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

Celtic Connections 2024

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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

Best of 2023

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2023 summary

So yes, I have been slacking a bit when it comes to this blog. The last few months of 2023 were really busy with work and travel and something had to give. Overall, last year was good when it came to work. I was involved in some interesting projects - travelled with Gareth Williams to the Scottish Highlands to photograph the cover for his “Songs from the Last Page” release; was in Wales with Brooks Williams photographing and filming the recording process for his just-released album “Diamond Days”; shot a short fashion film for Studio Floor and helped Horse with her successful Kickstarter campaign for the new record “The Road Less Travelled” among others. I also started doing regular personal projects where I take a day each month to collaborate with interesting people and shoot just for the fun and creativity of it. It allows me to try things, experiment, and perhaps fail a bit.

Anyway, I’m back and kicking off 2024 with some of my favourite images from the past year. Enjoy!

ALBUMS OF 2023
The Love Invention Alison Goldfrapp
Fuse Everything But The Girl
That! Feels Good! Jessie Ware
The Age of Pleasure Janelle Monáe
Mid Air Romy
Hit Parade Róisín Murphy
Volcano Jungle
The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess Chappell Roan
Sundown Eddie Chacon
The Returner Allison Russell

SONGS OF 2023
Freak Me Now Jessie Ware
You Knew Róisín Murphy
Lipstick Lover Janelle Monáe
Miley Cyrus Flowers
Houdini Dua Lipa
Rush Troye Sivan
Nothing Left To Lose Everything But The Girl
Demons Allison Russell
Water Tyla

Fashion Editorial with Barbra

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FASHION EDITORIAL WITH BARBRA

I’ve known designer Barbara for a few years now. We’ve collaborated on several occasions (here for example) and became friends along the way. Earlier this year I decided to carve out a day every month for personal, creative work where I invite various people to collaborate and take some photos just for fun. It allows me to experiment, and try things I don’t get to do with paid clients. It also gets me excited about photography again. Barbra’s been on the list of prospective collaborations for this and lucky for me she was up for having some photos taken. We shot a lot with hard light that day, something I’ve always been scared of but I am scared of it no more thanks to how this shoot turned out. We were going for retro vibes - some Old Hollywood, some 1980s. Have a look below.

Hair, Make Up & Styling: Michelle Watson
Studio: Basement49

GEAR
Nikon D850 + Nikkor 85mm f1.4
Tiffen Black Pro-mist 1/4 Filter
Profoto A1 x 2
Profoto B10
120cm Octabox
Softbox 3' Octa
Softgrid Octa
Reflector

Songs From The Last Page

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Photography, Video & Artwork for Gareth Williams’
“Songs From The Last Page” project

“Songs from the Last Page” is an ongoing project by an acclaimed composer/songwriter Gareth Williams where he lyrically transforms iconic final pages from Scottish fiction into brand-new 'literary chamber pop' songs. I’ve worked with Gareth on various ventures throughout the years (such as “Navigate the Blood”) but “Songs from the Last Page” has been really special. It’s been growing and developing for the past 2 years and I’ve been fortunate to be involved from the beginning: taking photos, filming, and eventually working on promotional artwork and CD packaging. For someone who thrives on creative control, this has been a dream. We shot at Edinburgh College of Art, recording studios, and even travelled to the Scottish Highlands to photograph the album cover at Loch Glass. You can check all of that and more below and you can catch Gareth performing some of these songs live at this year’s Fringe Festival. The album is out now.

2021

2022
with Deirdre Graham.

2023
with Aisling O Dea (violin) and Justyna Jablonska (cello) at GloWormRecording studio.

“Song from the Last Page of Lanark” Single Cover.

Fringe promo poster

Fringe promo poster.