The Space Between Us is an exhibition of poems and images by sisters Rachel Barr and Bridget Grant.
Together, they explore the impact of a glioblastoma brain tumour diagnosis.
It is a tender, honest and deeply moving body of work, and North Edinburgh Arts is proud to support it.
The exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to spend time with the sisters’ work and gain a personal perspective on the experience of a glioblastoma diagnosis.
Please come on a Granton Nature Map Community Nature Walk on Saturday 10th October at 2pm, meeting at Granton Crescent Park, by the benches at the top of the path.
You can walk and look, sketch and / or photograph the wildlife we see there if you like. Later, you will have the option to stitch something for the collective map (beginners and experienced embroiderers welcome).
Everyone is welcome. This is a free event – no need to book.
GRANTON Youth is teaming up with National Galleries of Scotland for a brand new creative project for young people aged 12–18
Inspired by American artist and photographer Catherine Opie’s “To Be Seen” exhibition, we’re going to be exploring photography, identity, and creativity!
We’re looking for young people who are into art, photography, making stuff, being creative or just trying something different.
You don’t need to be an expert photographer. You don’t even need to know exactly what you want to make yet!
We’ll be experimenting with:
Portrait photography
What we choose to show / hide about ourselves
Props, clothing & fashion
Shadows & reflections
Creative writing
Identity, belonging & representation
A big group portrait
And loads of space to take things in your own direction
If this sounds like your, or someone you knows thing, DM us or email ryan@grantonyouth.com to get involved!
Edinburgh Libraries have launched a photography competition celebrating gardening and the city’s parks, gardens and green spaces.
The ‘Unearthed Edinburgh’ theme recognises both the city’s wonderful green spaces and gardening as forces for creativity, resilience and connection. We welcome photos which celebrate any green space in the city, from the Meadows to your window box!
The competition is free to enter and open to all.
All entries must be submitted via Edinburgh Collected (www.edinburghcollected.org) where they will become part of a community archive of Edinburgh memories.
Tell us in the accompanying description what makes the picture special to you and remember to add the tag “unearthed”. Entries will be judged on both their photographic merit and on the accompanying text.
There are fantastic prizes to be won! Enter for a chance to win:
This competition is part of a wider project in collaboration with the British Library and the Living Knowledge Network of libraries on the theme of Unearthed: The Power of Gardening.
A photograph of Brazilian Surfer Gabriel Medina, which captures an incredible moment where athlete, spectacle and photographer come together in perfect harmony, has won this year’s World Sports Photography Awards.
The image was taken by Tahiti-based French Photographer Jerome Brouillet on the third day of the Surfing event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Teahupo’o, French Polynesia.
This image is one of 24 winning images across sports categories including American Football, Baseball, Equestrian, Golf, Racquet Sports and Football. More than 2200 professional sports photographers from over 96 countries around the world submitted more than 13000 images to this year’s competition.
The World Sports Photography Awards are the only global awards for sport photography. Entered by the world’s best sports photographers, judged by leading figures from sport, media, photography, brand and creative.
Designed to recognise and celebrates incredible sports images and the photographers who take them. World Sports Photography Awards tell compelling stories of the emotion, passion, athleticism and focus that are at the heart of sport.
Sophie Collins, Chief Marketing Officer at awards sponsor MPB, said: “As a judge and sponsor of the World Sports Photography Awards, I am once again inspired by the extraordinary talent and creativity showcased in this year’s entries.
“Sports photography holds a unique power to freeze dynamic action and evoke profound emotion in a single frame, capturing stories that transcend the boundaries of the playing field. It’s been thrilling to see the innovation and passion from this year’s participants, setting a remarkable standard for the years to come.”
The full gallery of winning images including Top 10s in every sporting category are available to view on the World Sports Photography Awards website.
Social media marketing experts reveal six things to consider when taking the perfect photo
Finding the best spot is key, so embrace natural light, avoid harsh sources, and face the light at eye level to prevent unflattering shadows
Create a flattering photo by posing at a 45-degree angle, look up with the camera at eye level, and hold your arms slightly away from your body while creating triangles with your pose
With approximately five billion photos taken daily worldwide and a trend toward natural looks, many people are looking for ways to capture the perfect picture without relying on editing.
Social media marketing experts at Viralyft have identified six top methods for taking a flawless photo, so you can skip the filters and Photoshop.
