A few recent and not-so-recent news and events, including new products and other stuff I've been getting involved with.
At some point this page may morph into a blog - or whatever the flavour of the day is when I eventually get around to changing it.
Another wee dose of good fortune for Fife-Keith residents, avoiding all the poor weather and soaking up the heat of a bright & sunny afternoon. The 77th annual picnic went like clockwork, as usual, thanks to all the Committee ladies' hard work!
Follow the link to see & buy smaller prints and digital downloads.
If you'd like larger prints or something to hang on your wall - just give me a shout!
KEITH & DISTRICT -v- BROMSGROVE CATSHILL FC
Keith (Scotland) and Catshill FC (England) Veterans Football Match, held at Kynoch Park, 18th May 2024.
The teams knock heads & knees again, playing another international blinder and raising a total of £14,854 for local charities.
Following the game, memorabilia & whiskies were auctioned in the club bar. An otherwise civilised evening in The Ploo featured a barberous incident, with Gary and his trademark long hair parting company. Not to be short-changed, Gary cut a great deal and netted a stylish extra £400 for the pot.
This year's money raised is being shared between KEITH CANCER LINK and HARRY BENNETT FOUNDATION in Bromsgrove.
see photos see all events photos
Spend your MORAY GIFT CARD here!
As well as the major credit & debit cards, we now accept Moray Gift Cards and other Scotland Loves Local Gift Cards.
Cash is still cool, though ;)
Delighted to have been commissioned to cover this year's Keith Show.
For outdoor photography, changeable weather means changeable light. Over the two days of this year's show we had flat grey skies, dark grey clouds with drizzle and glorious sunshine. This is great but it meant I had more editing to do, to keep control of contrast and a consistent look across the images. On the plus side, it also gave some variety to the lighting style of images captured.
The [sold-out] 76th Fife-Keith picnic was a perfect day of sun, ice creams, sausage rolls and a wee touch of crazy.
Thanks as always to the ladies of of the Committee for their efforts and another fab day. Also, another shout out to Jackie & Gordon of MAGIC FACES, for bringing so much colour to the event.
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Keith Grammar School held a "Summer Sizzler" dance & barbeque on the 1st of June.
Invited to take photographs at the event, I set up a temporary studio in the school's boardroom, offering staff & pupils a walk-in photoshoot as many times as they liked during the event.
With the camera tethered to a laptop and a live feed to a "Promethean" interactive wall display, everyone could see their photos appear on the screen as they were being taken. This setup gave everyone instant feedback on their shots & poses, resulting in plenty of lively & quick-fire sessions!
Thanks to all staff who helped out and thanks also to everyone who came through the door. It was a great night!
see photos see all events photos
KEITH & DISTRICT -v- BROMSGROVE CATSHILL FC
Keith (Scotland) and Catshill FC (England) Veterans Football Match, held at Kynoch Park, 6th May 2023.
Kevin Winton, Gary Macpherson & the teams keep netting the proceeds, with another international effort to raise funds for local charities.
Following the game, memorabilia & whiskies were auctioned in the club bar. A quiet night in at The Ploo added to the pot, with the combined events raising over £11,750 in total. The money raised is being shared between KEITH CANCER LINK and PRIMROSE HOSPICE in Bromsgrove.
see photos see all events photos
OK - not quite.
I was recently commissioned to take photographs of two early limited-edition Banksy prints, both of which had been bought before the influential & enigmatic artist became widely known.
My client required the prints to be photographed with specific criteria, in order to have them formally appraised by Pest Control, the sole point of contact for Banksy and the only body authorised to authenticate his art.
Both prints were mounted in glazed frames, and removing them from their frames was not an option. Two studio strobes with large softboxes and some strategically-placed reflectors were set up to give a flat, even light, with no shadows from the frames falling onto the prints. Additional flags & diffusers were used to prevent any reflections in the glass. A 55mm macro lens provided a flat field of focus and allowed close-ups of the edition legends and numbering.
The client was delighted with the final results and I hope to get an update on the appraisals at some point.
2 of 3 photoshoots commissioned by PR agency Agribusiness Communications, for publication in 'Famers Guardian', 'The Scottish Farmer' and elsewhere.
Nicola, along with her parents George & Margo, runs a farm with 850 Scotch Mules and 240 suckling cows at Mains of Cairnborrow, near Huntly.
Nicola posts daily on Instagram, to her 13,700 followers.
see photos see photos @livestock_farmher [Instagram]
Mel & Martin Irvine are celebs in the farming community, having risen to fame in BBC's 'This Farming Life' programme.
