Roddy Mackay | Photography

Shanghai Smog

2010-10-04T17:05:00.003+01:00

Another image from the archive at www.roddyphoto.com, this time of the sunrise over Shanghai from my trip in February 2010.

Mitchell Library

2010-10-02T18:43:00.004+01:00

Another image from the archive, prints and downloadable files available from www.roddyphoto.com

Andy and Emma

2010-09-30T18:02:00.002+01:00

I was photographing the wedding of Andy and Emma this weekend in Edinburgh and what a day it was! A great fun couple for a great fun wedding in one of my favourite cities, Edinburgh!

Kenneth and Miriam

2010-09-30T17:40:00.003+01:00

It seems like ages ago now but I was in Inverness on the 02nd August, 10 days before my own wedding, to shoot the wedding of Kenneth and Miriam. It was a real family affair, with quite possibly a new record for how big a family photograph I've ever shot! Congrats Kenneth and Miriam!

Jennifer and Donald - From the Archives

2010-05-18T17:05:00.002+01:00

It's been almost a year since I shot Donald and Jennifers wedding at Glasgow University Chapel and Oran Mor but I thought I'd blog them as I hadn't had the chance yet.

Another very fun couple and a great day hopefully for great pictures!

Amsterdam - Venice of The North

2010-05-11T21:15:00.007+01:00

I'm in Amsterdam at the moment for a few days in between shooting in Germany and Switzerland for a client.

I suspect there must be some kind of strike by the binmen in the city just now as there is rubbish piled everywhere which doesn't give the best impression at first but beyond all that the character and history of the city is still very evident.

Paul and Louise

2010-05-11T21:05:00.004+01:00

So it's been a while since I've blogged... sound familiar? Well to make up for it a little I thought I'd keep updated with some of what I've been shooting recently.

I was back at Lochgreen House Hotel last Friday for the second time in a month so shoot Paul and Louise's wedding day. Not only was it their big day but it also seemed to be a pretty fun day for all of the kids at the wedding too, of which there was a lot, which meant great fun shots!

Roaming Through Europe

2010-05-09T21:55:00.002+01:00

I've been on the continent since Saturday to work on a project which has been in the pipeline for almost 18 months! With that amount of time having passed I'm definitely glad to have had the opportunity to shoot something. I'll hopefully be working on it for another few days in Switzerland at the end of this week followed by some time in Manchester and London before I get stuck into the editing.

Westminster 2010

2010-05-06T21:11:00.002+01:00

I was back out on the election trail with Holyrood Magazine to get some images of the 2010 Westminster election. Not much change in Scotland it would seem, but I suspect it won't be long till we are back out on the trail again.

Fraser and Gurbinder

2010-05-01T21:44:00.002+01:00

Another really interesting wedding to shoot this week. Fraser and Gurbinder got married for the second time in a week at Fingask Castle after having enjoyed a seperate Indian ceremony in London last weekend.

Innes and Christa

2010-04-02T21:20:00.002+01:00

Another beautiful April day and another fantastic couple to photograph. Innes and Christa made the journey down from Lewis for their wedding at Lochgreen House in Troon and it was a great day to shoot!

From Lagniappe With Love

2009-06-08T18:19:00.003+01:00

I'm in New York City, 3 years after I first set up as a freelance photographer and 3 years after I first came here back in the summer of 2006.

Back then I had just arrived up from the Deep South of the USA, my favourite place to travel, and more specifically, from Lagniappe Pres, Bay St Louis, MS.

It was the Bay that first inspired me to blog some of my pictures and a place and people I hold dear. Back when I arrived first in 2006 I was greeted by 'the terns' a group of college students from all over the USA who had come to give of their time, energy and talents to assist in some of the work of Lagniappe in the bay.

Battery low.... to be continued!

It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia

2009-06-08T18:06:00.004+01:00

Having been rained on for the last 4/5 weddings I've shot in Scotland over the last few weeks i was starting to get a bit worried and had jokingly said to a few folks that if it rained on saturday just past for the wedding of Andrew and Ryn that I'd be taking early retirement!

Well arriving into Philadelphia on Thursday night for Andrew and Ryn's wedding in nearby Cochranville, PA on Saturday things weren't looking too good, it was pouring with rain, and it continued consistently all day on Friday.

Saturday came along with the sunshine however and we had a great day! The weather was perfect from a photographers perspective, not too hot, but just right, it was a beautiful ceremony with great friends and family, and a reception the likes of which I have never seen before!

Congrats Mr and Mrs Thompson!

Neil and Mairianna

2009-05-20T13:15:00.002+01:00

I was up in Stornoway a few weeks ago for the wedding of Neil and Mairianna, it was a a bit of a trip, as they are good friends as well as clients, but certainly good fun to shoot.

There's something about going back to an Island to shoot, where everyone knows everyone, and if they don't they certainly try to find out, good for the banter, and hopefully for the lens.

Gordy and Julie

2009-05-18T21:27:00.005+01:00

I'm working on a pretty serious amount of editing at the moment to clear my desk a little bit before I head out to the USA this weekend, amongst that is the wedding of Julie and Gordy a month ago in St Andrews.

It was a stunningly beautiful day for a great couple, so much so that the bridal party had some ice cream on the beach post ceremony. That was followed by a very adventurous set of bridesmaids who gave it laldy to prove to the guys that they can jump better.

Rain, Rain Go Away

2009-05-17T23:00:00.003+01:00

One of the questions I get asked most often by clients is 'what do we do if it rains?'

Sadly I've had to really figure that out the last three weddings I've shot over the last 3 weeks as the weather has been true to Scottish form, it helps to make the grass grow, but it's not so great for barbecues and wedding dresses.

Friday was a perfect example of that, as I was shooting at the wedding of Simon and Claire at Glenbervie House, the rains came, and sadly also stayed... but that didn't stop the party! Both Simon and Claire and their guests were up for having a great time and we headed out with our brollies down to the beautiful driveway of the Glenbervie.

Here's hoping the weather picks up in time for Julie and Alans big day this coming Saturday at New Lanark and my next wedding after that in Cochranville, PA!

Pwllheli

2009-04-16T12:41:00.003+01:00

I was down in North Wales last week for a couple of clients, one of whom was the New Word Alive conference who had been commissioned out to by another client to document the conference and work on capturing some imagery for their publicity towards next years conference.

Despite ti taking me 13 hours to reach North Wales by train from Glasgow and the train then catching fire on my back to Glasgow it was a good trip and an enjoyable experience to be doing some event photography.

New Look Website Online

2009-03-06T16:57:00.003Z

So it's taken me a while to get my head round it, but that's mainly because I've been designing and building it myself to stretch my creative juices that little bit more.

But the new look www.roddymackayphotography.com is now online, see what you think!

New Look @www.roddyphoto.com

2009-03-06T16:53:00.003Z

I've been doing some rejigging and redesigning of my websites over the last few weeks in addition to teaching myself some webdesign and production.

My stock archive remains online courtesy of Photoshelter but I've made some design changes to hopefully make it easier to use and more matching in look to my new look website which is almost there...

