a bit, and knew exactly what pictures she wanted from the day. This makes my job so much easier – if under a couple of hours could be any more easy! A big thanks to them both for asking me along and I wish them every blessing and happiness.
