Stonehaven Harbour
The memory of this still makes me smile. It was the first photo I ever took on full manual, and for a heartbeat I thought I’d cracked it. Na, na, nae… it was only the beginning of a love affair with my camera. I’ve still got bucket‑loads to learn — and aye, I still hiv tae.
The most important lesson that day taught me was this: it wasn’t luck that brought me to that shot. It was the choice to ignore my bed after a night shift and head straight to the harbour, just in case there was virgin snow with nae fitprints.
That beautiful black‑and‑white photo of Stonehaven Harbour marks the real start of my photographic journey — the moment I realised that showing up matters more than perfect settings or perfect knowledge. It’s the turning up, even when you’re tired, that opens the door to magic.
Sir
Duncan
Rice
Library
fit a view, looking down from the 5th floor. What a great place to tell stories will be there in Feb 2026 with Georgie Murieson
The Scottish Storytelling Centre, Edinburgh
Fitting picture to put on a storyteller photo page
Taken on a recent trip to Edinburgh, where I was in the middle of my mentoring and storytelling apprenticeship. Those came after the 2022 event — but standing outside the Scottish Storytelling Centre brought it all back.
On the 19th of November 2022, I stepped onto that stage for the very first time. I wasn’t polished, I wasn’t seasoned — but something settled in me that night. Being in front of an audience felt natural, and that’s where my storytelling really found its wings. It was the quiet beginning of a journey I didn’t yet know I was on.
Since then, the mentoring, the apprenticeship, the graft, and the graft again have all helped me grow — but that night in 2022 is still the spark.
Watch this space… we’ll bring Toilet Tales back down to Edinburgh yetr.
Gallery
New Lens home, so I had some fun with the camera the last couple of days
Recent shots taken in Stonehaven and Arbroath. As I travel with my work I get to find odd spots to sit in my van and have lunch. Which means I can have a wee walk around with my camera. One of the spots this week was Arbroath Harbour.
Our old farm tractor
My Brother Doug while drivng in a local charity tractor run
Plenty of stories to be found around tractors, and farming in my heritage. Apart from the fact I am in a ditch taking this photo, just so I could get the daffies in the foreground. The things we do for the craft.