Lost In Translation

2008-12-26T17:54:00.002Z

Christmas Day In India

2008-12-26T07:27:00.001Z

Delving Deep Into Tales Past

2008-09-03T13:51:00.002+01:00

I'm on a bit of a high at the moment, mainly due to my new espresso machine, but also because of how much I'm enjoying working through new images and learning along the way.

I'm just about to start the huge phase of trying to edit through my selections of images from Peru from back in March, phased between wedding editing. I've gone through the initial selections and taken out the chaff, now comes the toning, keywording, categorising etc, the huge task!

The two images shown here are two I discovered latelast night and decided that I quite like, from my trip up to Neuvo Jerusalem on the outskirts of Moyobamba, quite a journey.

Stepping Out Of The Shadows

2008-08-08T01:06:00.003+01:00

So as I sit here frantically trying to finish off some bits of work as I prepare to tak a few days off and head to Skye I'm very much aware that on the other side of the world the sun is rising over China for the opening day of the 2008 Olympic games 08.08.08.

I feel a little strange about it for some reason, knowing that family are there and experiencing it all while I flick through literally hundreds of images of China. I'll be happy enough to watch from the sidelines.

Enter The Dragon

2008-07-30T23:36:00.002+01:00

So I realise I haven't blogged in a while... where have we heard that before?

Work at the moment is fairly busy and incredibly exciting, I've developed a lot of new working processes which have been in the offing for quite some time and have also been the result of alot of hard work and effort, two years after first starting out and officially getting going with Roddy Mackay Photography I'm glad to be kept going.

One of the most exciting things baout work is knowing that each morning i can come down to work and sit down with a cup of coffee an dnot quite know what I'll be doing with my days work, currently wedding editing is my biggest issue in workflof but i also have a huge amount of images I feel like i have hardly touched from my trips into China, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Peru, USA, Sweden, France, Romania, hungary and Malawi, all looking for an audience, such as the one here from a personal project i shot on the soldiers guarding Beijing and Shanghai.

Street Children In Lima

2008-03-19T12:59:00.002Z

Peruvian Deforestation

2008-03-19T12:58:00.002Z

Peruvian Travelling Circus

2008-03-19T12:57:00.002Z

At The Village Water Well

2008-03-19T12:56:00.003Z

Nuevo Jerusalem

2008-03-19T12:55:00.002Z

Cusco Market

2008-03-19T00:37:00.001Z

Another Continent, Another Year, Another Country

2008-02-29T15:19:00.002Z

Hola,

I flew into Peru yesterday, for my first trip into South America, with intended travels into Cusco, Macchu Picchu, Moyobamba and Lima.

I'll blog a little bit more about it tonight hopefully once I've had time to put the cameras through a few frames in Cusco once I arrive but thought I'd let folks know that I heard just before I lrft come out to South America that I have been shortlisted for the Title of Scottish Young Photographer of The Year for the 3rd consecutive year, for the images shown above.

All will be revealed at the awards ceremony on the 26th March back in Glssgow, for now however, Peru is on my to do list...

And a few more for good measure...

2008-02-18T15:46:00.002Z

Shanghai

2008-02-18T15:44:00.001Z

Ok, so it’s now the 17th February and I’m sitting in Starbucks in Beijing on a cold but bright Monday morning waiting to have lunch with my sister.

I haven’t blogged as much as I had intended to, (where have you heard that before?) but time seems t have run away… somewhere. I’m now a year older since I last blogged and have been trying to take some time to get acquainted with my new camera and lens and make myself a little bit wiser to go with it… and I’m almost there.

I flew down to Shanghai last Tuesday to visit the city for a few days and give myself a Birthday treat, quite a city it is too… the economic hub of China, it is utterly huge, impressive to look at and impossible to do justice to in just a few short days.

I’ll say a bit more of my Shanghai experiences when I’m back in the UK but for now, another city awaits, and images are there to be discovered…

A Certain Sense Of Deja Vu

2008-02-18T15:43:00.002Z

I flew into Beijing on Wednesday morning to begin my second trip into the country following on from my time here back in April 2006, my first international expedition with my new camera.

My timing couldn’t seem to have been better so far, Thursday was the official Chinese New Year and Beijing seems to be pumping out more Gunpowder than Guy Faulkes would know what to do with, the enthusiasm with which Chinese firecrackers are being exploded at all times around about me makes the Non Educated Delinquints (NED’S for those who have had the pleasure) of Maryhill look like amateurs…

All around Beijing you’re greeted with the sight of Men standing guard watching over the city, nowhere more so it would seem than in the residential developments in the outskirts of the city where my Sister and family have been residing for the last few years. The have become my focus for a project while I’m here in the country over the next few weeks, not just them but the thousands of guards standing watch over Beijing… more to follow.

The Next Chapter

2008-01-28T14:26:00.000Z

I thought I better blog about this seeing as it's now almost over... (oops)

Witnessing The World, my first solo exhibition of images outside of Scotland is currently running at Departure Arts Centre in London, (E14 7LW) and is due to run until the end of this week.

The exhibition brings together a range of imagery from across four continents and features many previoulsy unseen images from the archive. All kimages can also be found online at http://www.mackaystockphoto.com/ and entering 'witnessing the world' into the search feature.

Additionally you can download the flier via the website at

http://www.roddymackayphotography.com/WitnessingTheWorldFlyer.pdf

My travel plans for the next few months are taking shape and I'm now looking forward to being in Beijing for Chinese New Year a week on Friday. I'll be in the country all being well for three weeks and am hoping to take some time in Beijing, Shanghai ang Guilin before flying back to Glasgow on the 26th of February, unpacking and re packing my bags and then heading into Peru on the 28th!

I've got a rough plan to try and make a visit to Machu Picu before heading to Moyobamba for a week or so and then into Lima for a week or so.

I'm also currently eyeing up some new kit in the form of a Canon EOS 1d MK III for those of you who pay attention to that side of things...

Witnessing The World

2007-12-28T01:08:00.000Z

I’m sorry, I’ve turned into one of those bloggers who doesn’t really blog at all… and that’s not a good kind of blogger to be!

Things have been pretty busy of late, which is certainly no bad thing, and as I write this I’m working on finishing off my first ever tax return as a freelance shooter.

I’ve been working on a lot of my marketing and advertising promotions for the coming year over the last few weeks and have produced a new Wedding Brochure and Social Portraiture Brochure which should both be downloadable from the website. The SP one is suffering from a bit of a dodgy link which should be resolved in a couple of days.

I’ve also been kept pretty busy making arrangements for a new exhibition of images entitled ‘Witnessing The World’ which should now be up on the walls of Departure Arts in London, just around the corner from Canary Wharf, although the centre is currently closed for the holidays it re-opens on the 8th January and the work will be on show through until the 31st Jan.

It’s looking likely that I’ll be adding quite substantially to my travel and documentary stock archive as well with a proposed return to China during February followed by my first visit into South America hopefully in March. April follows the international work scene with a commissioned trip to be undertaken into Southeast Asia for the last two weeks of the month.

