Horse on St. Cyrus Beach

I wrote about my gradual return to shooting film a while back and I mentioned having some 100% analog projects in the pipeline. I can finally share one of them with you. Horse and I have been talking about doing a shoot where it’s just us, camera and the beach for quite some time and earlier this year we drove up to the beautiful St. Cyrus Beach on the East coast of Scotland where we spent a couple of hours walking, talking and taking pictures. We shot 3 rolls of film (2 black and white and a colour one) and I really enjoyed working like that again. It reminded me of the very first shoots I did as a teenager where there was no pressure, no assistants, no stylists, no crazy light equipment - just a camera and the person in front of it. Enjoy!

Behind the scenes:

GEAR
Nikon FM + 50mm f1.4
Kodak 400 TX
Kodak Portra 400

Dusty Won't Play

If you missed Frances Thorburn in “Dusty Won’t Play”, A Play A Pie And A Pint production at Òran Mór this June, shame on you cause it was a feast (and I’m not talking about the pie). The play which originally premiered in 2017 tells the story of Dusty Springfield’s 1964 visit to South Africa where the singer defied local apartheid laws prohibiting concert performances to mixed race audiences. Frances is a force to be reckoned with, both as an actress and a singer (and those aren’t easy songs to sing), and she was mesmerising. I’m hearing talk of the play being brought back for another, perhaps a larger-scale run if you didn’t manage to catch it this time around. Here are some images taken during the dress rehearsal:

GEAR
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4

Navigate The Blood

I’ve worked with Noise Opera on a few different projects in recent years (you can read about one of them here) and each time it was a great experience filled with challenges as well as joy but their most recent production took it to another level. Composed by Admiral Fallow and Gareth Williams with a libretto by Siân Evans, “Navigate The Blood” is a modern opera set in the world of whisky and gin manufacturing and it toured Scottish distilleries this past November. Long rehearsal days, multitude of people involved, numerous performance venues, different lighting set ups, travel - the whole project was as intense and demanding as it was rewarding. Working behind the scenes on such productions is one of my favourite things to do - love seeing the creative process, how different performances develop over time and the ability to capture artists with their guards down. An incredibly talented group of people was involved in making this opera both on and off stage, and I couldn’t be happier to have been a part of it. I photographed and filmed the rehearsal process as well as several live performances and you can check it all out below:

“Navigate The Blood” film
featuring footage from rehearsals and live performances shot throughout October and November 2018:

Rehearsals:

Glasgow Distillery Dress Rehearsal + Live Performance:

Behind The Scenes:

Behind Behind The Scenes:

GEAR:
Nikon D4
Nikon D700
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 50mm f1.4
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8
Nikkor 24-70mm f2.8

Sony A7III
Sony 35mm f1.8
Metabones Nikon G to Sony NEX E-mount Converter
Zhiyun Crane 2 Gimbal
Video edited in FCPX

Roseanne Reid

If you haven’t heard about Roseanne Reid so far that will probably change soon. She’s a a talented singer/sonwgwriter whose beautiful debut album “Trails” has just been released and there is a bit of a buzz about her in the Americana circles (having Steve Earle as your mentor and guest vocalist on the record doesn’t hurt the matter). I’ve worked with Roseanne on three promo videos for the album as well as some photography and you can check them out below:

“I Love Her So”
Filmed late November last year in Tentsmuir Forest on the East coast and features illustrations by Iona Lee as well as fan-supplied photographs:

“Amy”
A simpler affair shot during Roseanne’s performance and sound check at Saint Luke’s in Glasgow where she was the support slot for Blue Rose Code in March this year:

“Sweet Amy”
Filmed in Edinburgh late March:

In between takes for the “Sweet Annie” video I also managed to shoot a roll of film and take some portrait images of Roseanne:

Behind The Scenes:

GEAR
Video filmed with Sony A7III + Sony 35mm f1.8
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Metabones Nikon G to Sony NEX E-mount Converter
Zhiyun Crane 2 Gimbal
Edited in FCPX

Photography: Nikon FM + Nikkor-S 50mm f1.4
Kodak 400TX

Seafret

Seafret are Jack Sedman and Harry Draper, two super talented guys from Northern England, who released their debut album in 2016. Last summer they were filming a video for their recent single “Monsters” and I was asked to take some promotional images for the band in between takes. It ended up being one of my favourite shoots of 2018 - very laid back, all natural and relaxed, in a great setting (ex-dynamite storage warehouse in Ayrshire with lots of weird stuff inside and in the surrounding area). I recently worked with Seafret again while they were up in Glasgow recording but for now here are some images from that first shoot last summer:

Location scouting shots:

GEAR:
Nikon D4
Nikkor 50mm f1.4