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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
May 2018: I was contacted by the TV production company 7 Wonder. They were about to start work on a two-part documentary series for BBC 2, following Billy Connolly as he travels around Scotland and has various encounters with folk along the way. The makers were keen to include some Hebridean content, so in addition to pieces they’d lined up on Harris Tweed, Lews Castle and the Rocket Post, they were interested in featuring some of my photography. I met […]
The Woodland Trust have launched their annual search for 2018’s Tree of the Year. One of the contenders is a scraggly-looking spruce, which until recent years was the only tree on the tiny windswept Hebridean island of Eriskay (population: 150). Whisky Galore! Planted more than 100 years ago, Netty’s Tree was standing tall long before the island made the headlines in 1941, when 8,000 ton cargo ship the SS Politician sank off Eriskay’s north coast with 28,000 cases of whisky […]
A selection of photos from a few hours on location in Ness (Isle of Lewis) during the filming of FUNC: a new comedy sketch show created by Michael Hines, best known for directing and co-producing the BAFTA award-winning Scottish sitcom, Still Game. I was hired by Electrify PR, who work on behalf of BBC ALBA to take some ‘behind the scenes’ photos. I also managed to grab a few minutes with the actors in-between scenes for some posed shots. The […]
Eilidh owns and runs Coralbox, a small but perfectly formed gift shop on the Isle of Berneray – a small island in the Outer Hebrides, 3 miles wide by 2 miles long. Eilidh stocks a range of arts and crafts, jewellery, scented candles, personalised gifts, greetings cards and photography, including items made by Eilidh herself. Approximately half her stock is made locally. Befitting its location, many of the items on display have a nautical theme. Eilidh offers high quality products […]
Introducing Chris – proprietor of the Butty Bus – a fast food establishment parked at Leverburgh Pier. Chris modestly describes it as ‘a greasy spoon on wheels’ and ‘the only cafe on the island with four Michelin tyres’. Chris comes from a long line of Harris folk. His family connections with the place go back generations. Born in Inverness, he moved to Harris for a brief period when he was 16, leaving shortly after to spend a decade working at […]
Shona is a primary school teacher. She teaches a range of subjects to children between the ages of 4 and 12 at Leverhulme Memorial School in Leverburgh, Isle of Harris. I dropped in on the last day of term while members of staff and the janitor were making final preparations for the long summer holiday ahead. Being one of the hottest days of the year, we opted to do the photo shoot outdoors in the sunshine, setting up on the […]
Stevie has worked for the mobile library service for twelve years. I caught up with him on one of his regular trips to Harris. The Western Isles Mobile Library Service supplies books to people who are unable to use a branch library because of distance, age or disability. There are normally three vehicles on the road, visiting communities in Lewis, Harris and the Uists. However, one of the library vans was recently retired, having reached the end of its serviceable […]