My ‘Top Nine’ Photos of 2024
As the year comes to an end it’s hard to ignore the usual roll out of end of year lists.
My Monzo banking app patting me on the back for supporting fellow creators on Patreon, and Spotify Wrapped making me sound darker and more mysterious than I am branding me an avid ‘Atmospheric Modular Synth Drone’ listener, but I know the truth; I’m single handedly propping up Greggs, and I’m a die hard Dua Lipa fan.
And in a way, it’s why I don’t pay attention to ‘likes’. Do they really mean anything? Due to the dreaded algorithms that plague social media some things just naturally (or not) get way more exposure than others regardless of the quality, and whether or not someone actually sees a photo you share is a crapshoot anyway.
Still, curiosity prevails and ofcourse I slammed my IG username into TopNine.co to see which of my photos were the most positively received.
Most of the posts that made my top nine were carousel posts (more than 1 photo), so I’ve included a few more.
During the summer, a recycling plant in Paisley went up in flames. I can’t quite put across in words just how massive this smoke cloud was. Even seeing it with my own eyes it was difficult to comprehend.
We had a quick stop off at my usual spot for a towerblock photo before continuing toward it.
It was obviously cordoned off, but I managed to get a couple photos of other onlookers as the smoke towered over us.
Throughout the year I’ve been making appearances at some of the Free Palestine demonstrations in the city. This is probably the only photo I’ve taken at them that I consider to be any good, with George Square filled with hundreds of people of with opposing views, and then some people just watching on… enjoying a pint.
I revisted the abandoned Clune Park estate with Kev. With each visit there’s a notable decline in the structural integrity of the buildings and there’s very little worth exploring now, I suspect it will be the last time I visit.
Kev shared a video featuring some Hasselblad frames on his YouTube here.
This is hands down my own favourite photo of the year. I was out in the city pretty often at this point, and feeling uninspired so ventured to the west end for a change of pace. Came home with this shot. It’s rare that I feel good about anything I shoot, so let me have this one please. Thanks.
It’s funny though, ‘cause the last three months I’ve taken barely any street photos and it’s mostly due to feeling like I am not particularly ‘good’ at it. A rare blip in forgetting that being good or not isn’t what matters to me, and it’s simply about being out in the first place. The photos are a bonus.
I’ve looked back over some photos I shot earlier in the year and have found a fair amount that I fuck with, so I guess a bit of the ol’ brainfunk has me doubting myself and has forced my to focus my interests elsewhere. These things happen.
This is one of two trolleys that made the cut, and this one in-particular landed the top spot of my most liked photo this year.
I’ve been photographing abandoned trolleys for a fair few years now, and my two rules are:
1. I do not intervene with its position
2. It should not be on the property of the supermarket it came from
Maybe one day I will put a zine out.
The second trolley falls into a separate selection of photos. The mist in Paisley.
While taking some time away from Glasgow’s streets, I’ve been photographing Paisley a lot more toward the end of this year. It’s something I will continue with in 2025 as I’m beginning to get a body of work that I’m proud of, and I want to see how it develops.
This is a scene I revisit often. I like it purely because the towerblocks within the frame of the goalpost are nonexistant due to the thick mist that has swept in.
At somepoint in the year, I felt a change in my photography was needed and entertained the idea of picking up a medium format camera.
Kev gave me a shot of his Hasselblad 500C for a few weeks.
I had a lot of fun shooting it, and even though I realised medium format isn’t for me afterall, this photograph of a lad fishing during Storm Ashley is a highlight of the year for me.
Remember the time it snowed once?
And, that’s it for 2024.
I’ve made a special top nine of 2024 section in my print shop. The prints are A4/A3 (£25/£40), but since it’s Christmas you can get 9% off with the code TOPNINE at checkout. You can also pay in four which makes things a bit easier, I hope.
Ends January 31st.
Sales pitch over.
Enjoy yourselves.
x
EDIT: Sorry folks, this offer has expired. You can still check out my wears here though x
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