I currently live and work in the Outer Hebrides, also known as the Western Isles, or in Gaelic as Na h-Eileanan Siar. Not content with simply living on the outer rim of Europe I live on a small island off the west coast, fortunately there is a bridge to the main island of Lewis and Harris.
Although based in the Western Isles my photography is not parochial, most of my output is actually destined to be sold via photography agencies and is used for all sorts of illustrative contexts in magazines, books and newspapers. I also shoot commissioned work that can take many forms ranging from business promotion to landscapes. However, the images presented here are eclectic and subject diverse covering a spectrum from limited edition art, spin offs from commissioned work, visual experiments, alternative views, studio constructs, picture postcard, local interest…….the list goes on. It’s a collection of work and concepts brought together because many of the shots were in need of an accessible home outside of the outlets for other work I produce.
Photographers can tend to wax lyrical and on occasions be pretentiously esoteric about their work, an option I confess to considering when starting to write about myself and the images here. Personally though I’m the sort of person who knows what he likes and what it means to him when he sees it. I think many people who are motivated to buy creative works for their visual pleasure probably feel the same way and no amount of esoteric self and image promotion on my part is going to change that. The bottom line is that you may or may not come across something here that’s just right for pride of place, equally, you may simply find something a bit novel to plug a gap on the wall in the bathroom or kitchen, or indeed nothing at all!
I’m not precious, pretentious or esoteric about my images nor do I have an ego that needs massaging. I shoot all sorts of subjects both when the urge takes me and when I have to fulfill an agency or client brief to scratch out a living. That’s not to say I don’t care about what I shoot, far from it, but after years of hitting the shutter release I’m still left a little bemused sometimes about the images that people like and those they won’t give wall space to, also those that sell as agency stock and those that don’t. It’s all in the eye of the beholder as the old saying goes, all I can do is take the shots and if I can trigger an emotion then that floats my boat…..helps if it sells too!