A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints

I was in Glasgow last year and I had been on my feet all day taking photographs all over the city and getting a mixed bag of results. It was getting late and I was dead on my feet when I passed a group of young guys playing basketball under the bizarre street lights that feature in parts of the city center. I must of walked past them about three times before the compulsion to as I call it "shoot strangers" kicked in. Now for me this was a city that I don't know well and I am asking a group of strange young guys if I can take their photo. Something must have told me that they were a good group of guys and indeed they were. After the initial awkwardness they really seemed to be at ease in front of the camera. Indeed one of these photos is probably my favourite photo that I have taken. When I look at them I am reminded that I am not a kid anymore but it allows me to see their story unfold with the knowledge that the time they have now is fantastic and to be enjoyed to the maximum. I recently watched a film called "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints" which is an all time favourite of mine. When I watched the film it reminded me of this set of images. When these guys are older with families and history I hope they will look back and remember the days and nights they had together as friends and all the crazy stuff that you do which shapes you forever.

View this image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View this image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View this image by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View the image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View this image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

View this image on flickr by clicking here © Anthony Dorman

Glasgow People and Places

On a weekend visit to my girlfriends family in Falkirk we took a day trip into Glasgow. For my girlfriend and her mum that meant shopping and then the theater. For me it meant a chance to wonder the streets of one of Britain's greatest cities with my camera. My first port of call was a quick bus ride to Parkhead which is the area surrounding Glasgow Celtic's football stadium. I had once taken a wrong turn into Glasgow and discovered an area so run down that it was quite beautiful. I know that sounds strange but some of the old abandoned buildings had layers of peeling paint and amazing colours and textures.

Glasgow Parkhead

   See the high resolution image on my flickr page  © Anthony Dorman

After quite a few hours wondering around some of the more colourful areas on the outside of the city I decided to head back into the center. On Buchanan Street I saw the lady below with a group of her friends and knew that I wanted her in my 100 Strangers Project. Although they all had a a great look and I photographed all of them my stranger below really stood out. Later she contacted me and said how much she liked the photo which was nice.

"Glasgow Girl" 22/100 "100 Strangers"

view the high resolution image here on my flickr page © Anthony Dorman

Later that night I met four more interesting strangers who I will post on this blog at a later date. My day in Glasgow turned out to be very fruitful.