I have just returned from an assignment in Haiti documenting via film and photography the aftermath of the earthquake and the work of a small Scottish charity. It was my first time in Haiti and even after documenting the poverty of Africa and India, the situation in Haiti seemed even more desperate.

When the powerful earthquake devastated Haiti, aid workers poured into the country, along with pledges of security and billions of dollars in aid. It was a massive show of global assistance and solidarity – a sign of progress that the world acted rapidly and with care to a country already crippled with poverty.  But six months on conditions for the victims have improved little, and in some cases it’s worse.  The devastation caused by the earthquake of the 11th January 2010 was still very evident. Building after building in the capital Port Au Prince were partially collapsed or reduced to piles of rubble with thousands of bodies still remaining buried.  Tent cities were everywhere -  from roadside islands, to public parks, anywhere away from damaged buildings that Haitians still fear could collapse again in another earthquake.  Life for the survivors in these tent cities has become increasingly desperate – and whilst crime has not yet spiralled out of control, many people are being victimized by petty thieves and violence, and rape against women is on the increase.

So far Haiti has not witnessed any large-scale reconstruction in the past six months, and the newspapers and media are full of reports and features about it.  Haiti has slipped back into the public domain for a limited time for something as trivial as a ’6 month anniversary.’ There are fundamental issues about the billions of dollars pledged. Only two per cent of the pounds 3.5 billion promised in short-term international aid has reportedly got to Haiti, and how can you rebuild a country that was already suffering prior to the earthquake? In an ideal utopian world Haiti would have to be rebuilt from scratch.

But what won’t be reported is the small but significant stories of those smaller and local led NGO’s that have made progress. The organisation I was documenting - Mary’s Meals – and their US partner have already rebuilt schools and re-instated a school feeding programme that was feeding tens of thousands of children before the earthquake.  There will no doubt be similar unreported stories of small but effective NGO’s and charities who are doing similar good work in Haiti, but for the meantime, the focus is quite rightly on the disgrace that Haiti finds itself in 6 months on.  The next media spotlight on Haiti will be the one year anniversary in Jan 2011 – Haitians are praying that these next 6 months will see recovery in their country that is so desperately needed.

Had a few hours in Miami on route to an assignment in Haiti. Headed down to an South Beach, with rain and grey skies, a handful of people on the beach it was not the Miami I expected. Wandered around the beach and  meet and photographed a few of the locals.  Then back to the hotel room by the airport for a few night shots from the 10th floor. Next stop Haiti…

In May this year I was commissioned by the BIG Lottery Fund to document community projects that had been awarded lottery grants over the past 2 years.  The 15 short films and one 6 minute film would be used to document the difference lottery money has made to communities and individuals as well as to launch a new project called ‘Investing in Communities.’  The short films were released on a daily basis through the BIG Lottery Fund website, social networking sites and national television to launch the new campaign.

The shoot lasted over 2 weeks and involved travelling to and documenting a range of people and places – from boxing clubs in Glasgow to Foula in the Shetland Isles – the most remotely inhabited place in the UK, with a population of just 28 people.  I shot all films using a digital HDSLR – the Canon 5D mark ii – giving all films a cinematic look and allowing for natural lighting in all interviews.

BIG Lottery Film – 6 minutes

View some of the other short 1 – 2 minute films

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In May I spent 3 days on the island of Foula – about 20 miles west of mainland Sheland – shooting a short film for the Big Lottery Fund. It is known as the most remotely inhabited place in the UK and has a current population of 28 people. I had always thought I had to see the remote parts of Scotland, and this was as extreme as it gets. No roads, no shops, no pub, no mobile signal. It was my toughest assignment yet with no i-phone interaction for 3 days!

The island has just received Lottery funding to enable 24 hour electricity and was hoping that this would help boast the population by perhaps encouraging younger families to come and live on the island. Studies have shown that once an island population falls below 30 then it is in serious danger of being wiped out as a community. Already there are signs of this as Foula is dotted with decaying buildings and farmhouses that are now home only to sheep escaping the wild weather.

This wasn’t a photography assignment, although there was time to grab a few photographs and go exploring in the wee small hours.  Pictured above is a small selection of photographs highlighting its beauty, its past and concerns for the future of the island.