Most of the images I hope to take on these trips will hopefully be added to my slowly growing new stock archive online at www.roddyphoto.com I’ll let you know how progress for that comes along… it’s a lot of work!

If I don’t speak to you before, have a great new year!

Glasgow's Common Wealth

2007-11-09T12:34:00.001Z

So I'm down in London for a few days sitting in Departure Arts Centre where I'll be exhibiting during the months of December and January and I'm online listening to BBC Radio Scotland, awaiting to hear whether Glasgow will be successful in it's bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Gaems or whether it'll be going to Abuja, Nigeria.

Should the Games come to Glasgow I'll be looking to undertake a makor project focusing on the diversity of peoples and cultures currently in Glasgow as inspired by some of the people I have met especially over the last year... more to follow, coming after the announcement!

I've Been Home Three Weeks Now

2007-11-03T12:23:00.000Z

Thanks Ish, you made me realise I haven't blogged in quite some time!

I arrived back into Glasgow from NYC, 3 weeks ago now and I really am very happy to be back. I've been travelling around Scotland a bit since then and am due a trip to London on Thursday but it's a good time to be back.

I'm busy working on new advertising and promotional materials at the moment and confirming work for the 2008 diary which is getting busier as the weeks pass by. I shot my last wedding of the 2007 season for Donna and Domnhall in Strathpeffer two weeks ago and have been filling in with all sorts from portrait comissions to press assignments inbetween.

One of the biggest decisions from my trip was to sign up with Digtial Railroad to create a personal online stcok library of images which I have now started work on. I'll keep you posted on it.

It's A Little Bit Like Dawson's Creek

2007-11-03T12:14:00.000Z

I headed to DC towards the end of my recent trip to The States to meet a friend Will Weir from Memphis TN which is currently doing an internship as a Fellow at Trinity Forum Academy in Easton, Maryland about an hour out of DC.

It was a good time with a good friend, and getting to meet some others, we went camping in Virginia before ending up back in Easton as I waited for my passport to turn up in the mail... long story, thanks to the Remingtons, SD, The Chapmans, HB and WW for getting that one resolved...

Anyway, while waiting for that to come I sat out on the jetty outside TFA and read some Bill Bryson while watching the sun set. Who says men can't multi task?

To Learn Is To Earn

2007-10-02T05:21:00.000+01:00

One of the biggest challenges of life as a freelance photographer is undoubtedly never knowing, where the next commission or pay cheque will be coming from, If at all. The fear of being without is something that undoubtedly affects us all whether photographer or not…

These last few days I have been working on a story and taking pictures that I do not expect to be making any money from, I am, in fact, paying for the experience. My work is being assessed, criticised and appraised from a selection of picture editors and photographers from across America, who, quite simply are some of the best around.

The experience for me, as it seems to have been for all of the 40 international photographers here, is hard, some of us are learning technical things we never knew possible, all are restricted in what and how often we shoot and it’s hard. Knowing when to sit on your hands and just listen to your subject is a tricky thing, but patience is a virtue a photographer requires to have just as much as a camera.

The image attached is one of Sandra Lee Miller, a 61 yr old lady whose week I had been documenting as part of MPW 59. Having lost her husband to cancer, Sandra is now selling the family farm and moving out of town with her friend Dorothy. A sad and challenging story, but one which I was grateful to get access to photograph for the week.

Tomorrow is another day, another State, another challenge and undoubtedly, another surprise.

Settling into Chillicothe

2007-09-24T19:18:00.000+01:00

So after LA at the end of last week I headed to St Louis on Saturday to meet up with Joan Gummels and head into Chillicothe and the 59th annual Missouri Photo Workshop.

It's incredible to be here, in small town America with incredible people, very friendly and welcoming and a host of talented photojournalists form all over the USA and Canada and also coming from Romania, Singapore, Moscow, Mexico, Puerto Rico and... Scotland.

I've been working on researching a story to shoot for the week and have now narrowed my selection down to two which I am about to go and present to my faculty staff for the week for Team A, Mary Anne Golon; Director of Photography for TIME magazine in NYC and Randy Olson, a freelance shooter for National Geographic.

The images here are from a test card I have been shooting around town some images with the OATS project, providing transport for people around town, and yesterday from a family I had met in the parking lot of Wal Mart...

Life and Los Angeles

2007-09-21T06:47:00.000+01:00

I'm managing to surprise even myself with some of the bizarre options and possible projects that are beginning to come my way now... I'm in Los Angeles, and looking forward to exhibiting some architectural images at a joint exhibition in West LA tomorrow evening along with a collection of other Christian artisits from around the States with me flying an international flag.

Tonight I had a chance to meet some of them and see the gallery work that will be exhibited alongside a performing arts venue for spoken word, performance and music.

The venue is an old italian restaurant which once had some scenes from the Godfather shot in it and pillars of which were in Ben Hur... pretty impressive enough in itself. But in addition to that... one of the performers in the show tomorrow is none other than Melissa Disney, the official voice to Disney's Snow White and who I was mulling over the idea of going to work on a joint project with an orpahange in Ethiopia...

So there you go, I've come to LA, met Snow White and now I'm going to Ethiopia.

It's Here!

2007-09-14T16:46:00.000+01:00

So after 16 months in business, 12 countries and four continents I'm still surfing off free wi-fi! Public libraries are a must for a photo documentary project...

Maybe that'll be the new project ot be loaded up onto http://www.roddymackayphotography.com/, the newlook site is now up and running!

The Simple Life

2007-09-14T12:43:00.000+01:00

I was in Dundee on Tuesday to take some pics of Rachel Fotheringham and her soon to be little brother or sister, currently affectionately referred to as 'the bump'.

Rachel is one of those people who makes me really love my job getting to spend time playing with her and having the simplicity of a three year old really is quite refreshing!

The relaunch of the new and improved http://www.roddymackayphotography.com/ is just around the corner...

Congratulations David and Heather

2007-09-10T10:02:00.000+01:00

Who were married on Saturday at The New Golf Club in St Andrews. Another fantastic couple, great fun, great guests and a beautiful day!

Congratulations Hugo and Michaela

2007-09-10T09:57:00.000+01:00

Who were married on Friday at The Howard Hotel in Edinburgh, a great fun couple, and a beautiful day!

Keeping Going

2007-08-30T14:59:00.000+01:00

So it's been a while since I blogged last... not for lack of things going on though!

I'm nearing the end of the overhaul for www.roddymackayphotography.com and will hopefully be coinciding it's launch with a tidied up blog and a new set of portfolio discs of my various portfolios... all to coincide with my next trip Stateside, next month.

I'm looking forward to spendong the week in Chillicothe with a selection of Photographers and Picture Editors from all over as part of the 59th Missouri Photoworkshop. In addition I'm hoping to be spending some time in Los Angeles, Mississippi, Denver, New Jersey, Washington and New York before I fly home in October.

In the meantime keep your eyes peeled and I'll let you know when the web revamp is up and ready!

