In this new feature, photographers answer three questions to offer insight into their creative practice. DS: In your series Céibhfhionn, you aim to visually explore a young dancer’s life. How long have you worked on the series and what narratives are emerging in the work? MF: I started working on Céibhfhionn in February 2025, but […]
Margaret Mitchell interviews Emily Whitney Margaret met up with Edinburgh-based photographer Emily Whitney for an extended conversation about her work. Originally from the U.S. near Philadelphia, Emily spoke about the background and experiences that drew her into issue-led storytelling and the longer-term projects that have kept her returning to themes of immigration, climate, and women’s […]
Document Scotland has invited our student placements from Edinburgh Napier University to write up some of the exhibitions they’ve been enjoying recently. Following on from Taylor Cowe’s review of New Contemporaries at Studies in Photography, our current placement, Molly Fisher, visited Street Level Photoworks to view their current exhibitions. Both The Scene from Within and Glaswegians are on until 19th October […]
Document Scotland have invited our recent students from Edinburgh Napier Unversity to write up some of the exhibitions they’ve been exnjoying recently. Taylor Cowe joined Document Scotland on a student placement in 2024 and is graduating this year with his excellent body of work Mortar at the Napier Degree Show.
He also went along to Studies In Photography at 6 William Street in Edinburgh to review their latest exhibition New Contemporaries, featuring Tayo Adekunle, Eoin Carey, Tiu Makkonen. Thank you Taylor for reviewing the show it’s on until 7th June so there’s a few days left for you to catch it.
Hello, my name is Molly Fisher, and I am a photography student from Coatbridge. I am currently studying photography at Edinburgh Napier university following my higher national diploma at City of Glasgow College. Over the next few months, I will be undergoing placement with Document Scotland as part of my studies. Over the past few […]
Margaret Mitchell interviews Alexander Williamson Margaret recently caught up with Alexander Williamson to discuss his ongoing work Unseasonably Warm. Here, Alexander shares the background and motivations on his project as well as reflections on the wider climate change issues it speaks to. Melted snowmen, ColyumbridgeDate: 26 February 2022. Time: 3.46pm. Temperature: 6 degrees centigrade ©Alexander […]
As part of his placement with Document Scotland Edinburgh Napier photography student Taylor Cowe interviews Saskia Coulson and Colin Tennant about their latest work.
The MPB Scottish Portrait Awards in Photography 2024 have been announced showcasing recent graduates alongside established professionals and talented amateurs. This year, one of Document Scotland’s photographer’s was part of the judging panel. Margaret Mitchell says: “It was an honour to be part of the panel this year along with Simon Murphy, Jonathan Daniel Pryce, Christine […]
Margaret Mitchell interviews Stuart Edwards Margaret recently caught up with Stuart Edwards to discuss his ongoing work Barras Market, along with his motivations and reflections on pursuing a long-term project that evokes nostalgia while highlighting the importance of community and stability of everyday routines. ©Stuart Edwards // Barras Market MM: Your project ‘Barras Market’ has been […]
Document Scotland interviews Iain Sarjeant about Another Place Press and his latest work
Please note, one image contains graffiti with racist and harmful language. The work of Sandra George is on as part of Glasgow International in an exhibition that spans over four decades of her multi-disciplinary practice. Never exhibited in her lifetime, this solo show presents a history of people and place produced through George’s deep engagement with individuals and communities […]
We are delighted to announce that next week we will be heading over to the Inner Hebrides to stage Show Us Jura.
Hello, my name is Taylor Cowe and I am a photography student from Aberdeen. I am currently studying photography at Edinburgh Napier University, and I am undertaking a placement with Document Scotland over the next few months. My main interests are within documentary photography, and I will be using this opportunity to get a closer look at […]
This Saturday images from Sophie’s trip to Fair Isle with fellow photographer Tessa Bunney will be published in the Telegraph Saturday Magazine. Tessa and Sophie travelled to Fair Isle in 2021 travelling by tiny plane to the island which is home to around 50 people. They took part in a residency on the island and stayed for a month, making images of the landscape, the residents and photographing a portrait of island life.
Margaret recently caught up with Robbie Murrie to chat about his ongoing work Polo Mint City as well as his reflections on his route into photography and the creative process during long term projects. You can read the full interview over here. Margaret says: “I met Robbie through a mutual contact – someone I’d photographed […]
Margaret Mitchell interviews Robbie Murrie Margaret recently caught up with Robbie Murrie to chat about his ongoing work Polo Mint City as well as his reflections on his route into photography and the creative process during long term projects. MM: It’s always interesting to find out what draws photographers into projects and the topics they […]
We’ve been running our Document Scotland Patreon supporters’ platform for over three years now. In that time, we have featured previews, reviews and interviews of our own photography and that of hitorical and contemporary photographers making work about Scotland. Becoming one of our patrons through the scheme unlocks all the stories and features we have […]
From the series Fisherwomen. © Craig Easton, all rights reserved. Collectives adapt and evolve. To survive and thrive, they must move with the times. When Document Scotland was established in 2012 by Sophie, Colin, Jeremy and Stephen, the immediate future of our nation was up for grabs, with the Independence referendum on the horizon. Our […]
Sofia approached Document Scotland a while ago after completing her MA in Photography from Falmouth University. We caught up with her for a chat about her motivations for making the work and her various projects about Glasgow. DS: Hi Sofia – Thanks for sending us your work, tell us a little about the project SC: […]
“O, wad some Power the giftie gie usTo see oursels as others see us!” Those may be two of Robert Burns’ most oft-quoted lines, relecting that while Scotland has never been shy at looking in on itself, we have lacked the ability or awareness to view our nation from the perspective of outsiders. Document Scotland […]
As Long as I Keep Busy, by photographer Neil Goodwin, is a social documentary about the lives of people living alone in the UK. Half of the project participants live in Scotland. Living alone is a world-wide social phenomenon. In the UK, over eight million people live alone, almost 12 percent of the population, […]
As we celebrate our tenth anniversary, one of the main aims of Document Scotland over the past decade has been our focus on showcasing emerging photography talent and new voices here on our website. Today, we are delighted to feature the work of Biggar-based photographer Andy J Mather, a recent graduate from Greys School of […]
Like most small towns in Scotland, Montrose in an unassuming place. A walk down the main thoroughfare reveals the usual selection of modern shops and stores, common to almost every community in the country. One type of business which seldom, if at all, graces our high streets these days is the photographic studio. But travel […]
I’m an island lover, certainly. Having visited and photographed many of Scotland’s islands, I had never been to Colonsay. It’s a place I’ve heard so much about from friends and colleagues. So it was a wonderful opportunity to visit for a Document Scotland project this May. My approach is always to gravitate towards people, after […]
A week anywhere taking photographs is always to be savoured, but a week on a Scottish island in the best of weather always sets a high bar. And so it was in the week of our Show Us Colonsay project. I knew little about Colonsay before I went, it wasn’t one of the islands I’d […]
Over here at Document Scotland we’re always keen to see other documentary style photography from Scotland and are always open to submissions of work with a view to featuring it, helping share it, and helping promote photography within Scotland. Niamh McInally emailed us with her ‘Loss of the Beautiful Game’ portfolio below, which I’d already […]
Document Scotland launches Show Us Colonsay photography project – a community-focused photography event designed to engage, educate and excite. What: Show Us Colonsay Where: Colonsay and Oransay, Inner Hebrides When: 2-7 May, 2022 Show Us Colonsay is a community-focused photography event devised and delivered by Document Scotland in partnership with the Colonsay and Oransay Heritage […]
I first met Rob when we both worked on the group project Sixteen, a photographic touring exhibition involving sixteen international photographers making portraits and exploring the dreams, hopes and fears of sixteen-year olds across the UK. The idea came about thanks to Craig Easton and I loved the collaborative aspect of this project, working alongside […]
Glasgow-based photographer Iain McLean is a long-time chronicler of one of Scottish football’s less celebrated and supported teams, Albion Rovers. Nevertheless, just as the loyalty of fans is rewarded by a thrilling victory or a surpsrise win in a cup tie, so the photographer who perserveres on a project with dedication, enthusiasm and skill can […]
Document Scotland recently enjoyed seeing these images by John Walmsley, of Wester Hailes, Edinburgh, in the 1970’s. We thank John for allowing us to share them, and news of his new exhibition and planned books. – Jeremy The exhibition. WHALE Arts 30 Westburn Grove,Edinburgh,EH14 2SA0131 458 3267 Mon 25th Oct to Thurs 18th Nov Mondays to Fridays, […]
Document Scotland is delighted to showcase the work of Sofia Conti, a Glasgow-based documentary photographer whose work focuses on social awareness issues. She graduated from Gray’s School of Art with a BA in Photography in 2020 and her work was recognised in the Student category of the Moscow International Foto Awards in the same year. […]
In 2020, Document Scotland featured Glasgow-based photographer Brian Sweeney’s series The Great Football Grounds on the North. Now it gives us great pleasure to look at his year-long project of images made on the Forth and Clyde Canal as it makes its way through Glasgow. Completed in 2016-17, the work was commissioned by Scottish Canals […]
An invitation to online talk at the Martin Parr Foundation caught my eye a couple of months ago. The title of the work rang some bells, and something about the combination of quiet portraits, captivating botanical still lives and landscapes made me look twice. Linn Gardens on the west coast of Scotland is a place […]
An invite to a Zoom event, a collaboration between Document Scotland, Shetland Arts and the youths of Shetland…
You may have noticed in the last week or two that Rangers Football Club in Glasgow have won the Scottish Premiership, denying their arch rivals Celtic FC, on the other side of the city, the chance to win ten titles in a row. Around the city posters have gone up, and graffiti appearing, #RFC55, the […]
During these past few months of lockdown, working at home and playing podcasts I listened to photographer Danny North speaking on Grant Scott’s UN of Photography weekly podcast discussing What Does Photography Mean To You? I hadn’t come across Danny’s work before, but in the podcast Danny mentions some photography from the island of Eigg […]
1,264 people died of drug-related deaths in Scotland in 2019, according to figures released by the National Records of Scotland. Peter Krykant (pictured below), an activist campaigning to make overdose prevention centres legal in Scotland, talking to Libby Brooks in The Guardian, called these figures from Scotland’s drugs crisis, “absolutely devastating.” In Springburn, Reverend Brian […]
A journey along the River Clyde estuary. Document Scotland speaks with photographer Michael Thomson, about his 10-year long project photographing the River Clyde estuary. We started with asking him for the title of the project? I am in the position where I haven’t had to finalise a title just yet. The motto of Clyde Navigational Trust, […]
A trip through time, through the landscape of the Scottish central belt, and along the edge of an empire, on the route of the Roman-era Antonine Wall. From Old Kilpatrick on the River Clyde, in the west, cutting across landscape, in parts gauging out the land, to Bo’ness on the Firth of Forth in the […]
Street photography from Glasgow Donnie MacLean isn’t interested in holding your hand and gently persuading you that everything is going to be ok. Subtle isn’t usually the first thing that comes to mind when viewing his work, often presented as a near impenetrable wall of faces, each fighting to avoid your attention, pleading with you to […]