Mel is also a professional photographer - no pressure there then ;)
1 of 3 photoshoots commissioned by PR agency Agribusiness Communications, for publication in 'Famers Guardian', 'The Scottish Farmer' and elsewhere. The brief was to capture shots of Mel & family at their farm in Drummuir, with their flocks of 180 Mules and pedigree Blue Texels.
Join 18,600 other people who follow Mel on Instagram.
see photos @mel_irvine [Instagram]
The residents came out in their hundreds on Saturday 18th June, for Fife-Keith's 75th annual Picnic. We know that because all 400 saugage rolls were gone well before finishing time & there were no doggy bags this year!
No bouncy castle either, due to the wind, but that didn't seem to slow the kids down any.
Thanks to the efforts of the committee & everyone else who contributed to the event, it was another great afternoon.
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The Class of 2020 finally get to have their Prom at The Ugie Hotel, after a 2-year long covid delay.
see photos see all events photos
Braving the weather, spectators travelled from all over the North East to see the first live NETPC (NE Tractor Pulling Club) event in almost 2 years.
Tractor Pulling is an elimination sport, where a weighted sled is pulled along a specially prepared course. The weight is progressively increased, until competitors either fail to pull the full length of the course, or remain in the competition long enough to become the eventual winner.
In this event, enthusiasts competed over 2 days in several classes, ranging from converted lawn mowers, to heavily modified vehicles with V8 & V12 engines up to 3,500Hp - more than 3 times the power of a F1 racing engine.
You can view & buy my event photographs online, via the "see photos" links. For larger prints, metal photo panels & framed wall art, please get in touch.
see photos see all events photos
KEITH & DISTRICT -v- BROMSGROVE CATSHILL FC
Keith (Scotland) and Catshill FC (England) Veterans Football Match, held at Kynoch Park, 21st May 2022.
Willie Dick, Gary Macpherson & the teams knock it into the back of the net again, with another international effort to raise funds for local charities.
Billed as a testimonial to local legend, Gogs Younie, the match included feared defender Colin Hendry, who donated a number of unique items of football memorabilia.
Following the game, memorabilia & whiskies were auctioned in the club bar. A Race Night at The Ploo added to the pot, with the combined events raising a total of over £17,359.10 for KEITH CANCER LINK and PRIMROSE HOSPICE in Bromsgrove.
see photos
Delighted be working with Highland artist Fiona Kearney, producing limited edition metal panels & framed prints of her stunning artworks.
Fiona is an extremely talented artist, creating fantasy, landscape & transport-themed pieces. She works mainly in oils but also in watercolour and ink.
Black Five at Lostock Hall, 1967. Oil on Canvas, available as a limited edition 24x16inch framed Chromaluxe panel, signed by the artist.
Well done to Donna Ewen and her 14-strong posse, for their sponsored "Boob Walk" which raised £4,000 for KEITH CANCER LINK.
Fuelled by liquid refreshment and their own high spirits, the girls twerked trekked for twelve miles,
from Donna's house in Fife-Keith, round the Balloch and back again.
Donna recently recovered from breast cancer herself, and says ahe wanted to raise some money for KCL "so that someone else can benefit from their help."
Held in Fife Park, this year's 74th annual picnic in Fife Keith landed lucky, with good weather in between days of rain.
A big thank you to Jackie & Gordon of MAGIC FACES, who's fantastic artworks have made my take on the day so colourful and a pleasure to work on. Thanks also to all of you who (wittingly or unwittingly) posed for me.
Photos are available to view & buy on our online gallery.
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KEITH & DISTRICT -v- BROMSGROVE CATSHILL FC
Veterans Football Match, held at Kynoch Park, 11th May 2019. Following the game, a whisky auction was held in The Ploo.
The two events raised over £7,600 for KEITH CANCER LINK.
Special guest & Keith team's secret weapon - COLIN HENDRY
If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit.
Another fab night organised by Diane, Kerry, Karren & Narelle, raising £10,000 for KEITH CANCER LINK and KEITH LOFT YOUTH PROJECT
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Kaysha & Sammy held a joint 21st birthday party on the 21st April, at the Ugie Hotel.
Photos are available to view and purchase, via our online gallery & shop. I hope you enjoy them as much as I've enjoyed making them.
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The SNP Portsoy Branch celebrated its 50th Anniversary with a dinner on Fri 9th February at The Station Hotel, Portsoy.
Speakers included Eilidh Whiteford, Alex Salmond, Kirsty Blackman MP and Stewart Stevenson MSP.
Honorary membership was awarded to John Stewart, former Art Teacher at Banff Academy.
see photos
250 women with hats. Alcohol. Topless waiters. A bucking bronco. What could possibly go wrong?
Fantastic effort by the girls organising this ace night, raising over £13,000 for Keith & Huntly hospitals.
