Instagram story viewer> @alan_donaldson> Posts

Alan Donaldson

@alan_donaldson

2.6K

followers

3880

following

Photographer. Glasgow Jazz Photographs 22-24. A Photobook available through the link

POSTS STORIES REELS

From the Clydebank series from 1986. The shipyards are long gone. Of the four cranes only one is left, it was a tourist attraction for a while, now it is closed. by @alan_donaldson

From a series I did after leaving college on my hometown, Clydebank. This dates from 1986. The second shot is of me back then.

1. Clydebank. 1986
2. Alan Donaldson by Alan Dimmick by @alan_donaldson

When I studied photography at college it was a vocational subject, we were learning a trade. Fortunately there was enough time for myself and my friend Alan to learn of photography in a wider sense. We soon adopted the Cartier- Bresson practise of no cropping of the image. This is demonstrated with the black borders, produced by filing down the negative carriers. We went to great lengths to print on fibre based paper which was unavailable in Glasgow. It is with real admiration that I tell you Alan still works this way. I understand the interest and slow practice of film. Working with digital can be slow too, it is really down to how you see and feel, not about pixels or grain.

1. From the series Clydebank, 1986
2. Alan Donaldson by Alan Dimmick 2026 by @alan_donaldson

Autumn light on a stream. Loch Ardinning Oct 26 by @alan_donaldson

Loch Ardinning, a respite from the storm, the sun shone on this stream.
Oct 26 by @alan_donaldson

On Saturday storm Boelo blew. Fortunately, where I am, we did not get the worst of it. So I went out to take pictures. At this time of year the grasses are such a beautiful colour and with a slow shutter speed the movement of the grasses creates a wonderful effect.
Loch Ardinning Oct 26 by @alan_donaldson

Jimmy Galvin Bristol Oct 26. When I went to Jimmy’s flat he had a huge print of Stravinsky by Arnold Newman. A very famous picture and one I have long admired. Not that I could emulate Arnold Newman’s majestic picture, but it was good fun with Jimmy and his grand piano. by @alan_donaldson

by @alan_donaldson

The incurable absence.Oct 26. I am not religious, but religious iconography is of interest. In the little mausoleums some have stained glass intact. Despite the distressed state of most of them, the light and colour endures. by @alan_donaldson

The incurable absence.Oct 26

Taking pictures of the little mausoleums in the Cimetière de Montmartre was really enjoyable. They attracted me for the possibilities, the light, the stonework, the distressed nature of them. The limiting factor of shooting through the gate/door. It is good to have fun with it. That it helped distract from a difficult moment was a bonus by @alan_donaldson

I do not normally title pictures. For this series I will . The photographs were shot in Cimetière de Montmartre, details of the mausoleums. I was concerned about the photography trope of distressed classical stonework and religious iconography. However, I think the abstract nature of the pictures negates this. Titles are also tricky. Again the common tropes of loss and time passing. That said, there are good reasons why things become cliches, the challenge is to bring a different take to the genre.

The incurable absence. Oct 26 by @alan_donaldson

1. Christopher Anderson talking at the Martin Parr Foundation on his career, how he has evolved his photography from war documentary to a more poetic style. Also talking extensively about the famous Vanity Fare White House portraits. His publication ‘Index’ covers much of his career so far. Imaginatively conceived by Stanley Barker.
2. Aria Shahrokhshahi gave a powerful, honest and moving talk on his life and book, Wet Ground, on his long term work in Ukrane. ‘I’m not a war photographer’ Aria tells us, but his work is a strong poetic statement of a country coping with war. Here, he breaks down at the memory of his friend. Roma was killed in action last year. Wet Ground is published by Loose Joints
3. The book festival ‘BOP’ by @alan_donaldson