EDINBURGH is famed for its atmospheric Old Town closes, grand New Town architecture and, of course, that castle.
But a collection of images captured by one of Scotland’s best known landscape photographers sheds new light on the Capital’s less familiar face – its people.
Douglas Corrance, whose breath-taking photographs of Scottish scenery have graced thousands of calendars and tourist board brochures, has switched his focus on to the vibrant mix of characters – locals and tourists alike – who make Scotland’s capital such a cosmopolitan and unique city.
The images, which span his 50 years of living in the city, capture men, women and children from all backgrounds engaged in a broad range of activities, from enjoying the Edinburgh Festival to touring its historic sites, students dashing through The Meadows on a misty morning or royal garden party guests in all their finery.
Among them is the stern-faced matriarch known as Madame Doubtfire, pictured by a young Douglas as she sat outside her Stockbridge ‘junk’ shop in the 1970s with a particularly evil looking cat by her side. The inspiration for novelist Anne Fine’s Mrs Doubtfire character, she’d later be brought to ‘life’ on the silver screen by Robin Williams.
And, at the other end of the scale, there are the dazzling colours and sheer joy of a Hindu wedding, captured much more recently at a city hotel.
More than 330 pictures of Edinburgh life are included in the new book. Alongside images of city folk going about their day to day business, are stunning new photographs of familiar locations.
Corrance, now 70, who in the Seventies spent time photographing some of the world’s legendary musicians – including Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and the Rolling Stones – said he wanted to show a different side to the capital city.
“I wanted to make the book feel like a walk through the city,” he said. “So there are some iconic images of the castle – although it’s getting harder to photograph because of all the signage and street furniture. But this collection is really more about the people you see on the way.”
Falkirk-born Corrance, who began his photography career as a 15-year-old ‘snapper’ for the Highland News, said he ditched his bulky lenses and expensive cameras, and opted for a small Sony digital pocket camera “without horrible and ugly enhancements” favoured by the modern ‘Instagram’ generation, for most of the contemporary images which feature in the book.
The lensman, who spent ten years photographing scenery for the then Scottish Tourist Board to use to sell Scotland to visitors around the world, added: “The camera I use now is nothing fancy. It’s having the eye for the picture that matters more than the technology.”
One photograph, which shows the Lord Lyon during the Kirking of the Council ceremony at St Giles Cathedral, saw Corrance smooth talk his way into the official circle to snap the officials in all their regalia, before being caught and asked to leave.
And in another, he waded up to his waist into the cold water of the Forth one November day in the Eighties, to photograph disabled swimmer Bill Stein as he trained for a cross Channel swim.
“Photography has been my life for over 55 years,” he added. “And I love it now more than ever.”
Edinburgh: A Personal View in Photographs costs £25 and is published by Forth Books
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