Glasgow Review of Books
This week I shot an event for the relaunch of the Glasgow Review of Books.
This is a platform that offers literary criticism from a Glasgow perspective and also publishes new works. It has been dormant for a couple of years. I think simply life of the last couple of years got in the way.
The Review has come back into action under the stewardship of my pal CD Boyland.
He writes and performs poetry and recently had an exhibition of digital artworks and visual poems. I have a beautiful little book of that show which brings me joy whenever I open it.
Back a few years ago when I was talking about making this very thing you see here he suggested that I photograph the spoken word scene as well as other things.
At this relaunch show there were 4 authors performing and showcasing some of their work.
This ranged from poetry and prose to crime and drama.
Also there was some music to break things up.
With some Scottish hip hop, some Gàidhlig song and the beautifully surreal world of the Creative Martyrs.
I had a sketchy list of things to photograph. I say sketchy because sometimes things don’t happen in a dynamic environment. Now I'm not going to show you the event photos because they'll be on the socials of the Review.
Alongside those I wanted to grab some very quick portraits of the speakers.
And by very quick I mean created in less than a couple of minutes.
They were virtually all shot in the same space with the exception of one photo.
I was standing on the ‘stage’ and I asked each of my subjects to stand with the side walls as a background. I moved lights about or changed things to make each one different.
Clockwise from top left these are: Ceitidh Campbell, Callum McSorley, Kevin P Gilday, Maria Sledmere, Empress and David Kinloch
My favourite of these photographs is the one of Empress.
I made her stand at the doorway of the storage/service area of the venue and used the lights behind her as a hairlight. That’s actually a messy scuzzy corner but there’s something about it I really like. And I think with the “woah!” response I got when I showed her shows that she agrees.
It was hard work shooting this event. There were a couple of really challenging lighting conditions. But it was also a wonderful evening with some really incredible performances. With words that went from thought provoking to heartbreak to laugh out loud. And then there’s my joy at watching the Creative Martyrs ordering the whole audience around. Most clearly had never seen them before and I’m still laughing at Brother Jacob’s “for a literary crowd you’re not very good at taking things literally” comment.
But the best thing of this gig was having the chance to meet up with friends.
Chris asking me to shoot this was amazing.
When he told me what and who else was on I was buzzing.
We must have known each other for at least 20 years.
That’s what happens when you hang out in the same places and gradually get to know others doing the same.
The show was hosted by Alan Bissett. Who did a really excellent job. He was supposed to be DJing too until we discovered the venue closed an hour earlier than we thought. His tunes were excellent too. All Scottish bands. Glasgow bands specifically.
I must have met Alan more than 15 years ago and we've been to a lot of things together over the years. The weekend I moved to Glasgow I went out with him and a crew and watched some bands somewhere.
And then there's the Creative Martyrs (pictured above). I've no idea how long I've known them but it's a while too. I have a lot of friends who are involved in the cabaret/variety scenes of Glasgow and Edinburgh and they're part of that.
Which if you are not familiar with you should check out and explore a little.
Being able to spend an evening making something with pals is just the best.
Why do I tell you this?
Well.
In being asked to do this job it made me go back and look at where and how I was hired for jobs. And by whom.
I never get hired by strangers.
In the time that I’ve been active doing this sort of thing I don’t think I’ve ever been hired by someone that I didn’t spend time with socially.
I don’t get recommendations or referrals from 3rd parties.
You know when someone asks on social media “do you know someone who can do…?” and you suggest someone that you’re aware of but haven’t personally worked with.
My name never gets mentioned. Nope. Doesn’t happen to me.
Conventional wisdom says that it shouldn’t be that way but that’s not been my experience.
Strange isn’t it?
So I’m going to end this post by plugging my friends.
Links:
Glasgow Review of Books
Alan Bissett
Creative Martyrs
CD Boyland