Behind The Scenes with Horse

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“Leaving” is the new single from Horse, it premiered earlier this month and I had the pleasure of working on the music video to accompany the song.

Autumn this year will mark 10 years since Horse and I started working together (yes, there will be a blog about that too down the line), we’ve done a variety of projects over the decade but this was the first time doing a music video together.

Loosely inspired by Joan of Arc and filmed at the National Theatre of Scotland last December, it was a very low-key affair largely due to Covid-19 restrictions. We got the absolutely phenomenal Michelle Watson to style the shoot and do the make up. She also created the custom crowns Horse is seen wearing throughout the clip, while the mesh and armour bits were kindly provided by the National Theatre of Scotland’s costume department (thank you Aileen!).

I can’t lie, Horse is a legend and I was really nervous about doing her and the new song justice. I also had the idea of doing something a little bit different for her and showing Horse in a way that she’s never been seen before. Luckily, over the years of working together we became very good friends, she trusted me and gave her all on the shoot. Neither the armour nor the sword was light, and I had her running about, swinging the damn thing and lip-syncing for hours on end.

I’m pleased to say we’re still friends and Horse thinks the effort was worth it. I hope you think so too - have a look at the final video below followed by a few behind the scenes snaps taken on the day:

GEAR / BTS PHOTOS
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter
FujiFilm x100v

GEAR / VIDEO
Sony A7III
Sony 35mm f1.8
Sony 85mm f1.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filters
DJI RS 2 Gimbal
Profoto B10 + Profoto OCF Beauty Dish 2'
Neewer CN-216 LED Light x 2
Reflector
Tripod
Video edited in FCPX

Double Take Projections at COP26

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I’ve got something different for you this time - i.e. no mug shots of anyone! As much as I love portraiture, the reality of being a self-employed, working photographer is that you grab job opportunities from all kinds of sources. This was definitely the case with this project - I’ve never done anything like that before but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it.

Double Take Projections is a brilliant company specialising in projection mapping. A mutual client of ours (Skypark) recommended me to them during COP26 when they needed a last-minute photographer to cover their guerrilla work with Scottish environmental artist Elizabeth Ogilvie. We spent a chilly, yet immensely fun evening driving around Glasgow, eating pizza and gummy bears, and projecting Elizabeth’s beautiful films onto various buildings. My job was to document it and here are some images from that night:

GEAR
Nikon D850
Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Nikkor 50mm f1.4
Nikkor 14-24mm f2.8
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter
Tripod

Girls at COP26

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“Where the problems are man-made, the solutions are feminist.”
Mary Robinson

This quote from Mary Robinson was the inspiration behind Glasgow City Council’s series of events throughout COP26, ensuring the voices of women and girls were centred in the climate emergency discussions.

I’ve done a few projects during the climate change conference in Glasgow last November, and I will be showcasing some of them in future posts, but GirlsAtCop26 was probably the most rewarding one. 2,500 Year 3 school girls (approximately 15 yo) from Glasgow’s 30 high schools came together over the course of 10 days to discuss climate change with a range of female speakers from all over the world. Sessions took place at Glasgow Caledonian University and my job was to photograph the panellists - from Scottish writers to the mayor of Utrecht.

I wasn’t able to attend every session due to other commitments, but I managed to cover most of them and I loved the experience. I enjoy the challenge of making a connection with someone in a very limited time and putting them at ease in order to get a relaxed and honest photograph. I photographed over 40 women during those two weeks and was hugely inspired, and often moved by them. It was a privilege, and I hope I did them justice. It would take a whole separate section of this site to exhibit all of the images taken so I chose 12 of my personal favourites to showcase below:

(to read about the 2022 exhibition Women At COP26 featuring these images click here)

GEAR
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4

Best of 2021

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2021 was the year where everything went back to normal. Oh, no, hold on… Yeah, perhaps not so much. I shouldn’t complain really cause, all in all, it was a full and interesting year for me work-wise - I started doing more and more video work (even got a drone despite my earlier proclamations of never going near one), got to collaborate with some interesting people and lined up a few exciting projects for 2022 (Covid have mercy). Still, have to admit, I’m feeling pretty done in by 2021. I look at, say, an image of Kathleen MacInnes taken in June (see below), and feel like years - not merely months - have passed since that session. Is it just me? Anyway, here are 12 of my personal favourites taken in the past 12 months. Hope you like them too and I hope 2022 is kind to you.

Oh, and in May, I had an absolute blast in Brighton filming this music video for Allan Jay. You don’t know what chaos can look like until you’ve got 14 drag queens, 4 dancers and 2 dogs to deal with on set!

And here’s music I enjoyed this past year:

ALBUMS OF 2021
Prioritise Pleasure Self Esteem
Magic Still Exists Agnes
Stand For Myself Yola
Deacon serpentwithfeet
Crooked Machine Róisín Murphy
Pink Noise Laura Mvula
star-crossed Kacey Musgraves
We Are Jon Batiste
Collapsed in Sunbeams Arlo Parks
30 Adele

SONGS OF 2021
I Do This All The Time Self Esteem
24 Hours Agnes
Hot N Heavy Jessie Ware
breadwinner Kacey Musgraves
Dancing Away In Tears Yola
Got Me Laura Mvula
Right On Time Brandi Carlile
Fellowship serpentwithfeet
Too Good Arlo Parks
Love and Hate in a Different Time Gabriels

Kathleen MacInnes

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I’ve known Kathleen MacInnes, a brilliant Gaelic singer, for quite a while and have photographed her live on several occasions (mainly for Ceol’s Craic events) and it was a joy to be asked to do a proper session with her. We spent a lovely summer evening in Govan’s Dry Docks earlier this year and I’m including some of the final images below.

GEAR
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter