BLOG – John Maher’s Photography Blog

23 Jul 2024

Annie Delin – journalist, writer, broadcaster

ANNIE DELIN – JOURNALIST, WRITER, BROADCASTER Introduction I originally planned to do this photo shoot with Annie in early 2020, but world events got in the way. My series of portraits ground to a halt. More than four years have passed since I took the last one. Then I got a call from Annie a few weeks ago, asking about the selection of photos I was about to put on display in Glasgow – they’re from 1979/80, when Buzzcocks did […]

15 Nov 2020

Post Offices of Lewis and Harris, past and present

LAST POST The recent demolition of the old Post Office in Ardhasaig has prompted me to look back at some of the other Post Offices I’ve photographed in Harris and Lewis. Anyone heading up or down the main A859 road just north of Tarbert will be familiar with this classic corrugated tin building. It’s been rusting for decades, taking on the colours of the landscape as it slowly deteriorated. There are still plenty of people on the island who remember […]

14 Sep 2020

Old School

Old school gets new lease of life. Cliasmol school – once known as the smallest in Scotland – closed its gates for the final time in June 2014. With only four pupils, the decision was taken taken to close the school as the roll was due to fall to just two the following term. In 2015 it was put up for sale. Marion and Colin McNeill purchased the old school. Marion’s family home is nearby. They approached Porteous Architecture, the […]

Architecture 0

08 Mar 2020

Nostalgia Trip: American Cars of the 1950s

Part 4 of a nostalgic look back at a collection of photographs I took with my Olympus Trip camera while touring America in 1979 and 1980. Looking through the 200 or so photos I took during while touring America, a fair portion of them feature cars. I’d been a fan of 1950s American cars for a while. Shortly before our first US tour, I purchased a couple of books that covered vehicles from this era. I spent hours studying the […]

Film / Nostalgia Trip 0

22 Dec 2019

Nostalgia Trip: American Graffiti, 1979

American Graffiti Before heading further afield in the USA, I’ll sign off from New York with the story of how I inadvertently photographed an early example of Jean-Michel Basquiat‘s artwork. Trash & Vaudeville During our time in New York in September 1979, several people recommended a trip to Trash and Vaudeville – New York’s ‘go-to’ rock and roll boutique. Walking down St. Mark’s Place, I spotted the famous neon Trash sign in a basement shop window on the other side […]

ALL / Film / Nostalgia Trip 1

17 Dec 2019

Nostalgia Trip: a teenage Buzzcock in New York 1979-1980 (part 2)

Welcome to Manhattan Setting the scene: Club 57, Irving Plaza, New York – September 1st, 1979. The second of two consecutive sold-out Buzzcocks shows in the ‘Big Apple’. This one was being simultaneously broadcast by local radio station WPIX-FM. I was heading for the dressing room following our final encore when I was collared by Mike Nolan, one of our road crew. He stuffed $20 into my hand, bundled me along the corridor to the fire escape, told me to […]

Uncategorized 0

11 Dec 2019

A Phone Call from the Outer Hebrides

Outer Hebrides’ K6 telephone boxes, in all their magical and modified glory. One of my first ever night photography subjects was the classic red telephone box above. It stands beside a former Post Office, overlooking Loch Finsbay on the east coast of the Isle of Harris. I later discovered many of the local residents referred to it as the ‘magic phone box’. In the mid 1990s, the phone next to Finsbay Post Office developed a fault. It didn’t prevent you […]

ALL / Caught By The River / Night Photography 0

01 Dec 2019

Nostalgia Trip: a teenage Buzzcock in New York 1979-1980 (part 1)

40 year old photographs get new lease of life [Main photo: Pretzel seller, E 26th St and Lexington Ave] I was nineteen in 1979. I was about to spend three weeks travelling across America with Buzzcocks – our first US tour. Talk about excitement! None of us had been to America before. I needed a camera! At this stage of my photographic career, I didn’t know the difference between an f-stop and a lens cap, so my first camera had […]

Film 20

19 May 2019

Croft 36

Croft 36, Northton, Isle of Harris It’s been 20 years in the making, but Julie and Steve Olley are now running one of the most popular and “quirky” food establishments in the Outer Hebrides. A quick glance at some of the hundreds of 5 star reviews visitors have posted on tripadvisor will give you a flavour of what Croft 36 (Northton, Isle of Harris) is all about, and why so many people absolutely love it… Before setting off to Northton […]

WORK: Outer Hebrides 3

29 Mar 2019

On Edwyn Collins’ Doorstep

Edwyn Collins releases his latest album today (March 29th, 2019). This is the story behind the two photographs featured on the album cover. Recorded at his recently completed Clashnarrow Studios in Helmsdale, Badbea (pronounced ‘bad-bay’) is named in honour of the nearby abandoned village that was founded by people driven from their land during the clearances of the 18th & 19th centuries. It remains as a reminder of the suffering and resilience of those communities. In November 2018, I spent […]

Portraits 3

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