New York, New York

When I arrived in New York it was raining and overhung with overcast skies and clouds. As you know from previous blog posts the weather is never an excuse for not coming up with good photographs but it does mean you may have to work a little harder.


The pictures I was here to shoot are primarily going to be published as fine art prints so my purpose was to capture the majesty and grandeur of the city and to sum that up in one iconic image.
































I’d already done an internet recce of New York so pretty much knew what I wanted and from what locations I wanted to shoot from. Because of the rain I decided to work primarily late in the afternoon and early evening so I could capitalize on the dusk and night. You have to be very careful to avoid bland skies with any kind of landscape photograph so I knew that even if the rain didn’t stop I would still be able to get pictures after dusk when the skies start to deepen in colour and of course the city lights would come on in all the buildings.




















For the majority of the time I walked everywhere which allowed me to get a feel of the city and its mood which would translate into the images I shot. I also managed to fathom out the traffic light and crossing system in New York. When the pedestrian light turns to a large red hand this means do not cross. And when it turns to a large white man it means, hmmm, well, nothing really because the cars still come for you anyway! It also took me a while to work out that the straw they serve with your coffee or tea is actually an American tea spoon, or stirrer as they call it…so you don’t need to drink through it! Anyway, I had a few good meals and several Classic American Lattes, although I must admit I was glad to get back into a Costa Coffee on my return home lol!

I was constantly cleaning camera’s and lenses due to the rain. I use water proof covers to keep the equipment protected but inevitably on the shots where I was looking up the lens got splattered with rain drops that meant it needed cleaning between every shot. Living in Scotland I’m also aware how many rainy days can end with gorgeous light so I made sure not to quit too early each day and was rewarded with a reasonably nice sunset and early evening light on my last day.


















I haven’t had chance to edit all the photographs yet but I’ve grabbed a few to include in this post for you to view.

Check back next week for photographs of Niagara Falls.

Castle weddings

Castle weddings have become extremely popular in recent years and with literally hundreds of majestic and idyllic fortresses in Scotland we have families coming from all quarters of the globe for their wedding day. Castle weddings have always been popular amongst the Scots but I personally have found a large increase in couples coming up from England, across the sea from Ireland and over the Atlantic from the States and Canada since Madonna got married in a Scottish Castle in the North East Highlands. I think all the media attention surrounding it just showcased to the world what a thoroughly enchanting and magnificent setting a Scottish castle makes for a wedding.

I’ve spent a lot of this week visiting some of the castles that use me as their recommended wedding photographer. The wedding season really gets under way next month so I like to take the opportunity to keep in touch and chat with some of the castle wedding planners and managers before we both get too busy to do so. I love castle weddings, and not just because they make for stunning wedding photographs. Whether you love history or not you cannot fail to acknowledge the fact that our history has played a huge part in shaping the present, both our lifestyle and our culture, and it is nowhere more evident than in some of these huge bastions that adorn and decorate our land. I’ve photographed weddings and done fashion and magazine shoots in some of our oldest and most splendid castles and with a plethora of ancient nooks and crannies and glorious, striking backdrops it really is a delight!

One of the questions I often get asked is, “Which is the grandest castle you’ve worked in?” or “Which was the best?”. I know this isn’t the answer they are looking for but it really is impossible to say. They all have their own individual character and atmosphere that makes each one unique for different reasons. On the one hand you have imposing, prodigious castles like Edinburgh Castle, Stirling Castle, Dundas Castle, Carbisdale Castle, etc and then on the other hand there is the quintessential fairytale castles like Fernie Castle, Eilean Donan, Castle Venlaw, to name but a few. There are also a number of castles that kind of sit between these two groups too, such as Glamis Castle, Dalhousie, Melville and offer a warm intimacy as well as a sophisticated elegance. There are also a number of ruined fortresses registered to hold wedding ceremonies too if you were looking for something different and don’t mind not having a roof over your head.

Castle weddings aren’t just about the exterior, although this is probably the first thing to catch your eye and draw you to a particular venue. Often the character of the place lies on the inside and is manifest in the graceful décor, the palatial rooms, the works of art and luxurious fixture and fittings, and the ambience that is generated. Some places are charming, others imposing and others simply awesome!

