January 2024

Happy New Year

2023 had been another year with lots of different assignments and lots of fun with more than a few cups of coffee with some cakes added in to the mix. The link shows some of my favourite pictures of the year. There were more but I was running out of music.

Happy New Year on Loch Lomond

I do like an excuse to get up and out on New Years Day. Not that I am a late to bed and party all night kind of guy, but its the thought of sitting in all day when you could be on the back of a speed boat racing over the surface of Loch Lomond photographing the water skiing.  The first skier that was up was Ashleigh from Drymen who was  having her first Ski after giving birth to baby George 5 months earlier. How cool in that. The event was held in aid of The Loch Lomond Rescue Boat and raised over £1800.

Beer We Go

I have lost count at the number of times I have been sitting at the touchline at Hampden Park. It’s an amazing venue. I was there for all the games before following the team to Euro 96 and France 98 under Craig Brown with brilliant payers like Ally McCoist, John Collins, Tom Boyd, Andy Goram etc. I was delighted to be asked back along to photograph the press pictures for the latest campaign for the upcoming Euro Championships. The brewers Tennent’s are giving two lucky Scotland fans the the chance of a lifetime to join the Tartan Army at Euro 2024 in Germany. However they will have to cross the finish line in a televised 1,200 race to earn the trip only using public transport. The show will be narrated by Love Island tv star Iain Stirling. It sounds brilliant. I loved the Scottish Sun’s headline of ‘Beer Were Go’, brilliant.

Bags of Talent

I love meeting talented and creative people. It helps me do my job better. I find creativity does move around the room. I met 18 year old Michael Archibald who applied to collaborate with the John Lewis Partnership and creative agency Saatchi & Saatchi. He was selected by Who Cares? Scotland and was invited to put his mark on a new product. Michael worked with the in-house design team and creative partners at Saatchi & Saatchi to create his unique design. Michael’s bag is the first item in a range, which will be available in John Lewis and Waitrose shops.  It was so good to see him with the colourful tote bag in John Lewis Glasgow.

900 Years Young

The High School of Glasgow, is celebrating its 900th anniversary this year. Founded around 1124, the High School started out as a ‘Sang School’ or choir school for boys at Glasgow Cathedral. With me loving all things old and Glasgow History in particular I was so delighted to be involved with this years 900th Anniversary. I have photographed some super events this year. I met School Captains Thom and Anya in the cloisters of Glasgow Cathedral, where the students would have attended the choir school. What a thought, standing in the spot where their fellow pupils would have been taught all these years ago in the lower part of the cathedral.

I also covered a super event at Kelvingrove Art Gallery where the school celebrated with a dinner with loads of former pupils coming together. To mark its 900th anniversary, the school is running a year-long programme of events during 2024 and is this week launching a fundraising appeal, the 900 Campaign, to increase the school’s Bursary Fund and develop an educational initiative called START promoting new skills for youngsters.

A 50mm Standard Lens

Back in the day when you bought a 35mm film camera they all came with a standard 50mm lens. It’s the lens that shows the image in the closest perspective to the human eye. Everyone had one and they kind of fell out of favour. I used mine to look at negatives on a light box. However they, like vinyl records, have made a comeback. With the new moniker ‘nifty fifty ‘ they are being used more and more. Leica cameras have one that is £10000.

One of my photography colleagues recently bought one and wanted to start taking pictures that were not work related and just for fun and creativity. She is a very creative photographer I should add. Anyway she started the 50mm picture a day challenge on Facebook. I did it for January and really enjoyed it. I found it could take over a bit though, I was getting too keen. Here are some of my favourite pictures from the month. The group are keeping it going for as long as they can. I will drop a picture in now and again. The three I have shown here were some of my favourites.

I Am Missing the Panto Already

January always brings an end to the panto season. There are some great pantos in Glasgow. I was so pleased to be asked to do  the poster pictures for this years Pavilion production. There were loads of social media post too when Strictly came on TV or I am a Celebrity. There were loads of picture I saw all relating to the hot topics of the day. I still do feel a sense of pride when I see a poster up with my picture on it. Even more so when I see it on a bus.