Category: Photography

Posted on by

Glasgow archive photography round-up

Alan Dimmick

Alan Dimmick is a Glaswegian photographer, best known for photographing Glasgow’s art scene. He is posting archive photos on Instagram at the moment, fascinating to me because many are taken around Hyndland/Partick/Anniesland where I grew up.

The Windsor Cafe on Clarence Drive was my first local cafe, a real treasure trove of sweets and ice cream. The owners, pictured here, were a Scots-Italian brother and sister, with infinite patience from what I remember.

Jonathan Treen

Temptation - 1970s photographs by Jonathan Treen
‘Temptation’, Glasgow © 1977-2020 Jonathan Treen

Jonathan Treen is also posting archive photos of 1970s Glasgow on Twitter (@JonathanTreen) just now. Some of the locations are instantly recognisable, others changed beyond recognition.

Glasgow Swing Park - 1970s photographs by Jonathan Treen
Glasgow swing park © 1977-2020 Jonathan Treen

Photos taken from this interview on Document Scotland.

Graham Gavin

View this post on Instagram

The Cyrkles, Gourock, 1995

A post shared by Graham Gavin (@grahamgavinarchive) on

Graham Gavin has some great photos of Glasgow’s music scene in the 1990s – some lost bands, and some familiar faces.

Posted on by

Warm winceyette

Winceyette bed jacket, John Ferguson, Perth

This is John Ferguson’s in Perth. One of the few remaining traditional urban outfitters.

John Ferguson, Perth - shop window

Two shops on either side of County Place have been clothing the denizens of Perth since 1924.

Rucksacks, John Ferguson, Perth

One side sells outdoor equipment and workwear. The other, clothes and ‘napery’ (household linen).

John Ferguson, Perth - shopfront

Ferguson’s recently amalgamated these shops into new premises at South Methven Street. I’m sad now that I was there on a Sunday and didn’t get a chance to see inside.

Posted on by

On the beach

Westward Ho! beach, Devon
Westward Ho!

I’ve taken a picture of every beach I’ve been to, for the last 10 years or so. I was never sure why, but once I started I kept going.

Boscombe beach, Dorset
Boscombe

No beach looks particularly significant at the time, but when you see a few together, each one stands out in a different way.

Torridon beach
Torridon

I wasn’t sure what to do with these photos, but now I’m stuck at home (far from a beach) they have been really comforting to look at.

Portmeirion beach, Wales
Portmeirion

Perhaps this is what it was all for.

Posted on by

The Bell, The Fish, The Bird and the Tree

St Mungo door knocker, Easdale Island

I’m not sure if any city is as proud of its coat of arms as Glasgow. You are never far from one – old or new, carved, engraved, painted, high or low – they are everywhere. Glasgow Coat of Arms started collecting them on Twitter @GlasgowCoA, and the crowdsourced results are currently on show at Glasgow City Heritage Trust in Bell Street until 6 Feb.

The story of St Mungo (Glasgow’s patron saint) and the book, the bell, the fish and the tree certainly caught my imagination at school, particularly the part about the salmon and the ring thrown into the river by the queen’s lover. That seemed a bit racey for primary school, particularly a Catholic one, but it did make saints seem cool.

I’m pleased to have contributed this wee St Mungo door knocker found on Easdale Island, 120-odd miles away from home. The collection is also on Instagram at instagram/GlasgowCoA and is growing all the time.

Posted on by

End of the Line by John R. Hume

End of the Line exhibition, by John R. Hume

I finally made it to End of the Line: Photographs of Glasgow’s Industrial Past, an exhibition of archive photographs of industrial buildings in Glasgow, by John R. Hume, organised by Glasgow City Heritage Trust.

Now Chief Inspector of the Royal Commission on the Ancient Historical Monuments of Scotland, John R. Hume travelled round Glasgow by bike, documenting factories and warehouses all over the city. You might think these things have a fairly limited appeal, but the exhibition space (an imposing former Inland Revenue building in North Frederick Street) was busy for a wet Wednesday, and there was a lively commentary from visitors who could remember the buildings as they were. The exhibition runs to the 5 September (or 7 September according to some info), and photos are also available on Canmore.

Magnet Ales, Leeds by Peter Mitchell

Fans of this sort of thing may also enjoy the work of Peter Mitchell, who scoured Leeds for disappearing buildings. His Instagram account is a real treat.