The lighting in exhibition galleries is frequently excellent for portrait photography and where photography is allowed my camera is usually at the ready.
This portrait was taken during the summer festivities exhibition in Kirkcudbright. The building has now been converted into a modern gallery and is due to be opened shortly as a major attraction for the south of Scotland.
The square monolith of Threave Castle stands off in the distance on its small island in the middle of the river Dee, so quite what the round tower structure in the foreground is I’m unsure. Perhaps it’s a disguised water tank, or maybe it really is an ancient relic.
I was driving through this part of The Stewartry when I spotted the nearer tower. Without thinking I leaped from the car, climbed over a gate, and ran across the field to frame my shot. When I returned to the car a woman stepped out of her cottage door and asked what I was doing. When I apologised to her she said that I was lucky that the bull wasn’t in the field that day.
Agra proved to be a great location for photography and although India is a truly colourful culture, monochrome images say more about the timeless quality of the country. They also feel to be a more powerful document of time and place. When unencumbered by the specific details of the moment and so without colour, they become iconic and generic at the same time.
This particular image resonates with me for the diverse expressions and postures of this group as they stand outside their school at the end of the afternoon. I have retained that glimpse inside the madrassa from where an adult is looking at us guardedly, because he reinforces the adult-child relationship and also because it helps to balance the composition.
In one sense this pictures is about rhythms; rhythms of placement, division and gesture: but also the rhythms of life.
Wintertime in Brighouse Woods, and several dozen digital snaps followed by several years of editing gestation, and we have a short series of images of winter in the woods of Dumfries and Galloway.
The streets of India are always animated by the children, and a tourist carrying a camera is a magnet for crowds of kids who gather to ask “where you from”, or “what’s your name” or even, and less appealing, “school pen?”
If you are busy taking photos they will stand there waiting for you to take their picture and will quickly line up ready for their portrait. Agra in Uttar Pradesh is especially appealing for its narrow streets and excited children.
This is the footpath that takes you past Threave Castle and alongside the river Dee. They say the area is enchanted but perhaps they just meant enchanting.
A visit to that icon of Indian architecture is the ideal opportunity to upload your pictures to Facebook or text your granny….
Situated on the west side of Loch Ken is Lowran Burn, a magical place of rushing water, moss covered boulders and fallen trees. Making your way up the steep hillside is no easy task but a worthwhile adventure, especially when it brings woodland views like this.
Fatepur Sikri was founded as the capital of the Mughal Empire in 1571 by Emperor Akbar. It served this role from 1571 to 1585, when Akbar abandoned it due to a campaign in Punjab and it was later completely abandoned in 1610. This is a view of the palace courtyard and Diwan-i-Khas.
If you go down to the woods today you’ll be sure of a big surprise….
No teddy bears picnic though, just the sweet smell of decaying timber, damp earth, and the sounds of the ocean coming through the wood that fringes Brighouse Bay.
Life, Photography, & Other Mistakes 