Category Archives: Portrait

Jun 03 2024
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Jane’s Addiction

Sunday 2nd June 2024, 9.15pm (day 4,665)

Jane's Addiction, 2/6/24

So that’s another one ticked off the list of ‘Bands I Have Liked for Thirty-Plus Years But Never Before Seen Live’. Then again, Jane’s Addiction did their first ‘farewell tour’ in 1991, have still only ever managed to scrape together four studio albums, and the original four members have only just decided they are still prepared to talk to each other and go on the road again before one or more of them dies. Which in singer Perry Farrell’s case, has always seemed likely to happen imminently. Therefore, I never really had the chance to break the duck before tonight. But I’m not complaining — they were worth the wait.

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Jun 01 2024
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Friday faces

Friday 31st May 2024, 5.55pm (day 4,663)

Friday faces, 31/5/24

May ends with a burst of sunshine and this shot offers the chance to inspect the range of slightly-toasted pink and vaguely brown skin tones that the average English visage offers up at this time of year. My Friday evenings may seem to often be spent at the pub, and specifically this pub (the Railway), I admit — but in fact this is the first one for eight weeks.

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May 29 2024
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Art and architecture, Daily Post, Family Member, Portrait

Dundee diorama

Wednesday 29th May 2024, 11.40am (day 4,661)

Dundee diorama and Joe, 29/5/24

The first concealed round number of the day: today I am exactly 20,000 days old. When I first saw the Nick Cave documentary 20,000 Days on Earth (it’s very good and worth watching even if you have no idea who Nick Cave is) I naturally worked out when I would reach this milestone, and, well, it’s today. In my case 20,000 days works out at 54 years, 9 months and 3 days.

The second concealed round number is that this is the 100th blog pic to be taken in Scotland. This last week has seen the country overtake Norway in the all-time table to now stand third, behind only England and Australia. To mark this, let’s feature Joe, and behind him, Dundee — the juxtaposition of person and place being the principal reason that Scotland has kept up its healthy rate of appearance over the last three years (Dundee features on 24 of those 100 shots).

The diorama of Dundee was created by photographer Sohei Nishino, and is a remarkably good piece of work which gives a totally new perspective on the place and which one can lose oneself in: both characteristics of great art, if you ask me. And according to this article about it, it used 20,000 photos. Back to the first concealed round number we go. It must mean something.

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May 28 2024
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger

Oor Wullie and friends

Monday 27th May 2024, 3.35pm (day 4,659)

Oor Wullie group, 27/5/24

Oor Wullie is a cartoon character who, since 1936, has appeared in the Scottish Sunday Post. He comes from the D. C. Thomson publishing house in Dundee, who also gave the world Desperate Dan, and like him, Wullie has his statue in the city centre. This family seemed to be enjoying his company — the women, anyway. Maybe not the guy on the right though.

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May 27 2024
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Daily Post, Family Member, Portrait, Sport

Clare’s marathon debut – 20 miles in

Sunday 26th May 2024, 2.40pm (day 4,658)

Clare, marathon woman, 26/5/24

No apologies for putting up the cheesy-grin family shot today as the day was all about Clare, who ran her first ever marathon in a time of 6 hours and 1 minute. The Edinburgh marathon started in the city, headed out along the coast, turned around and came back as far as Musselburgh. This is Longniddry, where Joe and I caught up with her at about the 20 mile mark. She looked, as you can see, fresh as a daisy, and from this point on I had absolutely no doubt that she would finish. I know what this has taken in terms of training — an immense effort! And I am very sure it won’t be her last. (Will I be taking up the challenge? No chance.)

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May 24 2024
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger

On Union Street

Friday 24th May 2024, 5.25pm (day 4,656)

I’m as satisfied with this portrait as I can be. Important elements come together: the woman walking past; his ankle (and what it implies); the just-lit cigarette.

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May 21 2024
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger

Early morning flight transfer

Tuesday 21st May 2024, 5.40am (day 4,653)

Istanbul airport, 21/5/24

Since I last changed planes there in 2015, on the way to Kilimanjaro, Istanbul has built a completely new airport about 30 mies out of the city which is now the second-busiest airport in Europe after Heathrow. It did seem to me that you could catch a plane from there to just about anywhere, certainly in Europe, Africa and Asia — a landmass of which it occupies a very strategic point, and always has done.

I was there early, left early, but so did a lot other people — this moment of solitary contemplation was not characteristic of the whole. This becomes only the second shot in 4,652 days to be taken between 5 and 6am — the other also being in an airport, Manchester’s, while on my way to Moscow in January 2017.

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May 17 2024
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Professor Dan’s lecture

Thursday 16th May 2024, 7.15pm (day 4,648)

Dan Yon, 16/5/24

The island of St Helena was discovered in May — at least according to tradition, May 21st 1502. Hence its name, as that’s the feast day of St Helena. So this may have prompted May 2024 being declared ‘St Helena Culture Month’, and here’s probably the world’s most senior St Helenian academic, Professor Dan Yon, doing his bit for it with a public lecture in the museum in Jamestown tonight. Not that he teaches here — Toronto is his usual base.

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May 15 2024
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Daily Post, Portrait, Stranger, Urban scene

Outside Jamestown market

Tuesday 14th May 2024, 5.10pm (day 4,646)

Outside the market, 14/5/24

A few days to go on this trip to St Helena and work has definitely been keeping me busy. On the opposite side of the street I was sat there at just past clocking-off time, feeling very much like these guys. Yes, the butt bin to the right annoys me. But only slightly.

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May 13 2024
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Daily Post, Friend, Portrait

Thinking in progress

Friday 10th May 2024, 3.10pm (day 4,642)

Ketso session, 10/5/24

Well, I am here to do some work, at least. In fact it’s been a busy week, and one I was relieved to get to the end of: maybe Friday afternoon isn’t the best time to ask others to do some work on my behalf, but we got through it. Colleague (and former student) Gareth sits in the background and makes his third appearance on the blog.

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