In the centre of the Fringe

2007-08-03T19:18:00.000+01:00

As I've been living in Edinburgh for the last week I took the opportunity to head along to a Photo Call for Fuerzabruta, dubbed to be the largest show at this year's Edinburgh Fringe.

From my understanding the show consists of performers who are positioned above the audience in a swimming pool approximately half the size of a football pitch... it certainly look like it will be quite a show.

The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread...

2007-07-30T02:12:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy few weeks since I last posted, perhaps unsurprising given the way the last 14 months has been!

Last week I found myself in London for the week, shooting some stock images on behalf of a client and also for myself. The weather was not as exciting a I had hoped but I still managed to get a few shot such as the one above of the boy giving some money to a Scottish piper outside the national portrait gallery in Trafalgar Square. It tells a nice story I feel.

Last week also saw the end of the exhibition 'A Glasgow Story' at St Mungo's museum, but while one chapter ends another begins... and I have just had word that I have been offered a place to study on the 59th Missouri Photoworkshop alongside leading photographers and picture editors form Time magazine and National Geographic as well as photographers from all over.

The workshop which is due to take place later in September of this year, will this year take place in Chillicothe, MO, which it seems takes fame from being the place where the bread slicer was first introduced.

The other image above is one of my images submitted from my portfolio of twenty to the competition which I look forward to being reviewed during my time in the workshop in a couple of months time!

Congratulations Martin and Kathleen!

2007-07-18T14:37:00.000+01:00

So just as I attempted to recover form the tiredness of shooting a wedding at the weekend, I was off to Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh to photograph the wedding of Martin and Kathleen on Monday. Another beautiful day with a beautiful couple in a beautiful location... I'd be in trouble if I didn't have some good shots to prove it!

Having a reputation for being late, Kathleen surprised us all when she turned up early for the ceremony and had to be sent back in the car for a quick spin as the rest of the guests hadn't arrived yet... The only bride I know who has managed to arrive twice for her wedding day!

Strolling Into Savannah

2007-06-22T19:31:00.000+01:00

After reluctantly leaving Bay St Louis yesterday lunchtime I arrived into Savannah, Geaorgia to spend some time with some friends before heading back to Scotland next Wednesday. I'm hoping to also make the most of my time to sit back and try and plough some of the vast amount of editing work I have to do from the last eight weeks.

The pic here is from Bay St Louis and features the Fir Dog Saloon which faces out onto the Bay, like much of the town it was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but it still remains as a landmark of the town.

Lagniappe - A Little Bit Extra...

2007-06-21T15:19:00.000+01:00

So I'm sitting at a table in The Mockingbird Cafe in Bay St Louis, MS. It has to be one of the most incredible coffee shops in the world and has an incredible community around it... Bay St Louis, situated on the Gulf Coast was wiped out by Hurrican Katrina almost two years ago and the scars of hte storm are incredibly visible, but working through the heat, emotions and remians of what was, you can see an incredible community growing into one of the most beautiful images I have ever witnessed.

I've been crashing in a bunk house in Lagniappe church for the last three nights as have been approx 260 volunteers and 20 staff members who make up Lagniappe Church. The church was planted by Jean Larroux, a apastor of the PCA who came back to his home town after Katrina to contribute towards some ofthe incredible need which exists in the town.

On of those assisted by Lagniappe is Lane, a lady who although legally blind leads a busy and active life here in The Bay, including trimming the bushes here at The Mockingbord as I arrived this morning! She was given a new home by the folks at Lagniappe for her and her guide dog Kai, who, with his pray for the bay sticker now promotes the work of Lagniappe to all, wherever he goes!

I'll sadly be leaving the bay later this morning as I head to Savannah, GA for a few days before home on Tuesday.

Congratulations Eric and Emily, A.K.A Mr and Mrs Remington!

2007-06-13T19:58:00.000+01:00

So the images are up a little later than I had intended...

Saturday was a great day, a beautiful day, for a beautiful wedding and a beautiful couple... I find it an incredible thing to get to spend time like this with people at such an incredible point in their lives.

Thanks to all who made my time in Birmingham so enjoyable, especially for being so co-operative with the pictures, I think we've got some great results!

I'm now in Memphis, and think I will be until beginning of next week.... from there I'm hoping to roll onto Bay St Louis and back to Langniappe Church, post Hurricane Katrina. From there it'll be off to Savannah before flying back to Glas via NYC.

Let me know what you think...

Sweet Home Alabama

2007-06-09T16:21:00.000+01:00

So I flew into Atlanta on Tuesday to be met by Eric Remington and his friend Brian, Eric is a friend I met when I was in the Deep South last year and I'm back in the states to photograph his wedding to Emily Mark here in Birmingham later today.

It's an exciting time for all and the last four days back in Bama have been beyond superb, I love this place, the culture, the people, the BBQ...

I'll hopefully be posting some more images from later on today.

So I Was Watching The 6 O Clock News...

2007-06-01T18:32:00.000+01:00

And the lead story for Scottish News is that Gordon Brown has called Alex Salmond to congratulate him on his new role as First Minister after having ignored him for the last four weeks...

And the image on the television? Was a mobile phone ringing beside a copy of Holyrood magazine with Alex on the cover, with an image taken by me!

I'm back in Glasgow now, having arrived into Glasgow airport yesterday. I'll be back there on Monday night in preperation for my flight out to Atlanta and the next few weeks in the USA.

While He Was Sleeping...

2007-05-28T04:56:00.000+01:00

You probably were too... I'm currently in Bangkok at the moment although I am about to leave here to head to the North East for a quick visit before I am due to fly back to Glasgow on Thursday early AM...

The last few weeks have been pretty exhausting, having covered a lot of miles and a lot of subjects from the rural villages of Thailand to the bright lights of Bangkok...

There's a whole lot of editing to do when I return...

Submission Time

2007-05-28T04:32:00.000+01:00

Five Countries, Two British Prime Ministers, Two Scottish First Ministers, A Set of Twins. A Gypsy Village, An African Hospital, A Buddhist Monk in Training, Five Irish Nigerian Nuns at a Glasgow Bus Stop, A World Cup Playing Footballer/Faith Healer, A Fashion Show, A Chinese People Group and A Music Festival…

Last week the Uk Picture Editor Awards announced that entries for this years Picture Editors Awards for the Uk and Ireland would be accepted from last Sunday until this Sunday 27th May at 12am GMT. Due to difficulty in securing financial backing the awards very nearly didn’t take place and have now only been made available at the last minute, hence the short amount of time available to upload images to the competitions website…

So for the last week I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out which images to submit for the competition and then trying to figure out how to access them as most of them are stored in Britain while I’m in Thailand! Thanks are due to the Staff at The Sunday Herald (www.sunday herald.com), OMF and Holyrood Magazine (www.holyrood.com) for their help…

It’s quite intriguing to look at some of these images and see where my camera has been over the last eighteen months (the time period from which pictures are valid for entry into the comp…) there’s been quite a variety of people and places… with hopefully more to come!

I challenge you to write a Movie Script with the characters and locations… it could be quit intriguing!