Lighting
Step one is to find the perfect spot to take your picture and this means finding the best lighting. The are two key things to remember: one is to embrace natural light and steer clear from harsh lighting like computer screens, bright light bulbs or harsh sunlight. The second thing to remember is to make sure you face the light and adjust the camera until the light is hitting around eye-level; this is to avoid creating any unflattering shadows, such as dark circles under the eyes.
Strike a Pose
There are some simple adjustments you can make to your posing that can make all the difference when it comes to taking a flattering or an unflattering photo.
One is to position your body at a 45-degree angle to the camera as opposed to facing it fully; it is incredibly slimming and adds interest.
A couple of other key tricks to striking a becoming pose are to hold your arms slightly away from your body and to create triangles with your body, such as putting your hand on your hip or playing with a strand of hair.
Backgrounds
You don’t have to be on an exotic beach or a snowy mountain top to create the perfect background. Intriguing backgrounds can be found anywhere, from your house to your local park. Choosing a lighter background with fewer distractions can lighten your features and makes sure your face stands out.
Make use of phone and camera features
While it’s easier to use your front camera for selfies, the camera on the back of your phone is much more powerful, creating a much higher quality and professional looking photo. And don’t forget to take advantage of features such as portrait mode which can often be used on both your front and rear-facing cameras, such as with the iPhone.
The grid that can be displayed on the camera screen of most smartphones is another great tool for creating aesthetically pleasing photos. This allows you to create pictures according to the classic composition technique of the rule of thirds, which states that your subject should be off-centre for a more engaging photo.
No digital zooming allowed
Optical zoom, which relies on the physical adjustment of lenses, preserves image quality when zooming in, resulting in sharp and detailed photos. However, digital zoom, which is the type of zoom a smartphone uses, is convenient but typically reduces quality by digitally enlarging the existing image. So, the best options are either moving closer to your subject or a camera with adjustable lenses.
Be careful using your flash
Flashes are far inferior to other forms of lighting such as natural light or a ring light as they are often situated too close to the lens to create flattering light and the bulb is an LED, which creates an unnatural blue tinge.
“These contribute to the red eyes, squinting eyes and harsh, bleached out effect that are regular consequences of flash taken photos. Some current-generation smartphones have significantly improved the multi-shot HDR capabilities, particularly Google Pixel phones which boast an impressive low-light feature known as Night Sight.
“If it’s dark and flash is the only option, play around with angles until you find one that works best for you, but your best bet is to just turn if off in most situations.
Thomas Moore, Director of Viralyft, commented:“With photo-sharing and video-sharing apps like TikTok and Instagram having gained extreme popularity over the past few years, photoshopping has become so prevalent that the line between fiction and reality has become truly blurred.
“But with this rise in photoshopping has come an increase in expertise and knowledge, which has created edit investigators who can spot an altered photo when they see it. And there are now even fake image detectors, which can say whether an image has been changed.
“Therefore, a demand for the natural and unedited has also risen, and many celebrities have joined in the trend that promotes body positivity.”
This October the National Galleries of Scotland is partying like it’s 1984 with Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection, at the Portrait gallery from 26 October 2024 – 16 March 2025.
Step back in time to the 1980s when the National Galleries of Scotland officially began its world-class photography collection. Explore over 100 art works from Scotland’s national photography collection, dating from the 1840’s to the present day in this free-to-visit exhibition.
Marvel at historic photographs, visit some famous faces and discover an exciting range of what makes a photograph in this eclectic celebration of the nation’s photography collection.
Celebrating 40 Years of Scotland’s Photography Collection marks this magnificent milestone, reflecting on all that has been accomplished in the last four decades and looking to the future. In the 1980s recognition of photography as an artform was growing rapidly as museums and galleries around the world were looking to establish and grow their collections.
National Galleries of Scotland were no different. Having begun collecting photography in the late 19th century, it was in 1984 that the National Galleries of Scotland collection was formally established.
A world-renowned photography collection it is regarded as one of the best in the UK, its breadth and quality matches those of London institutions such as the V&A and National Portrait Gallery, London.
Due to its original remit to collect the very best of Scottish and international photography, the collection has developed over the last 40 years to have global reach.
Now over 55,000 artworks strong the ever-growing collection is showcased in this lively exhibition which explores the major themes, subjects and processes from throughout the history of photography.
Including works by major photographers such as Julia Margaret Cameron, Robert Mapplethorpe and Annie Leibovitz. Highlighting the enticing and universal nature of photography, the exhibition will include six themes; portraiture, landscape, documentary photography, archives, inclusion and experimentation.
Find portraits of famous Scots such as, Andy Murray, The Proclaimers, Jackie Kay and David Tennant as well as fun and vibrant portraits such as Viviane Sassen’s In Bloom.
