As the days and months of 2010 relentlessly flash past ( we are now virtually at "midsummer" - where HAS the year gone??!!) it is good to reflect on a quite superb six or eight weeks with the camera. Indeed, it has certainly been one of the most productive periods since I began my career eighteen years ago; the spread of both locations and variety of targets has been exhilarating as well as productive.
The great triumph - if readers will forgive me calling it that - was a fantastic trip to mainland Shetland in the second week of June. For various reasons, most of which related to high risk of unfavourable weather, this adventure has been postponed on at least four occasions over the past couple of years. If the weather did look good, I found myself immersed in another project and couldn’t get away; it really was MOST frustrating, not least because I have a very loyal calendar client with an office in Lerwick who was understandably miffed that images from Shetland continued to be conspicuous by their absence from my annual calendars!
All was put right, however, by a flying visit in June, in particular a quite glorious early morning ( the sun comes up at 3.30 a.m. in midsummer up there!) which yielded several stunning shots around the South and North Nesting coastline to the north of Lerwick. The following day, the astonishing Esha Ness geological extravaganza was put under scrutiny and it did not let the camera down either. The white beach at Banna Minn, Fitful Head and Sumburgh Head brought the visit to a very successful close. The return flight to Aberdeen was pretty hairy, as some violent storms were in the air, but it was well worth the discomfort to know that some great new shots were safely “in the bag”. A dozen or so pictures for the trip are now on the website should visitors be interested in seeing the best from the adventure.
The Shetland trip climaxed a terrific six week spell around Scotland ( as well as one trip to Northern Ireland......read on!) which began with a return visit to Ardnamurchan. Assynt and the glories of that enchanting corner of Scotland also yielded several splendid new pictures on a quite glorious morning, while the Appin area to the north of Oban was the chosen destination for an April visit. Sadly, the high pressure did not allow the best visibility to be experienced, but a great shot of Loch Awe, below Ben Cruachan, emerged as “pick of the day” after an exploratory visit to the winding roads above the west bank of the loch was well rewarded.
On the golf front, it has also been an exciting time. I hope to publish a new book on the Open Championship venues of the UK around this time next year to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first tournament - held at Prestwick in 1860. With photographs required of fourteen courses in total ( five of the venues which have staged it are no longer on the rota ) there was always going to be a full programme of work for 2009. So far Royal Troon, Prestwick, Muirfield, Carnoustie, the Old Course and Portrush have been put under the microscope, so to speak; visits to Royal St. George’s, Prince’s and Royal Cinque Ports in Kent and Royal Lytham, Hoylake and Royal Birkdale in Lancashire and Cheshire are also in the pipeline, although Turnberry is now awash with steel and cables as this year’s tournament approaches, so August is earmarked for that particular location, once the excitement has abated and the place has been cleared! That leaves the old links at Musselburgh to complete the job - an exciting prospect. It could not have been contemplated, of course, without the superb support through sponsorship of the project offered by Saltire Energy Ltd, whose Managing Director Mike Loggie is - happily for yours truly - both a VERY keen golfer and a great admirer of my golf photography. I hope we do justice to the publication to fulfil his expectations.
2010 CALENDARS
The samples of the wall and desk calendars for 2010 are now circulating, courtesy of Christine Webster at Golf Galleries, who will again be handling corporate orders this year. Initial feedback on the selected images for this year’s publications has been positive; indeed, some lovely messages from existing clients have already been received, which is both an exciting and humbling experience. Difficult as the economic situation undoubtedly is, there is still no argument that the goodwill created by spending a bit of time (and not a lot of money) in ensuring that a company name is on the best Scottish landscape and golf calendars to find their way on to office walls up and down the country is terrific value for money in any marketing director’s estimation. Sample images from the 2010 range of calendars will be uploaded to the website shortly. I hope they turn out to be as successful for our customers as previous ones.
SIX MONTHS OF 2009 TO GO......
