100 weeks of Scotland: Cockenzie| Tattoos| Barras

By Alan McCredie
Published on 18/03/2013 08:59

A Partick tattoo artist taking time out, the condemned Cockenzie Power Station and photography on the hoof at the Glasgow Barrowlands all feature in this week’s photos from Alan McCredie’s 100 Weeks of Scotland photo project.

In the run-up to the independence referendum in 2014, we will be featuring Alan’s work on Scotsman.com.

As well as the photos, Alan tells us the story behind the shots:

Paul, Tattoo Artist, Partick

I had an hour to spare when I was in Glasgow recently and thought I would head off with my camera. I was in Partick so wandered along the Dumbarton Road to see what I could get. I find with street photography that the smaller camera I have the better, as essentially I want to be as inconspicuous as possible. I had Molly my black Labrador with me as well which helps as she is always stopping to sniff things which can be great cover to grab a candid shot. Ironically this shot of Paul, outside his shop Kaya Tattoos, was one where I actually asked his permission. I had walked past the shop and saw him standing in the doorway and thought it would be too good to miss so went back and asked if I could take his photo. He couldn’t have been nicer about it and I knew I had the shot I wanted.

It started to rain and I went home.

Cockenzie Power Station

It has dominated the East Lothian skyline since 1967 and closed down for the last time on Friday the 15th March. Some say it is an eyesore and I probably wouldn’t want to live next door to it, but I have always really quite liked it. Plans are underway to convert it to a gas-fired power station, and whether this will entail it being demolished and rebuilt I am not sure. Driving home at night along the coast road won’t be the same without the eerie glow emanating from the heart of the building.

My Bloody Valentine, Glasgow Barrowlands

The nature of this photo project ensures that I need to have my camera with me quite a lot of the time – I never seem to be without it at the moment. It is therefore a relief sometimes to leave it behind and not see everything as a possible photo. This was my intention when I headed off to see My Bloody Valentine at world’s best concert venue - The Glasgow Barrowlands. I had thought about taking my camera, but wasn’t sure about getting it past the bouncers on the door and also, I just really wanted to watch the band. Of course within seconds of getting inside there were dozens of potential photos – I had my iPhone on me and I allowed myself to take one, and only one, photo and then I would forget about photography and enjoy the concert. So this is the photo I got and I really, really like it. The quality is far from great, but sometimes the image is just stronger than any technical imperfections.

Alan McCredie began the ‘one hundred weeks of scotland’ website in October last year, and it will conclude in Autumn 2014. McCredie’s goal is to chronicle two years of Scottish life in the run-up to the independence referendum.

McCredie says ‘one hundred weeks...’ is intended to show all sides of the country over the next two years. On the site, he says: “Whatever the result of the vote Scotland will be a different country afterward. These images will show a snapshot of the country in the run up to the referendum.

“The photos will be of all aspects of Scottish culture - politics, art, social issues, sport and anything else that catches the eye.”

You can follow the project at www.100weeksofscotland.com. You can also follow Alan on Twitter.

• All pictures (c) Alan McCredie/ 100 weeks of Scotland