To mark the one year anniversary I designed and installed a self funded special photography and multimedia exhibition space within the Barra’s Market in Glasgow. One of the indoor market stalls was transformed – plastered, painted and lit to make it a unique, if not one of the smallest gallery’s you may have seen and came complete with Paddy’s coffin. The reason the venue was in the Barra’s Market itself is that many of the original traders of Paddy’s Market set up within the market after the closure of Paddy’s (many of them struggling, as their days of trading have been cut from 6 days to 2 days per week).

It was equally important to me that this show was exhibited and seen in a space out with a regular gallery, and also to highlight the issue that the Barra’s Market will no doubt be the next Glasgow institution to be closed. The opening night of the exhibition was held on the 15th May 2010, one year on to the day that Paddy’s was closed. Traders and friends joined for a screening and piss up to celebrate Paddy’s one year on – gone but not forgotten!

The exhibition finished on the 18th July but there are plans to transform the space into a permanent photography exhibition using archive photography from the past decades as a permanent memorial to Paddys. More information to follow….

Photographs of the exhibition space and opening night can be viewed below:

I have just finished a short film for GAMH (Glasgow Association for Mental Health) on a project called SCOPe – volunteer befriending for people with mental health issues and older carers.  I scripted, directed, shot and edited the film over a few months and for the filming used a Canon 5D Mark II digital SLR camera.   Here’s the science bit:
The camera is indeed revolutionary and the HD footage is incredible , (although people who work day to day with large broadcast cameras will hate it and not even rate it). To get proper broadcast quality sound I hooked up an radio mic to a handy h4 sound recorder, bought a clapper board and sync my sound and all was fine.  I’m looking forward to using the camera overseas – it will mean I can finally travel a wee bit lighter…

Click here to view the embedded video.

In February I spent a week on assignment in Moldova, filming and photographing in various state institutions for children throughout the country. Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south and is the the poorest country in Europe, with about a quarter of the population living off of less than US $2 a day.  EU membership would be the utopian dream for Moldova, but torn between those with allegiance to Russia and those who know want to have closer ties to Romania and the rest of Europe, the country seems almost schizophrenic.  To make matters worse a breakaway government was formed in Transnistria, the strip of Moldova to the east and after a brief war in 1992, it became de facto independent, although no UN member has recognized its independence.

The capital city, Chisinau, is plastered with ad’s and billboards selling the ‘western dream’ – in every available public space – similar to most Western European countries. In Moldova not even the historic buildings can escape – as this former town hall – now Casino – illuminates the grey dark nights like a temple.

I was recently commissioned by StreetLevel Photoworks to work on a community photography project in the north of Glasgow.  For the past 3 months I have been documenting and working with an old men’s club who meet in Springburn Park. The club meets in the historic Mosesfield House that has been a lifeline and haven for elderly and retired men since 1946. This was a unique collaboration project with the men sharing their stories, knowledge and their archive photographs to construct a short documentary film about not only about the house and their club, but also about the changes in Springburn, and their friendships.

You can view the short film of photographs and audio below:

I had the opening preview of my MA show with my fellow classmates from across the globe.  Was a fantastic night, well received, very busy, free beer courtesy of heineken, and a warehouse party in the wee small hours to finish the night off.  The exhibition runs throughout March. More details below:

A Swedish photographer based in England and working in Kaliningrad, Lukashenka’s Belarus seen through the eyes of an American photographer living in Sweden, a disparate collection of Londoners photographing their own visions of London and an insider’s view of the divided communities living in the coal mining region of West Virginia. These are just some of the stories in Beyond Borders, an exhibition featuring the work of 16 very different photographers from nine countries on show in London’s Printspace gallery from March 10 until April 2 2010.

Shot on everything from medium format cameras to mobile phones, and with genres including experimental street photography, portraiture and traditional in-your-face photojournalism, Beyond Borders represents the collective results of the first ever online master’s degree course in photojournalism and documentary photography at the London College of Communication, a bold and ground-breaking experiment reflecting the current monumental changes within the industry. http://www.16photographers.com

Beyond Borders Photography Exhibition
March 10 – April 1, 2010
Daily 9:00 am – 7 pm