January 2023

Recording in the Studio

I met the super talented Ukrainian pianist Svetlana Andreeva and her husband, conductor Sergey Neller who were recording her new CD with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra orchestra at The New Auditorium in Glasgow. They were recording AIR Piano concerto N°4 & “DAWN” Symphonic poem. It is a World premiere recording by the composer Christian Schittenhelm. You can find the new CD at Sfumato Records soon. Here is the link – https://sfumatorecords.com/

I was there to document the day. The experience was amazing. What a sound. Thank goodness for my silent shutter on my Canon R5 when the red light came on during the recording.

Watching the Orchestra

I found myself back in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall with Royal Scottish National Orchestra not long after my experience of the recording with Svetlana.  It was for the performance of the Beethoven Emperor Concerto with pianist Francesco Piemontesi,  conducted by Danish conductor Thomas Søndergård . Once again the music was superb.

Who Wants to go Into Space ?

This month I met the world’s first female private space explorer  XPRIZE Foundation CEO, Anousheh Ansari. She was inspirational talking to the youngsters from local schools at the Glasgow Science Centre . It was great watching the reaction of this Springburn Academy pupil as she was trying on a space helmet. Anousheh met with the school children before attending a showcase of Scottish space companies organised by Scottish Enterprise. 

Glasgow’s Hospice Takes to the Airwaves

I have had many assignments at the Price & Princess of Wales hospice however this was my first photo call that involved recording a podcast. I met Pauline Moore, host and producer of ‘Dear Green Place’ podcast with Rhona Baillie, Chief Executive of The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in the hospice grounds. I wanted to show the lovely winter scene while they recorded the everyday things happening in the hospice. The lake in front of the building  looked lovely in the winter sun. 

The Big Studio at the Kelvin Hall

A few months ago I was in the new BBC Studios in the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow. I was photographing all the state of the art facilities in the building in the space that I used to go and see the circus at when I was young. The studio was not quite ready that time and I finally got access this month. I have actually photographed the Frankie Boyle new World Order show in the space but this was my first time seeing it empty and realising just how big it is. It is huge and with all the studio lights reflecting on the lovely clean floor it looked massive. The following day was the official opening with First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. It would have been hard to keep the floor clean with all the photographers and press in.

All The Best for 2023

Finally a happy new year to everyone. I really hope we have put the last few covid years behind us. I have put together a slide show of some of my favourite assignments over 2022.