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.

Rainbow Room

January

Heidi Talbot

February

Boo Hewerdine

February

Horse

February

Jack

February

Raymond MacDonald

March

Cliona Cassidy

March

Cara Rose

April

Lorny Thomas

June

Bobby Motherwell

July

The Eves

July

Crawford Mack

October

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

Stella Bartram

I've recently found myself being asked to do more and more fitness-oriented photoshoots. It's quite ironic, really, given my close-to-none interest in sport - I used to do yoga and pilates and now swim regularly but that's more to do with me turning 30 some time ago and desperately trying to rip my body from Mr. Gravity's persistent hands rather than any competitiveness or huge desire to be fit. Still, I found photographing athletes very interesting and quite different from the usual portraiture sessions. Apart from the technical aspects (lighting to emphasise the physique, etc) there's definitely more awareness of one's body and posture as well as confidence that come with a lifetime of training and making a living out of being fit. First fitness-oriented shoot I did was for the 2011 Ladies Handball Team Calendar but apart from the subject matter itself I wouldn't say these pictures could necessarily be classified as fitness ones. In terms of light and set up this was really a portraiture session which was meant to capture 13 beautiful girls who happened to be handball players. I wasn't trying to highlight how toned their bodies were or such. Things were different however, when the fantastic Neo Marketing send Stella Bartram my way. We had several meetings to discuss the concept and feel of the images she was looking for and after each of them I'd spend hours scratching my head, reading articles about fitness photography and considering cancellation (not necessarily in that order). Sometimes though, you just have to bite the bullet and that's what I did.

That first session with Stella Bartram happened a couple of years ago, we both enjoyed the experience, the images have been very well received and we have been talking about doing another photoshoot ever since. She's a very busy lady however (what with running her fitness empire, whipping celebrities into shape and promoting healthy lifestyle in general) and it wasn't until this February that both of us found the time to get some pictures taken. Rainbow Room International very kindly agreed to let us use their space as well as take care of Stella's hair for the 2 different looks we envisioned, I had my lighting assistant extraordinaire Laurabelle by my side and off we went.

We are already planning another session, something a bit more gritty perhaps. In the meantime though, I managed to catch Miss Bartram doing what she does best - training. I was asked to take some pictures of Stella's Metabolic Mayhem workout in aid of Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research UK at the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum in Glasgow. It was a beautiful albeit rather chilly early spring morning, people turned up in dozens and I got to witness firsthand why the Bartram brand is so successful:

I certainly know where to head once I start losing the battle with Mr. Gravity and some laps in the pool won't be enough to keep my butt from hitting the ground anymore!