Cara Rose

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Portrait session with singer/songwriter Cara Rose

A friend of mine took me to see Cara Rose live at Cottiers in December 2023. She’s a brilliant young singer/songwriter, but I didn’t know much about her or her music. The moment she came on stage, however, I thought I needed to work with her at some point. We chatted briefly after the gig (which was fantastic, by the way) and reconnected in early 2024 to talk about a possible collaboration. Cara loves analog photography, so I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to do a fully analog shoot, something I don’t do often these days. We set a date in February, had a studio, assembled a great team of people, and… well, I fucked it. I messed up the shutter speed settings on my Nikon FM, and every single frame came out half black. It’s quite embarrassing for someone who’s been shooting film long before digital was even an option. Rookie mistake, but what can you do? I had to own up to it. Luckily, everyone involved suggested a reshoot, and we managed to get together again a couple of months later. And yes, we were still determined to use film, although there might be one or two digital shots that sneaked in below - can you tell which ones are which?

Styling & Make Up: Michelle Watson Creative
Assistance: Jock Thomson
Studio: Basement49

GEAR
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikon Z8 + Nikkor Z MC 105mm f2.8
Nikon FM + Nikkor 100mm f1.8
Kodak Portra 400 + Kodak 400 TX
Profoto A10
Profoto B10
Profoto OCF Magnum Reflector
Profoto OCF Softbox 3' Octa
Umbrellas

Celtic Connections 2025

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PHOTOGRAPHING THE 2025 CELTIC CONNECTIONS FESTIVAL

1,500 artists, 40 nationalities, 300 events, 24 venues and 18 days… That’s just some of the stats for this year’s Celtic Connections festival which wrapped up on Sunday. I wrote about working on last year’s outing and how much I enjoyed being a part of it, so you can imagine my delight at being asked to document it again this year. It was a very intense 3 weeks and I’m still catching up on sleep but my heart is full. You can find some of my favourite shots from the past few weeks below:

GEAR
Nikon Z8 x 2
Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8
Nikkor Z 14-24mm f2.8
Nikkor Z 85mm f1.2
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters

Best of 2024

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Happy New Year everyone. 2024 marked 10 years since I became a self-employed photographer full-time. I’ve been meaning to write a separate blog about that cause, as you can imagine, there’s a lot to tell but I simply haven’t gotten around to it. It’s on my to-do list! All I will say is that I felt a shift happened this past year in terms of the kind of work that comes my way, the profile of clients I attract and the frequency of jobs. All for the better. One of 2024 highlights for me, was definitely shooting the Celtic Connections festival. I loved working on it and am delighted to be asked to do it again this year (the festival kicks off on January 16). Another high point was working on The Road Less Travelled, the new Horse album - it was a labour of love with a dear friend and I’m proud of it. Below you can find a dozen of my favourite images from the past year.

ALBUMS OF 2024
Cowboy Carter Beyoncé
Dance, No One’s Watching Ezra Collective
Fabiana Palladino Fabiana Palladino
In Waves Jamie XX
Deeper Well Kacey Musgraves
A La Sala Khruangbin
Short n’ Sweet Sabrina Carpenter
Tyla Tyla
Small Changes Michael Kiwanuka
Orquídeas Kali Uchis

SONGS OF 2024
Deeper Well Kacey Musgraves
Espresso Sabrina Carpenter
Midnight Cowboy Jade
Aquamarine Addison Rae
Texas Hold ‘Em Beyoncé
Truth or Dare Tyla
360 Charli XCX
Yes, And? Ariana Grande
Stay With Me Through the Night Fabiana Palladino
Treat Each Other Right Jamie XX

Mànran at the Hydro

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Behind the scenes with Mànran at the Hoolie in the Hydro

The first time I worked with Mànran, the multi-award-winning Scottish supergroup, was in 2022 when we did a very last-minute promo shoot in Glasgow. Earlier this month they were headlining this year’s Hoolie in the Hydro and I was asked to photograph the band on and off stage during the event. You can see some of my favourite images from the night below:

GEAR:
Nikon Z8
Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8
Nikkor Z 14-24mm f2.8
Nikkor Z 35mm f1.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters
Profoto A10

World Pipe Band Championships 2024

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Pipe Band Competition In Glasgow.

Wikipedia tells me that The World Pipe Band Championships have been staged since 1947. This year I was asked to document the event taking place in Glasgow Green and it turned out to be a surprisingly joyous if slightly cacophonous day. Here are some of my favourite shots:

GEAR
Nikon Z8
Nikkor Z 70-200 f2.8
Nikkor Z 14-24mm f2.8