Music

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

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

Mic Clark

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Portrait session with Mic Clark.

Mic Clark is a Scottish singer/songwriter. We met briefly years ago when I was photographing his dad, Chris Clark, another accomplished musician. Last autumn, however, Mic got in touch to have some images taken for his own project. We shot at Basement49 and thereabouts and had the brilliant Michelle Watson on styling duties. Enjoy!

GEAR
Nikon D850
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Profoto B10
Profoto OCF Magnum Reflector

Diamond Days

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Photography, Video AND artwork for Brooks Williams’ recent album “Diamond Days”

I’ve worked with American singer/songwriter Brooks Williams on various projects over the years - solo shoots, collaborations with other musicians (Rab Noakes, Boo Hewerdine), as well as behind-the-scenes stuff and it’s always a pleasure. Last summer Brooks was in Wales at Martin Levan’s Red Kite Studio recording his new album “Diamond Days” and I was invited to film and photograph the sessions.

It was my first time in Wales and while the 8-hour, 3-train journey from Glasgow was rather stressful, it was worth it in the end. Set in the deepest Welsh valleys, Red Kite Studio was a dream space to photograph in and the hospitality of everyone involved made the whole experience a highlight of 2023 for me. See below for the photos, music videos as well as album artwork (I was responsible for that too).

GEAR PHOTO:
Nikon D850
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 35mm f1.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters

GEAR VIDEO:
Sony A7III
Sony 35mm f1.8
Sony 85mm f1.8
DJI RS 2
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters