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 […]
Photographs from Longannet Colliery in Fife, Scotland’s last commercial coal mine, taken a few months before the flooding of the pit and its inevitable closure. These images, by Glasgow-based photographer Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, were shot in 2001 during a newspaper magazine assignment, and subsequently years later published as a book by Café Royal Books, (Limited copies […]
Document Scotland recently found the colour street photography of Glasgow, by Monserrat Orallo Alvarez, on Instagram, and were pleasantly amused by the fresh view of the city, and the humour it provided. We caught up with Monse, over emails and we’re pleased to be able to share her following work. – Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert. “I came […]
‘Unsullied And Untarnished’ – A photographic portrait, by Glasgow-based photographer Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, of the people of the towns of the Scottish Borders who each year undertake the maintaining of tradition, commemorating their local history and strengthening the bonds of their communities, during the annual Common Riding festivals of the summer months. Braw Lassies and Honest […]
Working in my archive recently, during an ongoing tidy up and reorganising, I found myself in my folder of portraits shot in the summer of 2014, during my documenting of the Common Ridings and festivals of the Scottish Borders. That work, reportage work shot in 2013 and portraits shot the summer of 2014, culminated in […]
The photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher recorded many industrial structures across the landscape of Northern Europe. They would organise these images into grids of typologies. One of the structure types they chose to record was water towers. While the Bechers did visit Scotland I do not believe they photographed the many water towers in Glasgow, […]
Robert Birtles is a landscape and documentary photographer living in Dundee, Scotland. This current body of work by him examines the relationship between the landscapes, culture and traditions of the highland and coastal communities of Scotland. Robert is currently making photographs documenting the east-coast fishing port of Arbroath. The project explores the town’s romantic bond […]
Scottish Orange Walks, in the 1990’s, photographed on the west coast of Scotland, in Wishaw, Glasgow’s Ruchill, and Saltcoats in Ayrshire. The series, by Glasgow-based photographer Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, looked the annual Orange Order marches and the spectators who accompany the walks. Many years later the work appeared as a publication, Scottish Orange Walks 1993-1998 by […]
Foodbank is an ongoing photographic project by Glasgow-based photographers Saskia Coulson and Colin Tennant which began in the summer of 2020. In 2009, the Trussel Trust opened its first branch in Scotland. Ten years later The Scotsman reported that there were a staggering 52 food banks operating in Glasgow alone.
Glasgow has long history of photographers chronicling life on its streets and in the schemes. Some have been restless natives, others interlopers. Some passed through, others stayed and got to know Scotland’s biggest city and most populous conurbation. Glasgow gives generously to visitors, ready with smiles and stories, yet half-hidden are the truths which underpin […]
Document Scotland are delighted to feature Father by Eoin Carey, a new photographic work by the Glasgow-based photographer. “These images are part of the first phase of a new body of work photographing fathers in care of their children in Glasgow. “I wanted to make a project about fathers that focuses on the tender and […]
Document Scotland is delighted to present work by Frances Scott entitled Undertow and A9. Frances is a photographer whose work Document Scotland have admired having enjoyed her book Undertow, published by Another Place Press, detailing her walks over the Orkney islands. A recently published ‘zine also by by the same publisher features a previous body […]
Document Scotland is delighted to showcase work by a fellow collective of photographers. The Shetland Project: Young Prospects by Heather Shuker was made in 2018 during a six-day trip to the Shetland Islands with the MAP6 photography collective. The Shetland Project was MAP6’s fourth project, following on from The Moscow Project, The Lithuania Project and […]
Document Scotland is delighted to showcase Shetland Reconnaissance by Richard Chivers, one of the photographs from the MAP6 Collective. Here he explains a bit about the work. “The Shetland Islands geographical positioning as the UK’s furthest northerly landmass, has over the last 100 years, made it a key strategic observation point for the Military to […]
Home is where the heart is, especially when you are a football fan. A home fixture has an almost religious significance. For a lapsed Catholic like myself it has a sacramental quality. Match day is a holy day of obligation. Or sometimes a sorrowful mystery. I left Dundee in 1980 at the age of 18 […]
In the first of a series of portfolios from Shetland islands, Document Scotland looks at the work made by the Map6 photography collective. -Who are the MAP6 photography collective, and how did you come together? Six of the original members first met whilst studying on the MA Photography course at The University of Brighton. Some […]
Passing Place is an intimate portrait of both Sandy Carson’s mother and the ex-mining village he grew up in the West of Scotland after emigrating to America at a young age. This photographic memoir deals with separation, space, and the invisible family bonds that exist despite physical distance incurred by geographical displacement.
There is a lot of discussion at present about what our towns and cities will look and feel like in the post-COVID world. A death spiral of economic activity and loss of both permanent and transient populations, could lastingly render the centres barren wastelands, redundant in many different senses.
Document Scotland is delighted to showcase the work of Glasgow-based photographer Simon Murphy titled Govanhill Street Level. Here, he gives an insight into the diverse and vibrant area of Govanhill with a series of portraits to be displayed in windows as part of a photo trail during the festival. Simon’s career has enabled him to […]
In the summer of 2019, Elliot Caunce made the decision to relocate to Scotland from Cornwall. As he saw it, there were two factors that led to that decision. In the first instance, he had asked a Dundee woman to marry him, and in true Scot fashion, she saw no logical reason why they should […]
I had already noticed Nicola Stead’s portraits of Glasgow women on her website, stumbled into by chance following links and clicks, and I was taken by the simplicity of them, but also the strength of the women that showed through the great use of light, and sharpness of focus, as well as their expressions. Lovely portraits.
I am always intrigued by creative people who manage to cross-pollinate their practice by involving other disciplines. I first came across the work of Angus-based writer Bill Duncan in the first years of this century, when he published a couple of wry, funny and beautifully-observed chronicles of Scottish life through the prism of Calvinism.
A few days back photographer Iain McLean told Colin and I that he’d been working on a series of portraits of homeless people, and assisted by the Simon Community Scotland. Today he shares with us some of the work, which is still ongoing and due to be exhibited in October, along with his thoughts on the project.
Today Paul Glazier launches a kickstarter to support his new book “Island Tides” Published with Bluecoat Press the book documents life on Vatersay in the Outer Hebrides over the 35 year period Paul visited the island.
Document Scotland caught up with photographer Holger Mohaupt to talk to him about his work titled The CoronaTapes, a project made in response to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic crisis. Walking with Gloves – A Pandemic Diary DS- How did the project come about?HM – The project wasn’t planned, it emerged from conversations with people in […]
Last week, via Twitter I found this little set of images by a good friend and colleague, the London-based photographer Richard Baker. I was struck by the text and images which I thought formed a tender little portrait of both a day out as a working photographer, and also of Tom Leppard, the tattooed hermit of Skye.
DOCUMENT SCOTLAND SEEKS SUPPORT TO CONTINUE MAKING AND SHOWCASING THE BEST OF SCOTTISH DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY Document Scotland is launching an initiative to continue the work they do to support photography in Scotland. They are inviting individuals and organisations to become their patrons, and in doing so, putting the work of the collective on a sustainable […]
Document Scotland was delighted to be able to talk to recent graduate photographer Ili Mansor about her work titled Salaam. Salaam is a short form for ‘As-salamu alaykum’ which means may peace be upon you, a universal greeting Muslims greet each other with. Salaam (peace) is the main concept of this body of work. Islamophobia […]
In 2015 while studying photography at Edinburgh College of Art, Mairead Keating spent time an an Edinburgh youth club making portraits of the children she met there. The resulting body of work, “Be, Still” explores notios of childhood and growing up. Sophie spoke with Mairead about making the work and how the project came about. […]
Hailstones, Kinnaber, 2000. Photograph © Colin McPherson, all rights reserved. This Saturday, 30th May 2020, is the twentieth anniversary of the day I took a photograph that has come to symbolise my work and the project Catching the Tide, which documented Scotland’s last salmon net fishermen. To mark the occasion, Document Scotland is hosting a […]
Document Scotland showcases the work of veteran photojournalist Mike Abrahams though his series of images titled Glasgow. Here he explains the background to the work: “I grew up in Liverpool in the 50s and 60s, a city in which to my eyes colour was absent. I recall soot, smog and dereliction only in black and […]
Over here in Document Scotland HQ we’re fans of those who promote democracy within photography, who give voices to all photographers, where all opinions are welcome and valid. For that reason we enjoy the podcasts brought to us by Grant Scott’s UN of Photography every Wednesday, in which he explores the topic of the week […]
Ask The Sea, by Peter Iain Campbell. Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert, of Document Scotland – Can you tell us how this cool work came about? Peter Iain Campbell – “Ask The Sea” is the follow up project to my “Starlings On Fire” work which I shot while I was working on a Drilling Rig in the central […]
‘NHS 88’by Iain Stewart. As I write, on a Thursday evening, I’m watching the clock, mindful to stop at 8pm and go to the front door with my family and most of my street to Clap For Our Carers, marking our gratitude and respect for our National Health Service, keeping us all alive and well […]
Life is changing for all of us. That much we know about the world we live in as the conseqienses the coronavisrus pandemic become more apparent. The future has never looked more uncertain and we can only guess and speculate what is in front of us now. A year ago, Document Scotland photographer Colin McPherson […]
Jos, Thanks for agreeing to share some of your work with Document Scotland. We came across your images via Twitter a week or two back, where you seem to have been posting scans of old negatives. Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your background and when you were doing these images? – Jeremy […]
Trying to keep up to date with the current tumultuous news of life on Twitter it’s heartening to scroll to a Tweet which shows images and catches your eyes. Such has been the way this past week or so when I’ve discovered two photographers posting old images of Glasgow and beyond. I dropped them both a note, […]
There is a lot of debate these days about the role of journalism in our daily lives. Questions are asked as to where we get our information from, and the all-pervading accusation of ‘fake news’ is something which causes a real stooshie amongst the general public and also in the journalistic trade. It’s easy to […]
It’s Saturday afternoon during the coronavirus outbreak and I have the blues. Our football grounds, like the cities and towns across the country, are silent and empty. Like everyone else, I won’t be going to a game today. There’s something particularly sad and sombre for a football fan to see our stadiums unused and redundant. […]
Earlier this summer Sophie was commissioned by The New York Times Style Magazine to photograph a craft makers’ residency on the Orkney Isles. Sophie’s photographs are featured in an exhibition “Portrait of Place: Orkney” at The New Craftsmen Gallery as part of the London Design Festival in London until the end of September 2019. Read the published […]