The picture shown here is from a celebrity fashion show which I covered for The Sunday Herald last summer at Kelvingrove Museum, Glasgow. Not many proper celebrities, but a nice pic!

From Monday to Monday, Monks to Monkeys

2007-05-21T08:43:00.000+01:00

It seems almost impossible to believe that this time last week I was wandering down to Starbucks to say goodbye to some home comforts and familiar faces for a few weeks, it's been a pretty intense time for sure!

I'm currently in Prajuab on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand, I flew into Bangkok on Tuesday, travelled here to meet Roy Waites who has been travelling with me and then headed south to the south East Before heading over to the South West and back up again yesterday.

I visited a temple on Thursday morning as I was wandering around following the morning light and managed to wander into a monastery... quite fascinating... the conversation that I had went as follows...

Monk: (in very thick accent, almost comical) you visit?

Me: Yes

Monk: Where you from?

Me: Britain

Monk (with blank face): eehhh

Me: Scotland?

Monk: Ah - Blittain! Glasgow!

Me: Erm, yes actually...

Monk: Glasgow Rangers! Glasgow Celtic! I watch splort on TEE VEEY.

Football really is a universal language...

This morning I went to have some breakfast at Monkey Mountain, freshly made pancakes... and fed the monkeys around about us... great fun and a good break.

More to come later...

Live From London...

2007-05-09T18:49:00.000+01:00

So I've been here in one of the world's biggest cities since Monday shooting some stock photography for a client and for personal use... it includes this image from City Hall, the Mayor's Office which is quite possibbly my new favourite building in London.

I had an interesting experience of meeting the mayor yesterday when he was outside doing some media work for some tv's camera's... I thought I'd join in with the press huddle and began to snap away before managing to work my way up to the top floor of City Hall past security from where I took this image.....

It's good to be back in London after having spent a year living here when I first fell into photography three years ago, I've had some good times with old friends... (there you go liz...) and experiencing all that a huge cosmopolitan city like London has to offer...

Back to Glasgow tomorrow night and then off to Thailand on Monday!

The Future Prime Minister(?), An Elvis Impersonator and a Banana Chocolate Java Chip Something Or Other...

2007-05-03T16:58:00.000+01:00

So I'm not really too sure what the banana thing was, but it was tasty and well necessary after running around the streets in Scotland's incredible weather... today I love my job...

I've been chasing more politicians over the last few days, Annabel Goldie of the Scottish Conservatives, Gordon Brown, potential future Prime Minister of Britian and current chancellor of the exchequer and Tommy Sheridan, leader of Solidarity and ex leader of the Scottish Socialist Party.

I was in Buchanan Street earleir hoping to see Tommy when along walked Elvis... or someone who looked a bit liked him and claimed to be him... Tommy wasn't there but I did manage to find him later and I did manage to get a pic of Elvis.... so if that can happen.... then maybe Labour can still turn around the polls before 10pm tonight... time will tell.

The Prime Minister, A Touring Rock Band and a Caramel Macchiatto...

2007-05-01T15:55:00.000+01:00

I'm in Edinburgh today on my first day of a week long shift with Holyrood magazine as Scotland prepares to go to the polls on Thursday. It was my first opportunity to photograph Tony Blair, prime minister of the United Kingdom, who earlier today announced that he is due to to stand down form office within the next two months.

I'll be travelling around Scotland a lot this week I think, Glasgow is my next stop tonight as I head to the SECC to hopefully photograph Thin Lizzy who I happened to meet in Starbucks yesterday by chance.... I got chatting to them after I sneezed and I ended up asking for a press pass... it's been a surreal kind of week so far!

I Get Around...

2007-04-17T11:44:00.000+01:00

I'm currently on the outskirts of Inverness, having come up for a meeting yesterday afternoon.

Before I came north I was in Edinburgh to attend a Business Leaders Breakfast with Holyrood Magazine, the Guest Speaker there was current First Minister Jack MacConnell with whom Holyrood had a short interview in the run up to the Scottish Elections on 3rd May.

I'll be doing some more travel with the magazine as I join them on staff for a week in the run up to the election, covering the events as and when they happen. From there I'm hoping to be down in London for a week before I hopefully fly out to Thailand on assignment in the 14th May for two weeks. From there I'm hoping to back in Scotland for a week before I fly out to America for a few weeks... those being my plans at least... we'll see what comes of them...

Hitting The Airwaves

2007-04-11T17:36:00.000+01:00

For those of you with an interest in the Gaelic language, or an ability to understand it... Radio Nan Gaidheal will be broadcasting a programme on The Glasgow Story Exhibition tomo (Thursday 12th April at 11.30am and repeated at 10pm.

Gaelic speaking photographer Donald Macleod from The Scotsman newspaper has been interviewed to give his opinions on the exhibition, I look forward to passing a copy of it along to my translator!

Back In Scotland

2007-04-11T17:23:00.000+01:00

I'm back from Sweden and currently based in Edinburgh for a few days as I work on archiving some of my stock images for submission to agencies over the next few weeks. This one attached is another image shot in Stockholm during my visit there on Saturday.

I attended the awards ceremony of the Scottish Press Photographer s Awards before I left for Sweden last Wednesday evening, I missed out on the Title of Young Photographer for which I had been shortlisted, but not too surprised given my choice of images.

Congratulations to John Summers who took the title of Young Photographer of The Year and all other category winners. Winning images should be available to view online at www.scottishppa.com any day now.

Stockholm

2007-04-08T07:17:00.000+01:00

I'm currently in a small town called Tranas with some friends, which I believe is locate inbetween Stockholm and Gothenburg, we took a trip there on Friday to visit a few other friends and do the tourist thing... camera in hand of course...

Taking A Break

2007-04-06T21:34:00.000+01:00

I thought I'd better add a little note to the blog to let folks know that I'm currently taking a few days holiday in Sweden to visit some friends.

It's good to get a break, and had the opportunit to spend today taking some pictures as a tourist of Stockholm... you can look forward to seeing some of them when I get back to Britain on Tuesday all being well.

Have a great weekend!

Almost Famous...

2007-03-23T14:26:00.000Z

Well the exhibition for St Mungo's Museum opened last night, entitled ' A Glasgow Story'. It was an exciting evening and a real privilege to share in the excitement of those who saw their images hung in the gallery space of St Mungos's Museum, somewhat surreal too...

For those of you not able to make it to the exhibition you'll be glad to know that You can see some of the images online and in the Scottish Broadsheets this weekend.

The Herald Magazine will be running one of the images in it's lifelines section tomorrow and the Sunday Herald will be running a two page spread on the story in the arts review of this weekends Sunday Herald.

The exhibition has also been listed by The Guardian as one of the ten things you have to do this weekend in today's G2 Supplement, The Herald ran a piece in yesterday's going out guide and there was also a request for an interview with BBC Radio Nan Gaidheal! I'll let you know how that progresses...

Comments/feedback much appreciated!

The Portfolio...

2007-03-15T02:23:00.000Z

A very important word to any aspiring photographer... which is probably how I would describe myself!

