“By creating we think, by living we learn” Patrick Geddes
This is a shot of my little brother, Muhammad Irfan, taken with a point and shoot camera in manual mode, in a back alley off Perth Road. It is one of the preliminary photos that inspired me to shoot even more and it clearly conveys how safe and peaceful it is to live and study in Dundee, where everything is within walking distance, especially for a child.
Bakri Hafiz Hisham is a self-taught young photographer who is currently pursuing a degree in Architecture, in the University of Technology, Malaysia. He started taking photos less then 2 years ago, and has never looked back. He's into fine art analog photography, with medium formats, TLRs and self developing traditional black and white films.
As the front of house receptionist more than often Vina is the first encounter the visitor has at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. She is about to retire in September after an astonishing 41 years of service at the college.
Originally from Edinburgh, Carolyn has been living in North East Fife since 1988. She has just completed a B.A. in fine art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art where an earlier interest in photography was re-kindled. Carolyn will be continuing her studies in Dundee on the Master of Fine Art course.
After coming out of the Olympia I took a break on the balcony. The sun was lowering in the sky and my eyes were immediately drawn to the Discovery. After a few shots of the ship I turned round. In front of me was Tayside House, widely criticised as one of the ugliest buildings in Dundee, yet I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful it looked with the clouds behind it. I took the photo balancing my camera precariously on the edge of the balcony.
Andy has been a keen photographer from a very young age and moved to using a digital SLR camera in August of 2007, having to sell all his beloved 35mm cameras and lenses to pay for it. When going out with his camera he tends to look for challenges - particularly subjects that would not usually be looked on as photogenic. He takes his camera everywhere he goes - so there's never an excuse to miss a unique shot.
This photograph was taken in May 2009 on a very clear, sunny day. It shows the contemporary DNA strand sculpture situated outside Borders in Dundee. While Dundee is not renowned for its quantity of sculptures, the ones it has have always been relevant to the life and work of the people in the city. I feel this sculpture in particular represents the outstanding reputation Dundee has built for research and discovery within Life Sciences and Medicine, in which the University of Dundee has played a hugely significant part.
Graeme Whaley works for the Servers and Storage team (affectionately known as the SAS) within ICS at the University of Dundee. Graeme found an interest in digital photography outside of work through a friend, purchasing his first digital SLR early in 2009. Since then he has spent time photographing landscapes and architecture around Scotland and Germany and is developing a keen interest in automotive photography.
This is part of an ongoing series called 'Red Forms', where I have taken my inspiration from the large red tower at the rear of the Dalhousie Building. I was seduced by its dominant sculptural form and vibrant facade. To me, it is the gateway to a wonderful secret feature, and has provided excellent subject matter for creative endeavours. Even after years of living here, it's always possible to find something unexpected.
Alan was born and brought up in the north east of Scotland. He ran a carpentry workshop for ten years, until voluntary redundancy allowed him to change direction and follow his own creative ideas. A BA in Sculpture was followed by a Masters in Fine Art, during which he became interested in the psychology and sociology of users in the online environment. Currently he is self employed in the production of photography, graphic design and digital artwork, and his latest photographic project resulted in the production of the book 'Hypo-X-Series (a digital curation)'.
This photo was taken on the other side of the Tay Road bridge. It was early summer and a few of us had crossed the bridge on rollerblades and skateboards. We'd stopped on the other side and noticed a tiny baby bird which had fallen out of a tree, so my friends climbed up and carefully put the chick back in its nest. I like the composition of this photograph, and how, if you look carefully, you can see all the people between the branches.
Susanna has just finished a BA(Hons) in Illustration at DJCAD and ended up working with photography a lot in her final year. She has been interested in photography for a long time, and tries to capture an atmosphere of happiness and freedom in her work. She now plans to travel the world teaching English, and knows that exploring new countries will continue to inspire her artistically. Her ambition is to become a travel photographer or writer.
This image is a twin to one I did of the Forth Rail Bridge. I wanted an image of Dundee at night as well and knowing the bridge is north facing, I thought I could get the swirling star effect over Dundee and the Tay Bridge. The image was a challenge - I forgot to bring a torch with me, so the walk along the shore from Wormit in the dark was pretty difficult! The location is on the beach just under the bridge by Wormit.
Robbie is a 37 year old Dundee resident, although a native of Blairgowrie. He works as a designer in the games industry (Denki in Dundee). He thoroughly enjoys night photography, as well as getting out and about on his bike.
This has to be one of the most exciting photos I have taken. Walking along the Riverside on a cold October night, I was taking some slow shutter photos of the Tay. I could hear a plane up high, but I never really took notice until I saw it flying straight in my direction after swooping around for coming into land. I took one 20 second exposure, which was too early to capture it flying directly above, so I quickly changed to a 60 second exposure with moments to spare. In particular, I enjoy the steady lines and dots marking out the path of the plane. The spacing out of the white dots creates a strong sense of perspective.
Rebecca is a nineteen year old fine art student from Forfar, who has just completed her second year at Duncan of Jordanstone. Interested in line drawing, she mainly works with mixed media and drawings. She has always been intrigued by the notion of capturing a moment, and feels that photography can capture your own viewpoint of a person, place or thing. She particularly enjoys going out walking with her camera, either during the day wandering through the town or at night, finding some calm place in the city.
