Downhill, County Antrim

I shot this from my car window on the beach at Downhill in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It must be one of the few places in the UK where you can drive along the (11k) beach. Stunning.

1911 Census Released

The 1911 census was made public for the first time yesterday at the National Archives of Scotland in Edinburgh.
On had was 100 year old Ann Moncus from Edinburgh who appears in the census when she was just 2 months old.
Staff from the National Archives of Scotland dressed in period costume to celebrate the launch.

See the full set of images on Facebook.

Mary, Queen of Mother's Day

Mary Queen of Scots dropped by the Queen Anne Cafe at Edinburgh Castle this weekend to sample the delights of the special Mother's Day menu of tea and cakes.

Jolomo

I first photographed the artist Jolomo (John Lowrie Morrison) a couple of years ago on the Isle of Mull. We are both ex-teachers so got on well with each other straight away.

In February this year I photographed the unveiling of a brilliant new paining by John of Bell Rock, commissioned by the Northern Lighthouse Board.

John then commissioned me to photograph him at his studio in Argyll. We spent an interesting morning together and hopefully captured some of John's character which influences his paining.

You can find out more about Jolomo here and The Jolomo Foundation here.

Scottish Renewables Conference 2011

The annual Scottish Renewables conference took place over two days in Glasgow last week and attracted names such as Prof Susan Deacon, VP of National Geographic Terry Garcia and saw Professor Stephen Salter MBE, a world-leading pioneer of wave power technologies, presented the Saltire Prize Medal by First Minister Alex Salmond.

More info here.

NEW HEIGHTS FOR EAST LOTHIAN SCHOOLS

Minister for Public Health and Sport Shona Robison MSP visited Knox Academy in East Lothian recently to learn of the latest progress in the roll out of community sports hubs.

Top marks to Shona for getting on the trampoline!

Festival of Museums Launch

Buchanan Street in Glasgow was the setting for an impromptu flash mob breakdance performance to mark the programme launch of a brand new festival for Scotland.

The inaugural Festival of Museums will see a jam-packed programme of events taking place in museums and galleries across Scotland from the 13 to 15 May 2011.

More info here.

Visit Cafe Ruby

Here's a postcard featuring some photography I shot for my friends Lesley and Peeter who own Cafe Ruby in Edinburgh's Tollcross area.

It's situated right next to the King's Theatre and serves the best coffee in town.

More info from their website here.

Do pop along - they would love to see you.

First Minister visits Stirling's Royal Palace

First Minister Alex Salmond has revealed details of a weekend of celebrations to mark the opening of Stirling Castle’s Renaissance royal palace after a £12 million refurbishment.
He made the announcement during a visit to the palace where he saw the first of the original 16th-century Stirling Heads being prepared for display in a specially-created gallery on the upper floor.
The royal palace opens to the public on June 4th and 5th 2011.

More images on Facebook.

Starbucks Unveils New Logo and Store

I photographed the newly refurbished Starbucks store on Edinburgh's Royal Mile last year and was delighted when Starbucks commissioned me to photograph their redesigned Knightsbridge store on Brompton Road along with the launch of their new logo.

Day one of the shoot involved me working with Dutch designer Liz Muller to provide interior images of the store. On the second day I provided press and PR images of the store opening along with the unveiling of the new logo.

Starbucks also celebrates its 40th anniversary this year.

Above, top: Darcy Willson-Rymer, Starbucks UK Managing Director unveils the new logo.

Historic Scotland Print Suite for 2011-12

Photographing these leaflet and brochure covers for Historic Scotland took me all over the country last year from Orkney in the north to Caerlaverock Castle in the south. Over 2 million guides are printed and distributed.

One of the perks of the job was getting to spend time at some amazing locations. I think the highlight was the Fort George Colossal Event last August which features on the cover of the 2011 Events guide.

Click the image for a closer view.

For more information about Historic Scotland click here.

Dennis The Menace comes to Edinburgh

This was a tricky PR shoot yesterday to promote the City of Dundee as the King of the Castles - in Edinburgh.

The picture had several elements needed to convey the message; Edinburgh Castle, Dennis The Menace and an advertising trailer with a giant poster of a castle in Dundee on it.

What made the shoot difficult was the position of the sun which was directly over Edinburgh Castle. I had to use quite a lot of off-camera flash to compensate for the strong sunlight.

You can read about the campaign on the Guardian site here.

First Minister Alex Salmond

I was recently commissioned by Holyrood Magazine to photograph First Minister Alex Salmond at Bute House in Edinburgh. The photographs were to illustrate a wide ranging interview with editor Mandy Rhodes and can be found here.

The Jewel of Fife

Great property in the lovely village of Aberdour in Fife photographed for Scotland on Sunday's AtHome magazine.

Amazing terraced gardens with a fantastic view over the Firth of Forth, although the day I visited it was so misty that I couldn't even see the sea.

If you are interested, the property is also listed on the ESPS website here.

Corporate Portraits in Edinburgh

The brief from the client was to provide corporate portraits which would appeal to National and Regional Press. The office where the photographs were to be taken was very traditional so I decided to use only details of it in the photographs.

I almost never use a flash on my camera and prefer to go for off camera flash. All the images were taken using one flash and a brolly to soften the light, except for the shadow shot.

I was quite happy with the set of images produced and so was the client.