The images are now online for the Scottish Press Photography Awards Open Category, take the time to go online and vote for your favourite. The images from Shortlisted candidates are not online yet, so I thought i'd post the three images from my Portfolio for Scottish Young Photographer of The Year.

I don't expect to win as the images are not typical press shots and it's likely the judges would have wanted something that shows a it more press variety, but they are images which I personally love, and reflect the style of photography I'd be more than happy to spend my life doing...

Anybody want to sponsor me?

The Long Wait For The Shortlist...

2007-03-13T09:33:00.000Z

They say that patience is a virtue, and it's certainly been something that I have been having to learn over the last few weeks, but this morning looks like it gives me a little opportunity to have a smile on my face...

The shortlist for this years Scottish Press Photography Awards was announced by e-mail earlier today, from over 3000 entries, 50 photographers and four newspaper titles have been selected across 13 categories.

I'm delighted to say that my name appears on there, under the category of Young Photographer Of The Year, which with six names on the shortlist, looks set to be a very tough challenge to win.

It's the second year of the Scottish Press Photography Awards, after having been resurrected last year, and I'm delighted to have my name on the shortlist for the title of Young Photographer for two years in a row.

This image, from Romania, is one of three black and white documentary shots I entered for my portfolio, and which I'm keeping my fingers crossed for!

All shortlisted portfolio's should appear on the Scottish Press Photographers Website (www.scottishppa.com) later today.

Done and Dusting

2007-03-01T23:38:00.000Z

Today I handed 29 images over to Glasgow City Council Museums Department which will make up the exhibition 'A Glasgow Story' to be on show at St Mungo's Museum of Religious Life until the end of July.

It's been an interesting project, attempting to gain a small insight into Glasgow's growing African and Carribean Community and one I may well return shooting as a personal project once I have had some time away from the subject to refresh myself, a clear perspective is a necessary thing.

In the meantime I'll be attempting to work my way through some other project proposals and work that I have on at the moment, waiting for the exhibition preview of A Glasgow Story on the 22nd March.

And if you're confused about the title... well it's self explanatory really.

Taking my part in the sister act...

2007-02-24T15:06:00.000Z

I'm starting to realise that sometimes I should just not say anything when I'm taking pictures... the mental process of thinking through what I'm trying to produce mixed with the fact that I am a man and therefore seemingly uncapable of multi tasking resulted in me saying the following to a group of six nigerian nuns this morning...

"Do you ever pretend to be sister act? If I was a nun, that's what I'd be singning in the shower..."

Their response.... a fit of laughter, slightly bemused looks and one responding to the others.... 'this is a funny man'

You really had to be there...

An Irish Nigerian Nun In Possilpark...

2007-02-23T11:58:00.000Z

Just to touch base, It's been an interesting week where I have been out and about and all over the place... This will be my final week working on the Glasgow City Council Voices From Africa project, it's been an interesting experience and taken me to a lot of interesting people, but also very challenging.

Saturday will see me with perhaps my most random trip yet, off to a convent in possilpark to photograph a Nigerian Nun from Ireland. There's one you don't meet every day.

2007-02-20T00:41:00.000Z

I've been keeping busy trying to work through my documentary project on Glasgow's Afro Cribbean community over the last few days... it's been taking some interesting turns shall we say...

Today I was out on the streets of Glasgow to do a portrait of Scottish Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson, as well as planning ahead for the rest of my week woith the Afro Carib project, now looking set to be entitled 'A Glasgow Story', and due for exhibition from March 22nd onwards...

watch this space!

From The Wedding of Dave and Sarah...

2007-02-11T23:39:00.000Z

Another one from Sarah and Dave's wedding on Friday at Maryculter House Hotel, this time of Sarah, modelling the dress which she made herself, not the most detailed image to show it off perhaps, but it was VERY impressive.

I'll be heading back to get stuck into the Voices From Africa project on Monday morning, there is a lot still to be done on it and it looks like there may be an exhibition opening date set for the end of March...

Congratulations Sarah and Dave!

2007-02-11T00:16:00.000Z

Well we didn't have any snowmen but we did have snow, snowball fights, lots of bridesmaids and even more photographs!

Dave and Sarah are now officially Mr and Mrs Morrison and it was a pleasure to be with them for the wedding yesterday in Aberdeen.

More pics to follow later down the line...

Bridesmaids and Snowmen...

2007-02-08T10:10:00.000Z

I've been busy trying to plough through all sorts over the last week, it's always a bit of a struggle when you don't know what exactly at the end of the week though!

The image on the left is of Nicol Stephen, Deputy First Minister for Scotland who was interviewed for Holyrood Magazine at the Scottish Parliament on Monday.

I'll be off to Aberdeen this afternoon for Dave and Sarah's wedding tomo which, byt reports I've been hearing might be a very white wedding!

Bridesmaids and snowmen here I come...

Still Ticking Along

2007-01-30T23:35:00.000Z

I almost became one of these people who has a blog, but doesn't actually use it...

One of the things on my to do list at the moment is the humoungous task of editing through every image I have ever taken and keywording the best images so I can then submit them onto some agencies to showcase my work to prospective purchasers worldwide. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it is a huge task.

The image shown here is one of the ones I'll be putting up, it was taken in Stockholm in summer 2005 when I was in Sweden for a week. I like it.

Monday Morning with Marvin

2007-01-22T17:48:00.000Z

I was off to the East Coast this morning, Kirkcaldy to be precise, to photograph footballer Marvin Andrews.

Marvin has agrred to take part in the exhibition of Glasgow's Afro Carribbean Community which I am currently working on, having previously played for Glasgow Rangers. As well as playing professional football with Raith Rovers and in the World Cup with Trinidad and Tobago, Marvin is also a pastor with his local church, Zion International Christian Centre.

Some News From...

2007-01-19T01:42:00.001Z

I recently signed up for a profile with Lightstalkers, a networking site for Photographers, Writers and Editors from all over the world. I've now loaded up some images which can be viewed on my Lightstalkers Profile Page as a flash presentation.... just in case you're having a really boring Friday at the office! The images are a bit low res and therefore quite fuzzy... but I'll sort that later!

Included in it is this image whoch I shot as part of the Voices From Africa exhibition which I have been working on for Glasgow City Council. I don't think I've mentioned the project on here yet but it is a major piece of work for me... and will result in a public solo exhibition of my images in St Mungo's Museum, Glasgow in March of this year... more info to come later!

Another Job for Holyrood

2007-01-18T19:40:00.000Z

I was off to Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh today to photograph Shadow Cabinet Minister and former leader of the Conservatives, William Hague.

Not long after, David Cameron, leader of the Conservative party and the opposition of the House Of Parliament appeared in order to try and gain support for the party ahead of this May's local elections. It's an interesting little world...

Not Enough Hours In The Day...

2007-01-17T00:15:00.000Z

Check me out putting clever titles next to pictures that match...