I think night photography is fascinating and love to experiment, so when it's a nice clear night I take every opportunity I can to capture my surroundings. This photograph is taken from the top of the Law. The cloud formation is amazing and makes a well known and usually very busy beauty spot look like somewhere out of this world.
Carmin, 26, studied Physiology and Anatomy at the University of Dundee. Shortly after graduation, she was employed by Tayside Police as a Scenes of Crime Officer, and has worked as a scene examiner for 5 years now - still thoroughly enjoying the job! It was through her initial training for work that she developed an interest in photography, but now she has discovered a great love for it and uses it to try to express her artistic side.
This was taken on Boxing Day 2008 in Broughty Ferry harbour. I tip-toed up to the gulls to get the shot. A few seconds later I spooked the one nearest the camera, and the rest scattered.
I'm a reporter for the Dundee Courier and Evening Telegraph. I write about Dundee during the day, so it was interesting to try to represent the city in a photograph.
I've observed with keen interest the new architecture within Dundee, and watched the construction of the new University buildings on my way to work. Wandering around the new buildings on a beautiful morning in September, I took shots from every angle. The architecture allowed the space to speak for itself. There were so many interesting curves and edges to be seen and the textures, colours and shapes contrasted wonderfully against an unblemished blue sky.
Alan, 52, has lived in Tayside and Perthshire for the past decade. His passion for photography started as a teenager, and he had photo publications in various music magazines, as well as a record cover for recording artist Patti Smith.
This early love of photography was re-ignited on his 50th birthday when his partner, Mhairi, surprised him with a digital SLR. Alan quickly embraced the new technology and takes his camera everywhere, taking photographs of anything and everything.
Many of Alan's pictures can be viewed at www.alanwildphotography.co.uk.
This image of the Clock Tower in Dundee's City Quay was taken in November 2008 during the redevelopment of the building from a disused warehouse into new urban apartments. I am interested in the integration of new with old in this area of the city. On the day this photo was taken, the low angle of the sun allowed me to create an image with strong contrasting areas of light and dark, accentuating the symmetrical forms in the structure of the scaffolding.
Craig Davidson is a graduate of the University of Edinburgh, having obtained a BSc (Hons) in Geology in 2006. He moved from a small village in Fife to Dundee in 2007 and now lives in Broughty Ferry. Outside his career as a Geologist with a Coal Bed Methane exploration company, his interests include photography, travelling and outdoor pursuits. He is attracted to a wide range of subjects, but particularly enjoys capturing architectural details and abstract forms.
This photo was taken looking east from one of the fourth year fine art studios at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design. The rooftops of the University Harris Building for Engineering and Physics, and The Old Medical School beyond are clearly visible through the window.
Originally from Edinburgh, Carolyn has been living in North East Fife since 1988. She has just completed a BA in Fine Art at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design where an earlier interest in photography was re-kindled. Carolyn will be continuing her studies in Dundee on the Master of Fine Art course.
Like the rest of Dundee, Baxter Park changes with the seasons - golden leaves in autumn, bright bulbs in spring and lush green grass in summer. This winter I was caught in a snowstorm when headed through the park to work. Although an amateur I am an avid photographer and always carry a small digital camera with me. I was able to capture the whirls of snow against the backdrop of the pavilion whilst enjoying the novelty and beauty of the morning snowstorm.
Originally from Sydney, Australia, I moved to Dundee in 2006 to pursue a career in cancer research at the University of Dundee. My love of travelling has seen me explore India, the Middle East, the Phillippines, North America and parts of Eastern Europe and Spain. I have also spent many weekends and holidays walking and camping in the Australian wilderness and more recently the beautiful highlands of Scotland. My enjoyment of photography developed from documenting my experiences in order to share my perspective with others.
When I arrived in Dundee from Northern Ireland I was apprehensive. But two years on, I can say without qualification that I really love living here. It is the people of Dundee who have made me feel so at home, and I wanted to capture their warmth and friendliness for this competition. The builders in this picture have been working on a renovation site behind my flat since I came to the city. I see them every day and they always give me a wave and a laugh. I feel their expressions perfectly encapsulate the self-effacing humour and genuineness that lies at the heart of all that is good about Dundee.
Paddy, a 20 year old student from Northern Ireland, studies Product Design at Dundee University. Recently he came across his late father's Olympus OM1 camera and started to experiment with film. He is enjoying learning about the respective capabilities of film and digital, which he feels sure would greatly please his dad, a former BBC cameraman.
The image Skyward was taken amongst the new University buildings on the Old Hawkhill, which have dramatically changed the area - for me the image represents the upward trajectory of the University and hopefully Dundee in general.
After doing a degree in Biochemistry and PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Sheffield, Paul moved to the University of Dundee to research cell cycle signalling and since 2007 has been team leader in the University's Drug Discovery Unit.
Paul has taken a keen interest in photography since childhood and recalls the times when no-one could get into the bathroom because he and his father had it set up as a darkroom. This interest has continued and he now enjoys taking photos of almost anything - from the small (using a cherished and oft-used macro lens) to the large such as urban scenes and landscape. He particularly enjoys showing the normally unseen – a transient pattern of light, a view from an unusual angle or something that would normally be passed by unnoticed.
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