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These are the outputs of my photography project that aims to show the relationship and tension between the development of the City of Edinburgh and conservation of its buildings, identity and green spaces. This project is supported by a grant from the National Lottery provided through Creative Scotland.

Find more about the project HERE and hope you enjoy the gallery of pictures and (re)discover some of Edinburgh's main sights under new angles. Please also don't keep this to yourself and share it with others who would find it of interest!

Calton Hill's autumn frame

Location: Pilrig Park, Leith

This photograph was taken close to sunset from Pilrig Park in the autumn of 2019. Many of the trees had started to lose just enough leaves to create windows of the landscape to open up this beautiful view.

To me, this picture represents so clearly how tied Edinburgh is to its topography and nature. Calton Hill is an island isolated from the bustling life of the city centre and this "autumnal frame" provided the perfect opportunity to showcase this.

Location: Near Hermiston Gate

This photograph was taken on the very edge of the city of Edinburgh, just past the Edinburgh Bypass (in the background), where the city ends and the countryside begins.
The trees and fence are reminiscent of traditional countryside scenes if it wasn't for the abandoned and broken down shopping carts standing awkwardly in the foreground.

This picture tries to illustrate how cities creep up progressively on the countryside - and in some cases to its detriment.

This is my home (1)

Location: Johnston Terrace Natural Reserve (Scottish Wildlife Trust).

In this picture, we can see a squirrel holding his hands together on a branch. None of the branches have their leaves left so the scene is bare, aside from the squirrel. This photograph was taken at Johnston Terrace Natural Reserve, Managed by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, one of the few refuges for wildlife in the historic centre of the City of Edinburgh. Nevertheless, a home too squirrels and other wildlife too.

I am very grateful to the Scottish Wildlife Trust and in particular to the Reserve Manager, Julian Warman, who arranged access to the reserve.

This is my home (2)

Location: Johnston Terrace Natural Reserve (Scottish Wildlife Trust).

In this picture, we see a squirrel in a much more aggressive stance, holding up a paw as if about to attack. To me this picture represents the efforts that animals and organisation supporting wildlife have to put in to protect their habitat and biodiversity.

I am very grateful to the Scottish Wildlife Trust and in particular to the Reserve Manager, Julian Warman, who arranged access to the reserve.

Location: Leith Street

This photograph was taken on Leith Street near the development of St James' centre. It shows a worker resting against a barrier looking at his phone while a bus rushes past.

It is sometimes easy to forget that, behind construction or development projects , are men and women whose safety may sometimes be at risk.
In discussing issues of conservation and urbanisation, it is important to also keep in mind that they also have an impact on jobs and livelihoods.

Follow the lantern

Location: Advocate's Close, Royal Mile

This picture presents such a contrast: on the one hand the low-ceiling passageway (close) and the vintage lantern in the distance leading down from the Royal Mile ; on the other a young lady wearing modern clothes waiting in a casual pose smoking a cigarette. In other words, the Old World Meeting the New World but there is nothing odd or innocuous about this picture. Or at least to me! And that goes right down to Edinburgh's identity and the fact that it blends perfectly the old and the new, with no one batting an eyelash.

Location: St Andrews Square

This is a busy picture. In the foreground, there is a pedestrian crossing the tram line with another group standing near an old building. Ovehead, electrical cables criss-cross. A little behind you can make out the top of a double decker bus and tree tops. Finally, the Firth of Forth and the Coast of Fife are in the background.

What a contrast between the different elements in this picture - modern developments such as the tram and lots of traffic signs, a busy scene. Meanwhile, the softness of the light in the background creates a sense of serenity and longing for the countryside, to want to cross over the river and to escape. The electrical cables provide that leading line.

Location: York Place

This picture aims to demonstrate the threat that new developments can pose to Edinburgh's identity in a metaphorical way.

In this picture, the angle of the crane from the St James centre redevelopment is tilted menacingly towards the spires of St Mary's Catholic Cathedral (1814).

Rightly or wrongly perceived, this photo aims to capture the feeling that old buildings (and identity) can be under attack or threatened by new developments or innovation.

Going back in Time

Location: George IV Bridge

This photograph was taken looking West from George IV Bridge onto the clock face of Magdalen Chapel (1544) and the Grassmarket area.

This view, to me is an illustration of the rich diversity of architecture in Edinburgh: the medival stone buildings in the foreground, tenement blocks with slate rooms in the main scenes with TV antennae and the University of Edinburgh's brick Laurieston Campus in the background. All of these contrasts, perfectly captured by the clock, remind us that time moves on.

LOOK BOTH WAYS

Between Urbanisation and Conservation: An Edinburgh Perspective

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Photography