Heidi Talbot

BEST OF 2025

2025 SUMMARY

I had every intention of posting this earlier this month, but this year’s January is running away from me. It’s not a bad thing however, as the beginning of the year in this latitude can often feel like inhabiting Mordor - dark, hopeless, grey, where time is stretched beyond limits and where the thought of spring and light is but a memory. It turns out that flying off to Italy on January 2nd can help with that predicament massively. Who would’ve thought? My partner and I spent some time in Palermo (18 degrees Celsius, thank you very much) and then Milan and since coming back, my work has been in overdrive. I’m in the middle of the Celtic Connections festival, which I’m delighted to be covering 3rd year in a row, and which will inevitably be the subject of the next blog post (in anticipation, you’re welcome to check out previous years’ outings here and here). On top of that, I’ve got major projects with Horse, Kris Drever and Rainbow Room underway so I’m a bit stretched at the moment. Again, not a bad thing at all, I’m enjoying the work and it keeps my mind from worrying about that massive tax bill hanging over my head. But hey, life of a freelancer, right? Anyway, enough rambling. Here are some of my favourite images from 2025 as well as the music I was listening to. Enjoy and have a wonderful 2026.

ALBUMS OF 2025
Euro-Country CMAT
Owls, Omens, and Oracles Valerie June
Man’s Best Friend Sabrina Carpenter
Lux Rosalía
Through The Wall Rochelle Jordan
Lifetime Erika de Casier
Lay Low Eddie Chacon
Vie Doja Cat
Addison Addison Rae
Can’t Lose My (Soul) Annie & The Caldwells
That’s Showbiz Baby! Jade

SONGS OF 2025
Wrong Annie & The Caldwells
Headphones On Addison Rae
Euro-Country CMAT
Balenciaga Covered Eyes Agnes
Type Dangerous Mariah Carey
Dopamine Robyn
Jealous Type Doja Cat
Tears Sabrina Carpenter
Berghain Rosalía
Doing It To Rochelle Jordan

Heidi Talbot - Grace Untold

PHOTOGRAPHY, ARTWORK & VIDEO FOR HEIDI TALBOT’S NEW ALBUM

Grace Untold is the new album from Irish singer-songwriter Heidi Talbot. I met Heidi on a shoot with Boo Hewerdine in February 2024, although I’d been wanting to photograph her for a long time. Heidi and I got along brilliantly, sharing our love of music and yoga, and I guess that shoot with Boo went well as I was asked to create visuals to promote Heidi’s new release, Grace Untold, an album inspired by and dedicated to Irish women, warriors and goddesses. I shot the album cover, filmed and produced the video EPK and designed the CD and Vinyl packaging. See all of that and more below:

Album Cover shoot, March 2025:

Hair & Make Up: Paulina Siembor
Styling: Michelle Watson Creative
Assistance: Marta

Album Promo, April 2025:

Album EPK:

GEAR
Nikon Z8
Nikkor Z 85mm f1.2 + Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter
Profoto A10 + Profoto Clic Softbox Octa 2’
Reflector
DJI RS 2

Best of 2024

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

Celtic Connections 2024

Documenting the 2024 Celtic Connections Festival

Well, this January flew by for a change, thanks to Celtic Connections, the world-renowned folk, roots and world music festival. Glasgow Life approached me late last year asking if I’d be interested in documenting the 2024 outing of the annual winter event and I was, like, hmm, I need to think about it. I’m kidding, obviously, I jumped at the opportunity!

This year’s festival run from January 18th to February 4th, with over 300 events involving 1,200 artists across 25 of the city’s venues. I’m not superhuman and was able to photograph only a portion of that, but hopefully what you see below is a good representation of the 2024 Celtic Connections. I had a blast and am looking forward to the 2025 edition if they have me back. Enjoy a selection of my favourite shots from the past 3 weeks:

GEAR
Nikon D850 x 2
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 35mm f1.8
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters