Edith Bowman - Festival Queen

UK festival queen and one of the country’s top broadcasters, Edith Bowman visited Edinburgh recently as part of a broadcast initiative to showcase the surprising number of things to see and do in the world’s favourite Festival City this summer.

The collaborative project supported by VisitScotland, Festivals Edinburgh and Marketing Edinburgh, includes the production of a short online feature starring Edith and the distribution of inspiring festival footage that can be used by major TV production companies around the world.

Click here to watch the film.

Great fun to work with and very easy to photograph.

Paterson Food Photography

I was recently commissioned by Paterson Arran to photography recipes created by food writer Wendy Barrie. The images have been used on recipe cards which will accompany cookery demonstrations taking place at this years Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh which begins this week.

The idea of the campaign is to show that Paterson's shortbread and other products can easily be incorporated into tasty meals and snacks.

One of the perks of food photography is getting to try the products after I have photographed them and I can vouch that they tasted as good as they look. Especially the cheesecake!

Guiding the way at Edinburgh Castle

Children from Edinburgh's only school to teach Gaelic are using their bilingual skills to become tour guides.

Tollcross Primary pupils spent weeks training to become junior guides at Edinburgh Castle, culminating in a costumed performance on Monday evening.

The group performed a 16th century banquet scene in Gaelic for an audience at the castle’s Great Hall on Monday before the graduation ceremony hosted by Nick Finnigan, Executive Manager of Edinburgh Castle.

The images appeared the The Scotsman, Metro and STV Local.

Textiles Scotland Postcards

I shot these images of spring lambs wearing jumpers, scarves and legwarmers on a Borders farm a few months ago. They are being used as part of a Textiles Scotland ' Rediscover the wonders of wool' campaign and have been made into postcards. The lambs featured were just a day old and none were harmed in the making of these images.

New Boys at Ernst & Young Jump for Joy

Recent corporate shot for Ernst & Young which appeared in Scotland on Sunday yesterday along with the following text:

'NORMALLY when companies send out photographs to accompany announcements about their latest hires, they're highly professional, but, some might say, slightly boring compositions.

Ernst & Young in Scotland surprised Barfly when it sent through a snap that looked like the subjects had just finished their exams, announced a comeback tour or even won the lottery.

Apparently spurred on by female cheers from street level, E&Y's new team, including lead partner for financial services in Scotland Peter Wallace, adopted some highly unusual poses during a recent photo shoot.

A spokesperson for the firm declined to comment on whether Peter Ames' stripey socks marked him out as the hell-raiser of the group.'

Perth Racecourse Ladies Day

The photograph on the programme above was shot a couple of months ago for Perth Racecourse to promote their very successful Ladies Day which took place on the 12th May 2011. The photograph was used in the press, in print publications and on a huge billboard in Perth.


The shoot was less than straightforward. The first date for the shoot was cancelled due to atrocious weather at the course and the second date wasn't much better. It rained heavily for most of the time we were there and the sky was overcast and colourless.

The brief was to produce an image of a model dressed in pink, sipping pink champagne with a pink horse. The first part was relatively uncomplicated. We waited for a break in the rain and set up the shot, lighting the model to make it appear that the sun was shining on her.

The key to the shot was to get the horse facing in the right direction and also to make sure that it's ears were pointing upwards. Easier said than done. This took several attempts in between the model being stood on by the horse.


A great deal of post production was required to complete the image. Designer Adam Wilson from Four Colour Black did a great job making the horse pink and adding a pretty believable
blue sky.

All in all a fun job to work on. The client was delighted and Ladies Day was a great success I believe.

Royal Palace Throws Open It's Doors

Over two and a half thousand visitors flocked to Stirling Castle yesterday to catch the first glimpse of the newly refurbished £12m Royal Palace which opened it door's for the first time. Over 70 performers treated the audience to a parade up the esplanade, led by Mary of Guise on horseback.

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop dropped by to drink a toast the Scotland's newest tourist attraction.

The fun continues today from 12 noon and tickets may be purchased at the door. Or draw bridge. Or portcullis.

More info here.

Stirling Heads Together for First Time in 200 Years

Cabinet Secretary for Culture and External Affairs Fiona Hyslop yesterday unveiled the new gallery at Stirling Castle that will display the original collection of Renaissance sculptures known as the Stirling Heads.

A total of 34 Heads, some a metre across, have survived the centuries since their creation sometime after 1530. Many originally decorated the ceiling of the King’s Inner Hall at the heart of the Royal Palace and there is nothing quite like them anywhere else in the world.

Historic Scotland has 31 of the Heads in its care, and three original Heads from the National Museums of Scotland have now joined them in the new gallery.

Bit of a tricky shoot this one. The gallery is very dark (much darker than it looks in the photograph) with no natural daylight to protect the heads. An exposure of 1/6 of a second was required to capture the ambient light with a spot flash picking out the minister.

Prince Charles opens Marie Curie Hospice

Prince Charles officially opened Scotland's newest hospice yesterday - the Marie Curie Cancer Care Hospice in Glasgow - where he chatted to patients, volunteers and staff.

The Duke of Rothesay, as he is known in Scotland, took time to chat to patient Patrick Hanlon who with the RAF in Burma, where his commander in chief was Lord Mountbatten.

He also thanked fundraisers for achieving the £16million pounds to complete the project.

Photographs for Marie Curie Cancer Care.