A newly acquired work consisting of photographs, film and performance by Glasgow-based artists Beagles & Ramsay will be on display for the first time.
The Sanguis Gratia Artis (Black Pudding Self-Portrait), is a performance piece alongside photographs where the artists make black pudding out of their own blood to explore the boundaries of the self-portrait.
Celebrating the connectivity and nostalgia that photographs bring to people worldwide, the exhibition looks at how this incredible artform can be traced through generations of Scottish photographers and schools of photography.
Embracing the eclectic nature of photography, vibrant displays will create interesting contrasts and connections between historic and contemporary images.
Discover how the ideas and subject matters that started with David Octavius Hill and Robert Adamson in the 1840s continues to be photographed centuries apart with different and modern cameras.
Take pride in the influential alumni of Scottish photography schools whose connections extend around the world, making Scotland a significant home to photography.
Explore the idea of what makes a photograph, reflecting on changing technology and taking a look at artists who are pushing the boundaries of what we might have traditionally thought of as a photograph.
Get a deeper understanding of how photographers have explored the themes of landscape and environment change including a new acquisition by American, Sant Khalsa combining photography and sculpture.
Displayed alongside early Scottish photographs by John Muir Wood, showcasing the beautiful shapes created by trees. This offers a fascinating look at how these two artists explore the same subject matter in completely different ways.
Discover works by revered international photographers, with exceptional photographs from the ARTIST ROOMS collection, jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate.
The exhibition draws a selection of works by globally renowned artists, such as Robert Mapplethorpe and Diane Arbus.
This will also be the first time the National Galleries of Scotland has shown work from the ARTIST ROOMS collection by Don McCullin, one of the world’s greatest photojournalists.
Scotland is known as a centre for documentary photography and the exhibition will celebrate this with a medley of the best documentary photographers who have made work in Scotland.
Weaving in some old favourites and new acquisitions this will highlight photographers such as Alfred Eisenstaedt, Eve Arnold, David Hurn, Joseph Mackenzie and Bert Hardy.
A wall of Hill & Adamson’s fisherwomen will mark an important moment in the development of documentary photography not just in Scotland but in the history of the medium.
In the years immediately following its establishment, National Galleries of Scotland received a number of significant bequests which quickly grew the collection.
The exhibition will explore some of these major archives, such as The Riddell collection which joined the collection in 1985, ARTIST ROOMS, established in 2008 and jointly owned by the National Galleries of Scotland and Tate, and the MacKinnon Collection that was jointly acquired with the National Library of Scotland in 2018.
Viviane Sassen
Throughout the decades, the collection continues to grow and each year new additions are made, with an increasing focus on equality, diversity and inclusion.
Looking to the next 40 years, the exhibition also focuses on acquisitions from the last decade which address issues such as equality, inclusion and diversity.
National Galleries of Scotland actively seek opportunities to broaden representation across the collection and the exhibition highlights this as a priority area for collecting in the future.
Representation of female photographers has been a recent priority, with work by artists including Chrystel Lebas, Wendy McMurdo, Chloe Dewe Mathews and Arpita Shah entering the collection.
Anne Lyden, Director-General at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: ‘Photography is a cornerstone of the National Galleries of Scotland, accounting for almost half of the entire collection.
” It is with great delight that we celebrate the medium with this impressive and engaging exhibition drawn entirely from the vast holdings of the nation’s collection.
“Over the course of the last forty years many photographers, collectors, donors, curators, and enthusiasts have contributed to this important world-class collection which belongs to the people of Scotland.
“We are excited to celebrate this anniversary with our visitors through such a dynamic display.’
Louise Pearson, Photography Curator at the National Galleries of Scotland, said: ‘The 40th anniversary is the perfect moment to draw from the full breadth of Scotland’s photography collection.
“This vibrant and fun exhibition includes photographs of famous Scots and works by photographers who have become household names. It opens many possibilities in making connections across our country’s photography collection, sharing highlights as well as celebrating lesser-known works.
“We want visitors to join us in celebrating the collection and take pride in Scotland’s contribution to photography worldwide.’
This exhibition is funded by The Morton Charitable Trust and the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery.
How to be a World Press Photo winner
AI and photography – can you believe it?
North Edinburgh Arts
Exhibition Opening Dates: 16th to 29th October
Free entry
Props, clothing & fashion
Shadows & reflections
Creative writing
Identity, belonging & representation
A big group portrait
And loads of space to take things in your own direction