I opened this text with a shake of the head, finding it difficult to credit that almost half of 2010 is almost gone already. My arithmetic allows me to conclude, therefore, that only six months of it remains! That does not leave a huge amount of time to ensure that most of this year’s target destinations are taken care of. I think particularly of the remaining golf courses for both the 2011 calendars and the Open Championship book, as well as the other landscape images which need capturing as summer greens in the countryside take on the “burned” look in August and September, before the autumn hues start to make their presence felt. It doesn’t half keep the photographer on his toes; I only hope that energy levels remain as buoyant as they have been over the first half of the year. Stand by for a progress report in September!
Meantime I wish all camera enthusiasts luck with the continuing desire to catch the perfect - very often elusive - image. Whether such a phenomenon exists, mind you, is another matter; it’s a wee bit like the artist painting a landscape…..how on earth does he know that he has completed the job? How does he stop himself adding a subtle colour, or darkening a corner, or lightening the sky? Mind you, that does not affect the photographer…..he takes what is presented to him and, as often as not in Scotland, is absolutely thrilled to bits with the outcome.
Enjoy the summer months with your camera, whether it be at home or on holiday. There's plenty to keep you busy!
DONALD FORD
Donald Ford Images: Scottish Landscape Photography
Scotland's landscape abounds with opportunities and surprises for the photographer. Donald Ford has established himself as one of Scotland's leading photographers, through his books, calendars and other publications which are distributed each year throughout the world. His photographs are also available for purchase online from the gallery. The image shown on this page is Donald Ford's Image of the Month: Photograph of Banna Minn, West Burra, Shetland.
The Carnoustie Story
After a lifetime’s association with the town, Donald’s publication of this long-overdue account of the remarkable evolution
of Scotland's finest links golf course – together with the establishment of a charismatic community around it -
was an outstanding success, a reprint was thus required and 750 copies are now in stock.
Beautifully illustrated, by both old black and white images and his own magnificent photographs of the courses at Carnoustie,
the B5 size, 128-page book has received excellent feedback from many of the customers who bought it.
Click here for further details of The Carnoustie Story.
The film of the Carnoustie story is now available on DVD.
The 2009 Range of Calendars
After yet another increase in calendar sales during 2007 (the tenth in ten years!) it is daunting to think that a further uplift in quantities could follow as the 2009 range of publications is now being put together. Mind you, the decision to move the marketing and administration of the corporate calendars to Golf Galleries Ltd appears to have been a great success. With feedback from clients very positive again, fingers are crossed that the superb performance of 2007 could even yet be surpassed.
From a personal angle, the switch in marketing allowed much more photography between August and December, a time when concentration on orders, proofing and delivery had built up to such an extent that the need to be out and about with the camera was relegated to second or third place. From the aspect of Golf Galleries, the hope is that it has opened up a new market place for their own superb products to be appreciated by a much wider audience around Scotland.
The marketing of any business – large or small – remains fundamental to remaining one step ahead of the competition in the modern commercial world. Testimonials from many clients indicate that the high standards of our publications are still earning them plaudits. Our aspirations, therefore, are that the photographs – currently in course of selection – for the 2009 range of wall and desk calendars will once more live up to expectations. That doesn't half put pressure on the photographer to perform!
The 2009 Desktop Golf Calendar and the 2009 Landscape Calendar are still available, but all desktop landscape calendars and golf wall calendars are totally sold out.
Click here for full range of calendars.
Address Book - Volume II
The success of the second edition of our hugely popular Address Book means that fewer than 800 remain in stock at the time of writing.
Don't be disappointed – order NOW!
Click here for further address book details.
We can always be reached by email at sales@donaldfordimages.com if you have an enquiry about any Donald Ford Images products.
In welcoming visitors to the website we hope that the selection of photographs available here encourages you to ask for more. If you cannot find your special Scottish place using the search features or category listings on this site, or if you are having problems using the site, then please contact us - Donald's portfolio of golfing and landscape photography runs to several thousand images and only a small selection is on view here!