The first castle I ever photographed was Edinburgh Castle when I was 12 years old. I had an old Zenit E camera which was quite a sophisticated piece of kit for a young boy and I remember shooting the castle from virtually every conceivable vantage point in Princes Street gardens down below and feeling rather aggrieved that I couldn’t afford the entrance fee to shoots pictures inside. Twenty years later I was being paid by magazine Editors to photograph inside the castle and the castles management waived the entrance fee for me in favour of the publicity and promotional value! Weddings in Edinburgh Castle are always good fun too, especially in the tourist season. Every wedding I’ve photographed in Edinburgh Castle has the tourists lining up for shots of the happy couple but last summer at one of the weddings in the castle a Japanese couple came up and asked if they could take a photograph of the bride on their own camera. Tracey said she didn’t mind and was ready to pose for them when we discovered they didn’t actually mean just a photograph of her, they wanted one with each of them beside the bride! So they each took a turn standing proudly with the bride while the other took a photograph and then gave us all a bow and sped off to show their friends the shot on the back of the camera!

I’ve now lost count of the amount of castles I’ve photographed and also the number of castle weddings I’ve shot but I’m pleased to say there’s plenty more still to come. Next week, however, I’m moving from castles to skyscrapers as I have a shoot in New York so check back for a rather different set of pics.

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(Castles featured here are Glamis Castle, Dundas Castle, Fernie Castle and Dalhousie castle)

Back at Melville Castle!

This week I’ve ended up traveling from one end of Scotland almost to the other! I started off the week going down to Dumfriesshire, in the south west corner, then up to Fort William in the north west mid week, and then ended the week back at Melville Castle close to home.

It’s been a mixture of commercial shoots and meetings. Most of the meetings being wedding related, either with future bride and grooms or wedding planners and venues. The drive over to Fort William was particularly enjoyable! I love the north west Highlands, and although my favourite part is Wester Ross, further up than Fort William, a close second is Rannoch Moor.

Rannoch Moor sits on the edge of the Highlands and is encompassed by a rim of mountains that stretch all the way to Glencoe. The A82 is the main road to Fort William and it travels right over the summit plateau which is over a 1000ft above sea level. Robert Louis Stevenson described Rannoch Moor as “a wearier looking desert a man never saw” and down to this day Rannoch Moor is regarded as one of the last genuine wildernesses of Europe. The views as you pass Loch Tulla are spectacular! Loch Ba with the Black Mount arising behind, the majestic Buachaille Etive Mhor, and then the jaws of Glencoe to mention just a few. Over the years I’ve done many magazine shoots in and around this area so I’ve come to know and love it extremely well.

On Sunday we were back at Melville Castle for the second of three spring wedding shows. The show last month was a great success for both the Castle and myself. You’ll know from a previous blog how the day went and how many couples I met and chatted to and I’ve since been out for a follow up meeting with many of them. Bookings for this year are now coming in thick and fast. It does seem as if the financial uncertainty has caused many brides and grooms to leave their bookings much later than the norm for 2009, but now my remaining available dates are getting taken up nicely. Again, as I experienced at last months show 2010 is going to be a very busy year for weddings, and by the looks of things so will 2011. I also met couples who are currently planning their weddings for 2012, too. And, believe it or not, I even received an enquiry through my website this week from a bride who’s date is 2014!

One of the (many) reasons I enjoy wedding fairs is because you get an instant reaction to your work. You know you’ve got it right when you see brides, grooms and parents ’wow-ing’ over your Storybooks and albums. But I also got some additional post wedding feedback this week from a couple who’s wedding I shot a few months ago.

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Liz and Bruce got married at Melville Castle last August. For Christmas they purchased a few Gallery Prints from me as presents for their parents. They wanted some prints in the style of their Image Book pages, where you can have multi image spreads, interlinked photographs, and various other combinations. I designed a seven, a three and a two image montage which I then had printed up as Gallery Prints and which Liz and Bruce used as Christmas gifts. A few days ago they ordered two more for themselves and I delivered these Thursday evening where I got to hear the story of the Prints being unwrapped at Christmas. As you know Gallery Prints are very new and Liz and Bruce’s family had never seen anything like them before and could hardly believe how stunning they were! When Bruce’s mother unwrapped hers and saw it she was so moved by it she started to cry. From the sound of it I think they must have spent nearly all the holidays just looking at them, lol. Anyway, needless to say they now have pride and place on their walls. Here’s a picture of one of the prints Liz and Bruce ordered for themselves that replicates one of their album pages.

Next Wedding Show at Melville is May 3rd and we believe it’s going to be a busy one. Come along if you can.

Melville castle website: http://www.melvillecastlehotel.com/