I'm now back in Glasgow after my trip to London which was very enjoyable and I think quite successful too. I'll be heading back to London for a few weeks at some point over the next few months to shoot some stock images for London City Mission (www.lcm.org.uk) an organisation I worked with when I first fell into photography. I'm looking forward to that.

I've also taken some pretty big steps forward in other projects for this year which offer potential to see me travelling into China, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Alabama and Tennessee.

Sounds good, head down, work on!

London Calling

2007-01-14T02:20:00.000Z

I'm typing this up in London, at the base where I used to live four years ago when I spent a yer living and working in the east end of London, it's a strange feeling!

I'm currently spending a few days visiting some friends and showing my portfolio around a few clients for projects which I hope to be working on over the following year, exciting days...

I've included this pic of the BA Millenium Eye a seen by night, one of London's many beautiful and photogenic tourist attractions... happy days!

Another one for Holyrood

2007-01-10T23:15:00.000Z

I was in Edinburgh today to photograph Alex Salmond, the leader of the Scottish National Party and the potential First Minister after this years May elections.

An interesting day, with a few more stories for a rainy day...

I'm heading south to London tomo to follow up on some potential projects and showcase my portfolio around a litttle more hopefully.

Back to the old stomping ground I go!

Rising Stars

2007-01-10T00:28:00.000Z

I was at Cineworld in Glasgow tonight(officially tallest cinema in the world...) for a Q and A session with Oscar winnig ndirector Kevin Macdonald and Glasgow born actor James Mcavoy, who were promoting their new movie, last king of Scotland.

It's due to open in UK cinemas this coming Friday.

A bit later than planned...

2007-01-04T23:01:00.000Z

Walking through the busy streets of Glasgow on Christmas Eve I make the decision to blog a large post spanning the year gone by and all that Photography has delivered me to. Below you will read a selection of comments from the year now almost gone by and some of the crazy incredible things that have happened as I have embarked on my career as a freelance photographer. Words fail me when I look back over the last year, I’ve achieved runner up young photographer, graduated from college with excellent grades, set up in business and travelled to multiple countries in four continents. My work has challenged me, given me highs and lows which I can’t describe but sum up only to say that I’ve been left feeling addicted and in desperate need to communicate to others from what I have been privileged enough to see and experience. If I’ve learnt anything it would be that my pictures are hopefully nothing about me at all. I have an exciting life, but I’m just any other person.

Today on Christmas I received a copy of National Geographic Greatest Portraits book, if ever there was a level for the photographer to aspire then this would be it. The understanding to what photography really means has been held in high regard by the publication and it’s affiliated projects and I recommend them to you.

I’ve included below a quote from Chris Johns, the magazines Associate Editor whose words quite simply felt like I was talking to myself, it’s incredibly satisfying to know that I am not alone in some of the thoughts that my travels have led me to. And to be thinking thoughts that seem to equate to what is beng published in National Geo makes me a very happy chappy.

There are days which seem to stretch over an eternity when doubt creeps in, and the photographer begins to wonder if he or she will ever see a picture again. These moments of doubt afflict every field photographer, especially the best ones. And surprisingly, the doubt doesn’t go away with success, because for great photographers the bar keeps getting higher. No picture is ever quite good enough. The photographer stalks the elusive goal of “capturing the spirit and essence of another human being” but falls short because there is so much more to say, there is so much more that is felt.

“I often find myself in a darkened room where my colleagues’ photographs transform me to places I want to visit and introduce me to people I want to meet. These photographers continue to put their reputations on the line, taking risks and in turn making the finest photographs of their lives. As I sit in that darkened room I believe I am seeing profound personal growth fueling the creation of photographs that will endure.

Too often a photographers real excellence doesn’t get due notice in today’s fast-paced culture, where celebrity portraiture has given celebrity status to many photographers. Occasionally Allard, Cobb, McCurry, Johnson or Harvey will photograph a celebrity, and there are a few of these images in this book, but they are the exception. More often the pages of this book and National Geographic magazine are graced with uncommon photographs of common people. Yet to the photographers who took the pictures these subjects are far from common, just as they are not common to their families, friends, neighbours, and co-workers. In each portrait there is an individual, with a life and story to tell. And maybe, just maybe, if the connection between subject and photographer is trusting enough, and the photographers skills and sensitivity are high enough, the portrait will reveal the spirit and essence of the individual.

If and when that happens, and that is a big if, the portrait may stand the test of time. And in turn the creator of the photograph can better answer the question, “what am I doing here? What drives me to do this hard thing?”

Sola Deo Gloria

1,250 Calendars and the quest to change the world

2006-12-27T11:45:00.000Z

There’s something satisfying about knowing that this Christmas hundreds of Roddy Mackay Calendars have exchanged hands as Christmas gifts, I’m pleased to hear some of the feedback from them and would welcome your comments… constructive criticism only please!

There are still a few hundred left though… every penny brought in from the sale of the calendars will now be going direct to projects in Malawi. Get the new year off to a great start and step online at www.roddymackayphotography.com/onlinestore

and so it goes on...

2006-12-22T17:14:00.000Z

Quick Update,

I am now back in Hungary, struggling with a keyboard which seems pretty difficult to get used to... its... no apostophes today...

Pic attached is from another Gypsy village we visited earleir today in Romania, another incredible story...

I fly home tomo all being well, although the fog is... intriguing... we saw the sun for thr first time this week earlier today, hopefully thats a good sign. Its been another incredible week of my life, with all the stories and challenges thatseem to be coming my way... more to come...

From the Romania Gypsy Village this morning...

2006-12-18T17:20:00.000Z

More details to come later, but a pic to give you a brief clue just now. This one comes from a Romanian Gypsy Village in Jimbolia... we distributed shoeboxes there earlier today... another incredible story... low battery, more to come.

The Busyness of Business

2006-12-16T09:00:00.000Z

So I had to pull another all nighter to make sure I got through all I had to do and get here in time but now here I am, sitting in Schipol Airport in Amsterdam, utterly exhausted, somewhat bewildered and even a little excited.

In two hours we catch our flight to Budapest before hiring a car and travelling over the border into Romania in the morning.

I've no idea if I'll be having any internet access over the next few days so i'll be saving it all up if not and making one big post from my journey.

To y'all back home, have a great time and to the terns.... have a fantastic time together... I'll be thinking of y'all, Y'all.

Lord Foulkes At The Royal Scots Club

2006-12-12T23:18:00.000Z

For the latest edition of Holyrood magazine that goes to print this week...

Lord Foulkes has announced that he now plans to run for office in the Scottish Parliament Elections this coming may so the magazine was interviewing him... a nice guy, we had great fun getting lost in the revolving door!

Christmas Delivery Dates

2006-12-10T22:22:00.000Z

Hi Folks,

Just a quick note to let you know that I'll be off to Romania early on Saturday and all orders from the obline store must be received asap to ensure Christmas delivery.

For prints the final date to ensure Christmas delivery is Wednesday13th Dec - 12pm.
For calendar orders the final date for posting pre christmas will be Friday 15th Dec 12pm.

For Scottish based customers, calendars can also be purchased from:

Glasgow

Wesley Owen- Bothwell Street, Glasgow.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery Shop.
St Mungo's Museum Shop.

Edinburgh

Free Church Bookshop, The Mound.

And don't forget it's all online at www.roddymackayphotography.com/onlinestore

Just for the Craic

2006-12-07T14:22:00.000Z

I feel like talking so I browsed through my desktop and searched for pics, I found this one entitled 'blog this one day'. When the rain is pouring and the wind is blowing and people aren't able to look up from the ground for some reason....(smile please people) we have this... the sun setting over Malawi on the second last day of my trip.

I had a meeting this morning which could prove to VERY exciting for next years work... you'll be filled in come the time. For now.

SDG

Rockin All Over The World...

2006-12-05T11:49:00.000Z

I think I may have forgotten to blog about my upcoming trip to Romania in a few weeks time with Blythswood Care (www.blythswood.org) so thought I'd mention it today...

Those of you based in Scotland will probably have heard of Blythswood and thir work mainly in Esatern Europe, I'm now due to be heading out with a team of five to document some of the work thta Blythswood is involved in as well, especially the delivery of an estimated 50,000+ shoeboxes filled with toiltries and gifts in time for Christmas. It's a trip I'm looking forward to although I'vehardly hada chance to think about it yet! I'll be gone from the 16th until the evening of the 23rd, so when I get back it'll be Christmas eve practically, so much to do...

The other exciting news is I have just heard of a story which I may be covering early in the new year... it's a subject close to my heart and a new country to tick off on the 'to photograph' list...

Keep your eyes peeled.

Starbucks exhibit is now up, displaying 13 images from the 'through these eyes' portfolio... check it out if you're in the area.

Exhibition going up!

2006-12-02T03:50:00.000Z

Attached is the front of the flyer which I received back from the printers today for the 'through these eyes' project. I have 10,000 of them so feel free to ask me for a bundle! The text should actually be red, no idea why it's appeared blue here...

It's 03.51am and I'm sitting up trying to get the mounts finished for the Starbucks exhibition... The staff arrive at the store in three hours time and I'm hoping I'll be there too to get the pictures up on the wall before a the crowds rush through for the weekend.

I think I'll need a few coffees by the time I'm done!

Keeping Good Company

2006-11-29T16:13:00.000Z

One of the wonders of the modern age is being able to read the stats for my homepage and see where visitors have been coming from and see how many have been coming by, I was averaging about 20-30 hits a day from different corners of the world, mainly the Uk and the States, having just checked my stats for today though I’m pretty impressed!

So far over the last 24 hours, Roddy Mackay Photography has had 282 different visitors from 24 different States in the US, Britain, Israel, Uruguay, Germany, France, Japan, Colombia, Albania, India, Ireland, Canada, Tunisia, Australia and Italy!

They’ll be greeted by a new look homepage which as well as hosting links to the Blog page and the Online Store (buy your calendars quick folks!) They’ll also see a new Portfolio of images from My Wedding and Music work, including this image from Belladrum Tartan Heart Festival.

This will soon be added to with other galleries from Architecture, Press, Portraiture, Travel, Landscape and Documentary work. I’ll let you know when it’s all done.

Thanks to James at http://www.awdesign.org.uk/ for his hard work on the site.

Let me know what you think.

Rod

Time to be thankful

2006-11-24T11:24:00.000Z

It's been a good week, one of those ones that I have been hanging out for for quite a while, hopeful that it would come soon... and it's only fitting that Thanksgiving was this week too, as a way to be thankful. Ok, so I'm not necessarily American (although I would like to live there one day...) but seeing mas most Americans like to claim to be Scottish and a direct descendant of William Wallace (aye, lassie) well it's only fair that I claim to be a direct descendant of... I'll choose someone later.

Thanks to Shanana and Karen for having us over for Thanksgiving dinner, it was superb although I did have to miss out on the sweet potato pie, something I was looking forward to.

We did a round of what are we thankful fpr afterwards and as soon as I was asked somebody piped up with 'cameras!' It's true, I'm very thankful for my camera's, for the engineers who have worled hard to produce them so that I can rely on them as much as I do. I love Canon. (www.canon.com)

I'm also learning to be thankful for colour and the beauty of light at just the right moment, for the emotion of black and white and the opportunity to express moments that people might not otherwise get the chance to see.

I'm thankful for a lot of things that have happenned over this last year, for a month spent in China, 5 weeks in the USA, 2 weeks in Malawi and my upcoming 1 week trip to Hungary and Romania, none of which I knew was going to happen this time last year. I'm thankful for the lessons I've learned, as difficult as some of them were/are, for the friends I've made and the stories I now have to tell.

It makes me wonder what's coming over this next year.

As the saying goes, I don't know what the future holds... but I know who holds the future.

SDG

credit where credit is due...

2006-11-22T15:46:00.000Z

I attended my graduation ceremony at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall last night, quite an enjoyable if not bizarre occassion. It's nice to know that I've completed that stage and come out of the other end intact, to those of you still there... keep going.

I also managed to slip a business card to Peter Lederer, Chair of Visit Scotland and Managing Director of Gleneagles (www.gleneagles.com) who was presenting the awards for prizewinners on the night. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

So congratulations to all who made it through the hours of lectures, studio nightmares, science classes, darkroom blindness and standing in the cold waiting for the right light. There is indeed more to photography than clicking the right index finger...

Sola Deo Gloria.

because you asked for it...

2006-11-21T02:19:00.000Z

Just to keep the requests happy I'll include this image from Katie and Stuarts wedding from a few weeks back. It's a great shot I think, one that we only had seconds to grab before being moved on from the stairwell for being a 'fire safety hazard'. c'mon people, let a guy do his job.

I walked past the Glaagow Royal Concert Hall tonight and got a big fright when I saw everyone walk past with graduation robes on, my graduation is due to be there tomo eve and I thought for a split second that I had got my dates mixed up... but I'm safe.

Sleep well.

Online Store

2006-11-18T10:11:00.000Z

It's here folks! Through These Eyes calendars and a selection of Malawi prints are now available to purchase online at www.roddymackayphotography.com/onlinestore

Payment is facilitated through paypal and accepts all major credit cards, knock yourself out!

hot off the press

2006-11-14T15:58:00.000Z

So when I came back from Malawi I soon realised that If I were really going to get the 'through these eyes' photodocumentary project off the ground what I really needed was an audience with the Scottish Executive to discuss their ideas behind the official Scotland - Malawi partnership, even better would be an audience with Jack McConnell Scotland's first minister, pretty much our version of Tony or George here in Scotland's Devolved Parliament.

Well what do you know... a few weeks ago I received a phone call from a girl who was in the year below me in high school.. she'd found me on bebo, come to the blog through that and suggested to the editor of the magazine that she worked at that they could phone me and see if I was available for a job they had on. That I did and there she mentioned that she might have an interview with Jack coming up...

Well Last week I had a phone call to ask If I could do the job and this morning I did! A copy of the 'through these eyes' calendar is now in Jack's posession in Bute House. Nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Thankyou bebo!